Dodgers Trade Rumors: Team Talking Trades With Reds

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Dodgers are discussing multiple deals with the Cincinnati Reds. The goal is to clear up money to pursue other players.

#Dodgers, #Reds have talked multiple times, sources tell The Athletic. Different packages being discussed; Puig in play as well as other LAD outfielders, pitchers. Dodgers want to clear money for other pursuits. Puig projected $11.3M in arb, per @mlbtraderumors, Alex Wood $9M.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2018

Rosenthal mentions Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood as players who could be in the deal, among with the Dodgers’ other outfielders. No names have been mentioned as who the Dodgers would be receiving but the Reds have a few players who could interest the team.

• 2B Scooter Gennett, 28, 1 year, projected $10.7m in arbitration
• RP Raisel Iglesias, 28, 3 years, $8m per year
• C Tucker Barnhart, 27, 3 years, $4m per year

The Dodgers appear set on moving on from Puig and Wood this off-season so it’s no surprise to see them mentioned in more trade rumors. Expect to keep hearing their names until a trade happens.

The part about clearing money for other pursuits is really interesting. There have been a lot of rumors about Bryce Harper and Corey Kluber.

Trading Puig and Wood would open up $20.3 million for the team to spend this season. It has also been reported they would like to move Matt Kemp and possibly Rich Hill. If the team is able to move all of them, they would have more than enough money for Harper, Kluber, a catcher, and a reliever.

The Dodgers payroll currently stands at $198,836,666 with a luxury tax threshold of $206 million.

Update:

In one variation of this deal, #Dodgers would take back Homer Bailey from #Reds and his remaining $28M commitment as a way of buying prospects. Bailey’s CBT number (average annual salary in multi-year deal) is $17.5M. Deal complex, still in discussion, not close. https://t.co/y3yVs5Rpsf

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 12, 2018

Sources indicate one of the players the #Dodgers are considering in the Puig deal from the #Reds is AA RHP Vladimir Gutierrez who went 9-10 with a 4.35 ERA with 145 Ks and 38 BB in 147IP. https://t.co/hkVQoHNqI6

— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) December 12, 2018

With more names appearing in rumors, the discussions are likely progressing to the point where a deal could get done.

Taking on Homer Bailey’s contract would purely be to make salaries work for both teams. If he pitches for the Dodgers in 2019, something has gone terribly wrong. Including Kemp in a deal for Bailey could make some sense for both teams. The Dodgers would get rid of a player they don’t want to save about $3m on their payroll. The Reds would get a player that they could use while paying slightly less in total cash.

Vladimir Gutierrez, the Reds 9th ranked prospect, is a 23 year old right handed pitcher who was signed out of Cuba in 2016 for $4.75 million. MLB Pipeline had this to say on him:

Considering that Gutierrez hadn’t pitched competitively in about two years and that he was shut down in August because of fatigue, his peripherals were pretty solid. He showed he can fill up the strike zone (1.7 BB/9) and miss a fair amount of bats (8.2 K/9) at the same time. He does it with a three-pitch mix that gives him a good chance to start. His fastball touches as high as 97-98 mph, but wasn’t consistent, more frequently sitting in the low 90s in 2017. He adds and subtracts from his plus curveball without losing bite to it, throwing it for strikes at times and bouncing it as a chase pitch at others. He has feel for a changeup that should be average in time.

It appears the Dodgers are looking to move salary or add prospects instead of acquiring an impact player in this deal. It’s hard to speculate who else could be involved but a 3 team deal makes sense with what is being reported. The Dodgers appear to be aggressive in trying to move salary and outfielders.