Dodgers Reportedly Acquire Scott Alexander In Three-Team Trade
The Dodgers have reportedly acquired left-handed pitcher Scott Alexander from the Royals as part of a three-team deal. In the deal, the Dodgers will send pitching prospect Trevor Oaks to Kansas City, and Luis Avilan to Chicago. The trade was first reported by Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times.
Sources: The Dodgers are close to finalizing a three-team trade that would bring LHP Scott Alexander to LA, send RHP Trevor Oaks to KC and send LHP Luis Avilan to White Sox.
— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) January 4, 2018
Ken Rosenthal noted that the Dodgers will also include a minor league infielder in the trade.
Alexander, a left-hander will replace free agent Tony Watson in #Dodgers’ bullpen. Comes with five years of control. LAD also parting with minor-league IFer in addition to Avilan and Oaks.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 5, 2018
Scott Alexander is coming off a great season in Kansas City. He pitched to a 2.48 ERA with 59 strikeouts over 69 innings. He also registered four saves for the season. Alexander is a ground ball pitcher, having recorded a 73.8 ground ball percentage in 2017 per Fangraphs. He also managed to strand 78.1 percent of inherited runners. Alexander should fit nicely in the Dodgers bullpen and along with Tony Cingrani create a great stable of left-handed relievers.
Trevor Oaks was listed as the Dodgers 13th best prospect for 2018 by minorleagueball.com. Oaks is coming off a good season in Triple-A, pitching to a 3.75 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched. Oaks will turn 25 in March and was regarded as a pitcher who was close to big-league ready. He will likely get a chance to compete for a spot in the Royals Major League rotation.
Luis Avilan was originally acquired from the Braves in the same deal that brought in Alex Wood. The 28-year old lefty had a decent year in 2017, but ultimately fell out of favor and was left off the postseason roster. With the emergence of Cingrani and now Alexander, Avilan wouldn’t have had a spot in the Dodgers ‘pen, so including him makes sense for LA.
The Dodgers also acquired minor league infielder Jake Peter in the deal, per Ken Rosenthal.
Triple A infielder Jake Peter goes from #WhiteSox to #Dodgers, as @jcrasnick reported.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 5, 2018
Jake Peter is 24 years-old and coming off a season which saw him slash .279/.344/.417 with 13 home runs over 516 plate appearances. Peter provides the Dodgers with more depth and can play in the infield and outfield. More than likely he will fill the role that was previously held by Charlie Culberson.
The Dodgers are getting serious about securing their bridge to Kenley Jansen, and getting Alexander is a great start. What do you think of the trade? Let us know in the comments!
Dodgers Announce Full Coaching Staff
This is a great trade for a couple reasons: they acquire a younger lefty, who will be under team control for the next 5 years, and he will cost less than Avilan. As a fan, I never had confidence when seeing Avilan come out of the bullpen. The team obviously felt the same way, since he was left off of the playoff rosters for all series. Oaks was just below the top-10 of team prospects, but prospects are not always best served by another season in the minors. Oaks will get to show the Royals what he has, and hopefully he’ll have a spot in their rotation.
Excellent comments, I totally agree.
I too agree.. This is step 1. Now.. for step 2.. A decent ‘Bat’ .. preferably an outfielder.. to generate some more runs for our starters..
Losing Trevor Oaks was a big loss and a huge mistake. Especially for a so-so reliever. Oaks would have been the 3rd starter. Sad.