Dodgers: 3 MLB trade deadline chips plummeting in value

1. Jacob Amaya

Speaking of top prospects who haven’t managed to live up to the billing, shortstop Jacob Amaya seemed like a perfect secondary piece in any deadline Dodgers deal after sneaking into the team’s top 10 this offseason (No. 10).

After all, the team is stacked in the infield, and will be relying on either Corey Seager or Gavin Lux to hold things down at shortstop for years to come (ideally).

Unfortunately, Amaya doesn’t look like much of a trade chip in practice. The second baseman/shortstop is hitting .196 with a .626 OPS, and hitting more groundouts than fly outs to an alarming degree (1.08 GO/AO ratio). Billed as a grinder with middle infield defensive skills, he hasn’t been able to master Double-A whatsoever after floating between two levels of A-Ball in 2019.

During that season, he triple-slashed .260/.369/.391 and displayed the potential for a scrappy all-around game with a bit of punch at the dish. Unfortunately, he hasn’t built on that line when the Dodgers needed him most.

Amaya isn’t a name you hear often these days, and he was clearly bypassed on the depth chart by several utility options, all of whom received MLB cameos earlier in 2021. He could be a nice throw-in for someone looking for a bounce back, but his backslide won’t garner him much focus at this year’s deadline.

Dodgers: 3 biggest mistakes LAD made this offseason

The Los Angeles Dodgers put together a fairly special team this offseason, but let some old friends go and replaced them in questionable fashion.