Dodgers: Possible Southpaw Reliever Trade Candidates

During Saturday’s win over the Chicago Cubs, Ken Rosenthal appeared on his weekly full count video and said that members of the Dodger organization believe they need another left-handed reliever rather than another starting pitcher.  This came after he suggested Sonny Gray as a perfect fit for the Dodgers.

The video can be seen here, got me thinking of possible left-handed relievers that could be on the market in July, if not sooner.  It’s safe to say that the Dodgers should not acquire another starting pitcher because they can barely find room for the ones they currently have.  Unless a bonafide ace is acquired, it doesn’t make sense to buy another middle tier starting pitcher.

The Dodgers currently have Luis Avilan and Adam Liberatore, but there is not much depth behind them. Grant Dayton is the only lefty reliever at Triple-A that has big league experience with the Dodgers. Avilan, Liberatore, and Dayton have all had injuries in the past year, so each of them has question marks regarding their health.  Avilan is currently on the DL, and Grant Dayton just came off the DL and is working on finding his 2016 form in Oklahoma City.  Liberatore had surgery last season but when healthy was a great asset in the bullpen.  This accumulation of injuries and mixed results could lead to the acquisition of proven lefty neutralizer.

Brad Hand – San Diego Padres

With a large amount of parity around the league, there are not many teams that are sure sellers.  One of the teams we can bank on being a seller is the San Diego Padres. Their best trade candidate fits the Dodgers needs, and that is Brad Hand. Hand is having a solid season despite a 0-3 record as he has a stellar 1.93 ERA and 1.00 WHIP to go along with two saves. This is after he had a great year in 2016 where he posted a 2.92 ERA and held opponents to a .195 batting average.

This season Hand is holding batters to a meager .170 batting average.  Lefties are only hitting .143 off him after hitting .125 off him last season, so it’s clear that Brad Hand is building the reputation of being a shutdown left-handed reliever. Most left-handed relievers tend to get beat up against right-handed hitters, but Hand is only allowing a .181 average to right-handed batters. Also working in Brad Hand and the Padre’s favor is that among prospective lefties on the market Hand is the youngest as he turned just 27 in March.  While it most likely would cost a few solid prospects to acquire Hand, the Dodgers would get to control him for two more seasons through arbitration, and he can be a key component to the Dodgers bullpen.

Justin Wilson – Detroit Tigers

The Tigers are currently the middle of the pack but have stated they will sell if they are not better than .500 around the trade deadline.  Their best pitching piece to sell off would be the left-handed reliever, Justin Wilson. Like Tony Watson, Wilson is currently the Tiger’s closer after Francisco Rodriguez failed to be the prolific closer he once was.  Wilson could give the Dodgers a backup option to close and a left-hander who could be much more than a situational lefty reliever.

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Justin Wilson is a local product since he is from Anaheim and is the hardest throwing lefty reliever that figures to be on the market.  According to mlb.com, Wilson averages 96 miles per hour on his fastball so he would be the hardest throwing left-hander on the Dodgers.  While most situational lefties rely on off-speed pitches, Wilson goes right at them and blows his high heat fastball by them. This arsenal gives him a better chance to get right-handed hitters out so he could become the eighth inning man in addition to getting the opponent’s best left-handed hitter out.

Wilson turns 30 in August and has one more season of control through arbitration.  While all hitters are batting under .200 against him, left-handers have done far worse against him as they are hitting .118 against him.  After Tony Watson, I think Justin Wilson has the second-highest chance of becoming a Dodger.  He is my favorite option due to his heavy fastball.  I think he would provide something the Dodger bullpen doesn’t have which is a flame-throwing lefty and provide another weapon to a Dodger bullpen that currently ranks first in the National League.

Jerry Blevins – New York Mets

The Dodgers reportedly had an interest in Jerry Blevins this offseason.  With the New York Mets being the mess that they are, there is a good chance they decide to sell off some of their assets.  Blevins is signed at five million this season and has a team option for seven million in 2018 so depending how he does he could be a rental for the Dodgers or a piece they could use in 2018.

This season Blevins has been one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball as evidenced by his 1.62 ERA and .088 average allowed to lefties.  Blevins is the prototypical situational reliever since right-handed batters are hitting over .300 against him.  Due to his high price, the Dodgers would probably buy him out of his 2018 season if they were to acquire him.

Blevins relies on a sinker and off-speed pitches and would be the softest-tossing pitcher among the projected trade targets.  Blevins has bounced around the league throughout his career but has always seemed to get lefties out at a better-than-average rate.

Next: Bullpen Grades for May

Out of all the trade targets, Blevins would cost the least amount of prospects to get since he is 34 later this year and doesn’t have a cheap contract.