What 5 Dodgers could be traded during the 2020 season?

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Dave Roberts – Andrew Friedman – Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

With the Los Angeles Dodgers going all-in on the 2020 season, the team could make some surprising trades to shore up the club down the stretch.

When the Los Angeles Dodgers swung a trade to acquire outfielder Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox this winter, they declared to the baseball world that they were gunning for just one result at the end of the 2020 season; a World Series title. With only two more seasons of control over Clayton Kershaw guaranteed, potential free agent departures and rising arbitration numbers for some of the team’s young stars, the championship window may be open for just a few more seasons with the current core of players.

Of course, that declaration came before the world fell victim to Coronavirus and everything, including the 2020 Major League Baseball season, was put on hold. Still, the league hopes to get the 2020 season underway, even in a truncated manner, and the Dodgers will still pursue the same goals regardless of the number of games they have to do so.

The Betts trade may have been the first call to arms for the Dodgers, but it will be far from the last salvo the team will fire this season. As the year gets underway, needs will present themselves. Whether it be due to injury or performance, the Dodgers will inevitably need to make a mid-season acquisition to put the club over the top.

Of course, the Dodgers can’t make any additions to the team without making subtractions, as there is always a cost of doing business on the trade market. The trick is finding the right balance between moving pieces that are worthwhile to potential trade partners and not handicapping the team in the future.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few players that the Dodgers could make available in potential trade talks this winter.

Joc Pederson – Los Angeles Dodgers(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

Trade Candidate: Joc Pederson

Joc Pederson nearly found himself on his way out of Chavez Ravine earlier this winter, when the Dodgers and Angels came to an agreement to trade Pederson to the Angels along with Ross Stripling in exchange for infielder Luis Rengifo. However, that deal fell apart when the aforementioned Mookie Betts deal hit a snag after the Red Sox decided they weren’t happy with the return of Brusdar Graterol. While the Betts trade eventually went through, Arte Moreno decided he wasn’t having any of the shenanigans and killed the move to acquire Pederson from the Dodgers.

So is it out of the question that the Dodgers decide to float Pederson again in trade rumors throughout the season? No, it really isn’t.

For all Pederson can do with the bat, (120 career wRC+, .242 ISO, 123 career home runs), most of that damage is done versus right-handed pitching, and his splits against left-handers (.188/.263/.310 against lefties) make him more of a platoon player in a crowded Dodgers outfield.

A pending free agent at the end of the season, and the lack of an everyday role, Pederson is likely looking to leave the Dodgers at season’s end anyway. The trade this winter showed the Dodgers’ desire to get something in exchange for their former top prospect rather than a willingness to saddle Pederson with a qualifying offer and settle for draft pick compensation. As such, he becomes the Dodgers’ most likely trade chip.

His relative youth (28-years-old before the season begins) and power potential will make him enticing to teams looking for outfield help, and there is always the possibility that another team can solve the platoon issues in his swing. The trick will be lining up with a potential seller that either sees Pederson as a future, extendable piece, or as a stop-gap to finish out the season.

Mitchell White #66 – Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Trade Candidate: Mitchell White

The Dodgers are known to have one of the deepest farm systems in all of baseball. They are also known to be one of the stingiest when it comes to trading top talent from their system. That philosophy has proven to pay dividends, as the team has been built by graduating players and plugging them into everyday roles on the team, on a nearly yearly basis.

But to make an omelet, sometimes you have to break a few eggs.

Going back to the Betts trade, the Dodgers showed some recent willingness to send a top prospect (Jeter Downs) to acquire a star player. But even in that case, they still steered away from including any of their top three youngsters. That would likely be the case again during the season as well, as they won’t want to give up team control for a short-term addition. That eliminates the use of Gavin Lux, Dustin May, or Josiah Gray in any trade talks.

However, one of the best things about having a deep system is even going down into your prospect pool may still be enticing to teams that have weaker farms.

Mitchell White may be such an arm that becomes a bit expendable under this scenario.

While the likes of May, Gray, and even Tony Gosselin may be protected, White should have appeal to teams looking for a solid young arm. Now the 11th ranked prospect in the Dodgers system, White can run his fastball up to the mid-’90s, and complements that with two plus breaking pitches in his slider and curve. He started the season strong, throwing 30 innings at Double-A to the tune of a 2.10 ERA, a 3.08 FIP, and an 11.10 K/9 ratio. However, things came crashing back to Earth a bit during his first stint at Triple-A, when PCL hitters ate him up (along with nearly every other pitcher), resulting in a 6.50 ERA, a 5.46 FIP, a 9.60 K/9, and a bloated 1.84 HR/9 over 63.2 innings in Oklahoma City.

