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Dodgers: 3 trade deadline chips LAD will regret moving

By Adam Weinrib |
DENVER, CO - JULY 11: Michael Busch #15 of National League Futures Team fields a ground ball against the American League Futures Team at Coors Field on July 11, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - JULY 11: Michael Busch #15 of National League Futures Team fields a ground ball against the American League Futures Team at Coors Field on July 11, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
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Michael Busch #15 of National League Futures Team (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Michael Busch #15 of National League Futures Team (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to be ravenous at the 2021 MLB trade deadline in search of pitching — but if they surrender any of these assets, they’d better be getting something truly monstrous in return.

Otherwise, it’s gonna hurt.

If the Dodgers have a chance to get their hands on Max Scherzer this cycle, that should be a no-holds-barred free for all that includes any number of names and financial figures being exchanged. Mad Max’s availability changes this conversation, and shouldn’t lead to a single “regret” about the names surrendered — even if things ultimately don’t break right.

Without a player of Scherzer’s caliber on the other end of a deadline deal, the Dodgers should balk at including any of these three players, though, whose futures are all better served either in the home whites or as the centerpiece of a larger trade.

We know Andrew Friedman is smart enough to hold onto these chips and assets. We have faith.

But when we start reading repeated articles about just how viciously he’s monitoring the pitching market, we get a bit nervous about a once-in-a-decade overpay as the team looks to justify their standing and win a full 162-game-season World Series. It could happen. Pitching never comes cheap, especially if someone’s leaking to the press that you’re desperate for it.

In our opinion, these three players will all eventually outweigh the benefit of any available pitcher with their MLB production.

The Dodgers will regret trading these 3 players at the 2021 MLB Trade Deadline.

3. Michael Busch

Fresh off the Futures Game, the ultimate showcase for MLB-ready-ish prospect talent, Dodgers infielder Michael Busch acquitted himself quite well, going 1-for-1 and rocketing a single off the glove of Jeter Downs.

If Gavin Lux is going to continue to put up fringe-average numbers as questions remain about Corey Seager’s future, well … the Dodgers might just extend Seags anyway, move Busch to second and deal baseball’s former No. 1 overall prospect instead.

Quite a turn of events for Busch, 2019’s first-round pick out of UNC, who’s already knocking on the door.

His average at Double-A Tulsa in his age-23 season doesn’t tell the full story, but his OBP is hilarious — a .242 average with a .392 on-base is Kevin Youkilis-level stuff.

Before Chavez Ravine gets renamed Busch Stadium, there are plenty of “i”s to dot and “t”s to cross, of course. But with so many infield questions remaining in 2022 and beyond and a power and patience threat developing in the high minors, the Dodgers would be better served keeping Busch on board. If they jettison him as part of a package for, say, relief help in the form of Ian Kennedy or starter depth in the form of … well, Kyle Gibson, also a Ranger, they’re not going to be too pleased when it comes time to answer other 2021 offseason questions.

Diego Cartaya
Diego Cartaya /

We’re proud to include a photo here of Diego Cartaya cooking dinner with an American family mid-pandemic. Don’t often get the chance to include stock photos that are this confusing.

Bizarre, context-less cooking imagery aside, Cartaya is in the midst of the breakout season many saw coming when they began ranking him in the upper echelon of Dodgers prospects. Considering the astounding depth the team has at the position at all levels, the time will come where the organization must either convert him, choose him over several more experienced options, or trade him as part of a massive haul.

This July 30, though, will not be that day of reckoning. It cannot be.

Cartaya’s one of those edge cases where it was very easy to hear rumors of his breakout in 2021, question them (“How could he really be that hot?”), then check the stats and quickly learn that you were, in fact, the fool. At the age of 19 in Rancho Cucamonga, he’s OPSing 1.023 with 10 bombs, 31 RBI and a .409 OBP in just 31 games. This is his first taste of full-season ball of any kind, and 2019 was his only previous year in the professional ranks.

He is19 years old and he’s exactly the kind of player other teams try to kindly take off your hands at the deadline to clear up a logjam. “Oh, you’ve got Will Smith, Keibert Ruiz and Austin Barnes? That’s a shame. Wouldn’t want to add another log to that fire. Better give us Cartaya.”

The Dodgers know what they’re doing, though. They’re not the Pirates. Won’t happen. But speaking of catching depth…

Keibert Ruiz #25 and Blake Treinen #49 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
Keibert Ruiz #25 and Blake Treinen #49 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /

1. Keibert Ruiz

In the past, we’ve advocated for the Dodgers to figure out a plan for Keibert Ruiz, who’s been their top prospect for what feels like an eternity, leading to an unfair level of fatigue. That said, if Will Smith is the catcher of the future, where does Ruiz go? A high-profile trade package might be in the best interest of both sides.

Short of a trade for the likely-unavailable Scherzer, though, there’s no deal on the table on July 30 that makes sense for Ruiz. LA should at the very least hip pocket their biggest asset until the offseason.

We still don’t know where Ruiz goes, especially since cutting bait entirely with a potential multi-time All-Star like Smith seems ill-advised. Much like Chunky in “I Think You Should Leave,” Ruiz had all summer to figure out what he does, and he came back mashing behind the plate, which would be extremely helpful for most teams and is kind of redundant in Hollywood.

Ho-hum. He’s 23. He has a .958 OPS with 13 bombs at Triple-A. Meanwhile, JT Realmuto and Gary Sanchez are the only non-Dodger good catchers in all of Major League Baseball. Surely, Los Angeles would like to eventually share with the rest of the class.

We’re not confident in either Cartaya or Ruiz being part of the Dodgers’ long-term plan, and it’s likely they sell high on their 19-year-old breakout star when the season wraps. Not midsummer, though. Not worth it.

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