Dodgers: Looking Back on the Trade for Josh Fields
The Dodgers cannot win ALL of their trades and they typically have broken even or won their transaction in the Friedman era. However, there is one trade that somewhat stands out: the shipping of top outfield prospect Yordan Alvarez to the Houston Astros for reliever Josh Fields.
Yordan Alvarez's swing is GORGEOUS. First homer already in the books. 10/10 would recommend. #Astros ??? pic.twitter.com/abYaz9YXXA
— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) June 9, 2019
Yordan Alvarez
This trade has become one that is more recognized over the last few days due to Yordan Alvarez’s call-up to the big leagues. Since Alvarez was traded, he has put up some absolutely gaudy numbers. He crushed at every stop, but he really began to put it together for the Triple-A Round Rock squad, an affiliate of the Astros. Across 101 games there, Alvarez hit 31 bombs and drove in 99 runs with a .306/.403/.615 slash line. This year alone, in 56 games, he hit 23 homers with a 1.184 OPS. Wow.
.@astros prospect Yordan Alvarez career @milb base hit spray chart. ??? pic.twitter.com/SRai0xnotQ
— Daren Willman (@darenw) June 9, 2019
According to MLB Pipeline, Alvarez is the #26 prospect in baseball. Fangraphs’ prospect evaluators Kiley McDaniel and Eric Longenhagen have placed him as the #125 prospect in baseball, which is a wide gap in assessment. It is safe to say, either way, that Alvarez is a top prospect and represents a huge loss for the Dodgers franchise.
Alvarez figures to be a major piece of the Astros’ future, possibly seeing a long-term home at designated hitter. For the foreseeable future, though, he should be in the outfield mix along with George Springer and soon Kyle Tucker.
Josh Fields
Josh Fields was not necessarily a disappointment, he just never lived up to the prospect capital that was traded for him.
https://twitter.com/DiamondHoggers/status/1137799035052576773
Now with the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, Fields held a 2.61 ERA and 3.89 FIP in three parts of seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He was consistently shuttled back and forth between Los Angeles and Oklahoma City in his tenure with the team, but at times was a so-so bridge to Kenley Jansen.
His postseason performances were not great, including giving up an important two-run homer in the 2017 World Series. In 3 1/3 innings of postseason work, Fields held a 5.40 ERA and 1.80 WHIP.
Overall
This was not a good trade for the Dodgers, but it marks a rare mistake in the Friedman Era. Alvarez has only played one game in the major leagues and it is already safe to say that this one could make the Dodgers kick themselves for years.
I am a 55 year dodger fan and never seen the worse of owners ever. Freidman coming in and don’t know crap about making a real team. Freidman is the biggest joke and only brings in nothing but losers like him just like this trade. He also got the worse joke of Roberts as manager. He can’t manage a damn ant farm yet a baseball team. He don’t know shit or cares about the pitchers but all his special boys. He takes them out like he does every time to bring in his special boys to blow the game and cost them a win or no hitters. FIRE FREIDMAN AND LOSER ROBERT’S.
John Lindsey, have you already forgot the worst owner in the history of professional sports?
Frank McCourt
Please. We have been the World Series two years in a row after NOT being there for 29 years. We have won our division every single year of Friedman’s ownership.
As the writer said, this is the one time we have appeared to have “lost” a trade.
Perspective, man.
John, your grammar is as atrocious as your over the top statements. There is a reason the Dodgers have made it to back-to-back WS and have a damn good farm system, despite being a perennial contender. You do realize that the Dodgers have made it to the post-season 6 years in a row, right? Obviously they need to win the WS, but some on man! Get a clue! The one glaring deficiency under Friedman’s tenure has been the bullpen, however, the guys they have brought over via trades have not performed up to their capabilities, so you can’t really put that on Friedman. They WILL get a few arms in there this year, no doubt. Gonsolin is a logical call up in the second half as well, and he could be the ace in the hole for them in the pen. He has a NASTY splitter. It’s a catch 22, because obviously the goal is to win the WS, but you can’t trade away your best prospects unless it’s absolutely worth it. I don;t see many A+ arms out there this year. Brad Hand is a possibility, but he is going to cost them a lot, and I would hate to see them give up the future for Hand. I’m not convinced he will be a difference maker in the playoffs. Time will tell…
Boy talk about needing something to talk about…Ok, so supposed we had kept him…you want him over any of the 4 outfielders we now Have…No…and looking into my Magic 8 ball I borrowed from Bubba…we have 4 top tier catching prospects….One or two will get traded , if they have a good career was it a bad trade….???….
“. . . it marks a rare mistake in the Friedman Era.” Are you serious? Freidman has failed more often than succeeded and his recent comments about HIS bullpen, especially Joe Kelly, are idiotic.
People are fired for mistakes like this. Unbelievably bad trade.
I’ve been a Dodger fan from their days in Brooklyn as a kid. I’m not always happy with how fast Roberts pulls pitchers once they get to the 5th or 6th inning, but this year he seems to leave the starters out a bit longer especially if they have the game under control. The Dodgers under Freidman has gotten to the World Series the last two years. They had a shot against the Astros but pulling the starters early especially when at home cost them the series. On the other hand I don’t believe Freidman and his group have been the worst. When Murdoch and the owner that came from Boston, ( I forget his name ) totally destroyed the Dodgers as an organization. They were the worst. Freidman does need to fix the bullpen. That has continued to be a problem.
The Dodgers have been to the last two World Series. I don’t
know how you can blame Robert’s for their inability to
perform well in clutch situations. He needs some
reliable arms in the bullpen
to complete this season