White still possesses the ability to miss bats and has the pitch mix to be a starter at the game’s highest level, but he may not get that opportunity in Los Angeles with so many higher ceiling arms ahead of him on the depth chart. That presents an ample opportunity for another club to build a mid-season trade package around him and hope his ceiling is still attainable.

DJ Peters – Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Trade Candidate: DJ Peters

There are few players in the Dodgers organization, both Majors and Minors, that possess the power potential of DJ Peters. Standing 6’6″ and weighing 225 pounds, Peters possesses the raw physique that scouts salivate over, and it translates at the plate with ample home run totals during his four-year journey through the Dodgers system. That culminated with 23 home runs last season, split between Tulsa and Oklahoma City.

There are inherently two roadblocks to Peters figuring into the long-term plans of the Dodgers.

Firstly, while home runs are aplomb for Peters, so too are strike-outs. The outfielder has struck out over 168 times in each of his three full seasons in the minors, including 192 times over 491 at-bats (34.3%) in 2018. He makes up for that with a solid walk-rate which results in an OBP of .363 over his career and makes Peters a perfect example of the “three true outcomes” philosophy.

Secondly, as mentioned above when discussing Pederson, the Dodgers outfield is not exactly flush with opportunities. with both A.J. Pollock and Cody Bellinger locked in long-term, and others ahead of Peters on the depth chart.

Still, power is one thing that every team is looking to add to their system, and Peters represents some of the best raw power potential in the minor leagues. If he can curb his strike-outs and continue to barrel the ball, he represents a potential piece that the Dodgers can use at the trade deadline to entice would-be sellers.

Matt Beaty #45 – Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) /

Trade Candidate: Matt Beaty

If there was one thing that Matt Beaty showed during the 2019 season, it was that he can handle the bat. A former hidden gem in the Dodgers system, Beaty made short work of Triple-A pitching to the tune of .306/.378/.455 at Oklahoma City, resulting in a mid-season call-up to the big club.

Upon joining the Dodgers on April 30th, Beaty would appear in 99 games for Los Angeles. He would hit a comfortable .265/.317/.458 with nine home runs and 46 RBI. More impressively, he didn’t seem to get outmatched as many young hitters do, sporting a solid 12.3% strike-out ratio.

If there is one question mark as to Beaty’s place with the Dodgers in 2020, it is his lack of a true position on the field.

Drafted as a corner infielder and seeing some time at first base and a few games at third, Beaty spent more time on the outfield grass upon his call-up to Los Angeles. He could still be called upon to spell some relief for Justin Turner or Max Muncy at the corners, but his outfield opportunities could be limited with Bellinger and Betts likely to play every day and a platoon of Pollock and Pederson in left. There is also the need to fit in at-bats for Enrique Hernandez and Chris Taylor, further limiting opportunities.

While Beaty may not be the headline prospect that some other players are in the Dodgers system, he could represent a nice complement to either White or Peters, and may even provide more value due to his versatility. Of course, the Dodgers may also choose to keep him if a deal is built around Joc Pederson instead.

David Price – Mookie Betts – Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Trade Candidate: David Price

Acquired as part of the deal that brought Mookie Betts to Los Angeles, David Price is by far a known quantity in the game of baseball. A Cy Young winner and a multiple-time All-Star, Price will immediately be plugged into the Dodgers rotation in 2020 and help fill the shoes left vacant by Hyun-Jin Ryu, Kenta Maeda, and Rich Hill.

So why are we mentioning trading Price, especially in a season where the Dodgers are pushing for a World Series?

As much as we’re talking about trades that can improve the club in 2020, we’re also looking at not hampering the club in the future. Unlike Betts, Price is not a pending free agent after the 2020 season is done. In fact, he’ll still have two more seasons on his current contract.

That represents a potential problem for the Dodgers, have they have one stud prospect, in Dustin May, that is ready to contribute in the rotation immediately, and another, in Josiah Gray, that is likely a year away from joining the starting staff as well. May is currently slated to begin the season at Triple-A, but that is more to ensure he continues to work as a starter and builds his innings for the year. Meanwhile, Gray will likely repeat at Double-A to start before transitioning to Oklahoma City later this summer.

The question then becomes whether the Dodgers can move a 35-year-old pitcher with 2000+ innings on his left arm via trade.

Pitching is always a need in baseball, and teams at both ends of the spectrum are always buying from that market. Price may not be the ace he once was, but he’s still been a serviceable arm when he’s taken the mound over the last two season, going 23-12 with a 3.84 ERA, a 3.87 FIP, and a 9.7 K/9 over his last 52 starts.

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The Red Sox took care of half of the issue for Price when they agreed to send the Dodgers $16 million annually, paying off half of Price’s remaining contract over the next three years. It is much easier to move a $16 million per year, middle of the rotation arm, than a $32 million albatross. If the Dodgers are willing to add a few million to pare that down further, there will likely be multiple teams lining up, contenders and rebuilding franchises alike.

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