Dodgers: Three Reasons They Should Not Trade for Ryan Braun

Trust the Youth

The first reason why LA should not trade for Braun has been made clear in the last week. The Dodgers’ youth is strong. Julio Urias proved to be a future ace late last season and has only confirmed that status so far this year. He’s struggled with command, surrendering eight walks, but in 10.2 innings he holds a 0.84 ERA.

Cody Bellinger is the main reason why the Dodgers don’t need Braun. It’s only been 11 games, but the Dodgers’ number one prospect has exploded onto the scene. He’s hitting a scalding .357 with an outrageous OPS of 1.199. He’s quickly surged to tie for the lead in home runs on the team with five and is fourth in RBI with 14.

Despite doubts about his contact rate due to his long swing, he’s only struck out eight times in 42 at-bats. These days, that’s relatively low. Another bonus is that he seems to do equally well against left-handed pitching. In a small sample size of 12 at-bats, he’s collected four hits. If Bellinger continues to rake, the Dodgers would have an extremely crowded outfield, assuming Adrian Gonzalez returns to first.

Chris Taylor earned a spot on the team in Spring Training but was left off because he couldn’t play center. Well, since his call up he’s proved to everyone why they were wrong to send him down in the first place. He’s hitting in the .350s while collecting a couple of homers and posting a 1.077 OPS. Again, it’s a small sample, but he’s shown improvement in hitting since March. He’s also 6-12 against lefties. Now, Taylor won’t be a starter, but he could be a good counter move to a left-handed reliever.

A Braun for Puig swap doesn’t seem likely either. The Brewers will want more to build upon. The Dodgers have one of the best farm systems in the MLB, but that was with Bellinger and Urias in the minors. Now that they’ve made their debuts the Dodgers will need to continue to build their system and not deplete it.