LA Dodgers trade rumors: Reds’ interest in Corey Seager brings intriguing idea

Could the LA Dodgers deliver on a promise to make a big offseason move by trading Corey Seager to the Reds in a three-team deal?

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported (sub req) early Thursday morning that the Cincinnati Reds have demonstrated interest in LA Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager “all offseason.”

The Reds and Dodgers have matched up before in a deal, making an offseason trade last offseason that sent MLB pieces in Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Kyle Farmer, and Matt Kemp to Ohio in return for a pair of prospects (Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray) that are likely to debut with the Dodgers by the 2021 season.

That trade clearly gave the Dodgers the chance to get younger, as it cleared up two outfield slots for Alex Verdugo to potentially fill (with A.J. Pollock regrettably filling the second slot when he wasn’t on the IL).

Could a similar trade happen in the next few weeks leading up to spring training?

These two clubs already match up well, but the Dodgers probably aren’t in a position to add only prospects like in the last deal, especially if the Reds want Seager to end up in Cincinnati.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Instead, I think these two teams could join with a third club to complete a three-team trade that sends Seager to the Reds, a superstar to the Dodgers, and prospects from these two clubs back to that third team that loses a superstar. Immediately, my mind goes to the Red Sox, but the Indians could definitely be in play as well.

The Reds and Dodgers have a trade history; so do the Reds and the Cleveland Indians (the Puig for Trevor Bauer deal that also involved the San Diego Padres); don’t forget that the Dodgers and the Red Sox have some history as well (think back to Adrian Gonzalez and that blockbuster back in 2012). Plus, the Dodgers have engaged in three-team deals under Andrew Friedman over the last few seasons (think the Dee Gordon/Andrew Heaney/Howie Kendrick trade).

Obviously, the most important history is recent history because of front office personnel changes. The Dodgers, Indians, and Reds front offices all have engaged in talks with each other and all have recent histories that involve trading with each other and making three-team deals.

Rosenthal does not directly link these three teams, but he does write that the Dodgers have been surprisingly inactive considering their current position in baseball, so a trade is certainly not out of the question.