Will the Los Angeles Dodgers make an impact move before the trade deadline next week?
There are some of the mindset that the Dodgers may work on the fringes with minor moves rather than making a gigantic splash. The front office has been heavily against parting with highly-touted prospects for deadline rentals where the asking price far surpasses that of the offseason.
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Andrew Friedman won’t hesitate in working to improve the ballclub, though many of the moves made this past offseason were done to prevent the team from being in a position to overpay for a player in late July.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic included this small blurb into a recent article in which he echoes what fellow reporter Fabian Ardaya noted. While Dustin May could be on the move to another ballclub ahead of his free agency year, younger prospects with higher ceilings likely will be sticking around for the foreseeable future.
“The team, as The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reported, is reluctant to move catcher Dalton Rushing and shortstop Alex Freeland,” Rosenthal writes. “Two of the club’s other top prospects, High-A outfielders Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope, also possess considerable upside.”
The team could use bullpen help in the worst way possible. Another outfielder to spell struggling Michael Conforto may also be in the cards. With Tyler Glasnow back healthy, and the expected returns of Roki Sasaki and Blake Snell sooner than later, starting pitching depth suddenly looks excellent again (assuming the aforementioned group can stay healthy).
Rushing is blocked by Will Smith for the time being. Having said that, Rushing can play other positions — as can Smith. There’s a world where Smith could be moved to third base in the future, thus opening up the catching spot for Rushing.
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Hope has developed into an elite prospect since coming over in the Michael Busch trade from the Chicago Cubs last year. He figures to be a guy that could potentially start a year from now. The same can be said for De Paula — the best prospect in LA’s system.
Freeland is a talented infielder with terrific positional versatility. He could get called up for the stretch run this season, and it would be mildly surprising if he didn’t make the ballclub next year given his profile as a run-producer and an above-average fielder.
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Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
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2 Responses
I believe Hope and DePaula would improve the team now. Anyone else including Rushing is expendable. IMHO
Rushing and Frasso are the only ones that are untouchable IMO.