Dodgers’ trade with Rangers hopefully shows they’re going to upgrade depth

The Los Angeles Dodgers had a major depth issue in 2021. There’s not much to debate, either. When Steven Souza Jr. is getting meaningful reps in the NLCS, the problem speaks for itself.

On Friday, the Dodgers took the necessary steps by clearing space off their 40-man roster, and two of the casualties were outfielders Billy McKinney and Zach Reks, both of whom were designated for assignment.

A few days later, they were traded to the Texas Rangers for cash considerations. It’s an incredibly minor move, but it hopefully speaks to the team’s plan this offseason: get serious about upgrading depth, because whatever happened in 2021, despite the 106-win campaign, wasn’t acceptable for a World Series contender.

You just can’t head into the playoffs without a viable fourth outfielder, especially when you have the opportunity to address that void at the trade deadline. Trying to transition Gavin Lux to such a role in the middle of the season and/or thinking Chris Taylor would suffice were clearly the wrong approaches.

The Dodgers need better depth and hopefully this trade signals their willingness to improve.

This is just about the only move we want the Rangers involved in. Please stay away from Clayton Kershaw, thanks.

We can talk at length about how the Dodgers had bad injury luck among their outfielders in 2021. Mookie Betts was frequently banged up. AJ Pollock played in only 117 games. Lux ended up missing time right after the All-Star break. Zach McKinstry wasn’t the same after suffering an oblique injury. Cody Bellinger was on the shelf for a while and then endured an historically bad campaign.

But looking at this group, there were hardly any guarantees outside of Betts and Bellinger. Pollock is always injured. Lux isn’t an outfielder. McKinstry is still an unproven commodity. So when you’re dealing with persistent shortcomings with Betts and Bellinger, it’s even more unacceptable that the potential solutions to eat reps are Reks, McKinney, Souza Jr. and Matt Beaty. This is the Los Angeles Dodgers. That’s not good enough.

Oh, that’s right. They let Joc Pederson and Kiké Herandez go and then used Taylor for 80 games in the infield.

Reks didn’t get much time (10 at-bats), but why, for a second, did the organization think a 27-year-old minor leaguer would be a viable solution? McKinney appeared in 37 games and batted .146. Lux’s defensive issues came to a head in the postseason when he made a number of poor plays/bad reads. Beaty, who was good and misused, played more than half of his games in the infield and for some reason wasn’t considered over Souza Jr. in the postseason.

We don’t need to go on. The focus here is as clear as day. The Dodgers cleared these roster spots to make room for prospects who needed to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft. They need to clear more and address the outfield because their approach to supplementing All-Star-caliber at-bats was a disaster.

The Dodgers just made an absurd addition to the 40-man roster

The Los Angeles Dodgers had to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft and made an absurd addition to the 40-man roster as a result.