1 trade Dodgers can make with each NL West rival

Though the Los Angeles Dodgers haven’t had any recent trade dealings with the NL West rivals, the 2022 season presents a unique situation.

Teams were deprived of an extended free agency period and active trade market to fine-tune their rosters, and it’s not out of the question to wonder if the mad rush after the lockout will encourage others to explore what’s possibly to offer within the division.

Mind you, it’s likely all of the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies do not want to make a deal with the behemoth Dodgers, who have dominated the division and NL for the better part of a decade.

Then again, if those teams can offload undesired salary or players that are no longer a fit, why wouldn’t they consider the Dodgers as a potential trade partner? LA has the financial power to add more money than most and their roster is full of holes that could be filled by almost anyone of relative competence.

President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is one of the most active figures on the trade market, so while these are unlikely, don’t be shocked if he manages to pull off a deal for one of these four guys.

1 trade the Dodgers can make with each NL West rival after the lockout

4. Colorado Rockies: Daniel Bard

Unless the Rockies stun the world with a post-lockout spending spree, they won’t be contending in 2022 … though they do have some intriguing building blocks such as German Marquez, Kyle Freeland and Ryan McMahon.

But do they really want to use nearly $5 million of their payroll on reliever Daniel Bard? Enter the Dodgers, who need bullpen help and likely won’t be bringing back Joe Kelly after rejecting his 2022 team option.

Bard, 37, is due $4.8 million in his final year of arbitration eligibility. After not appearing in an MLB game since 2013, the right-hander burst onto the scene during the shortened 2020 and finished with a 3.65 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 6 saves and 27 strikeouts in 23 games (24.2 innings). However, things didn’t go so well in 2021…

He came crashing back down to earth, somehow compiling a 7-8 record with a 5.21 ERA, 1.60 WHIP, 20 saves and 80 strikeouts in 67 games (65.2 innings). Perhaps paying $4.8 million for a back-end bullpen arm isn’t something the Rockies view as onerous, but if they can get a top-20 prospect in return and shed that money, isn’t that a win? Bullpen arms are among the cheapest assets in the game and will be easy to find in free agency, via trade or in the minors.

What’s in it for the Dodgers? Bard actually sported a 4.28 FIP in 2021, indicating that his 5.21 ERA wasn’t as disastrous as it looked. The right-hander has also averaged over 97 MPH on his fastball the last two seasons and can hit triple digits. In the Dodgers’ role-less bullpen, he’d fit right in, and we’re sure they’ll figure out a way to maximize his effectiveness by emphasizing one of his other pitches.

3. Arizona Diamondbacks: Merrill Kelly

The D-Backs are in the same boat as the Rockies. Bad team. No way of turning it around by the start of 2022. So why not part with some veteran assets that could provide salary relief and net a decent return?

Veteran pitcher Merrill Kelly, who has just three years of MLB experience after spending most of his career overseas, is entering his age-33 season and will earn $5.25 million on the final year of his contract with Arizona.

Eight of the Diamondbacks’ top-17 prospects are pitchers and a number of them are close to MLB or full-time MLB work. On the other hand, the Dodgers need a starter to help lengthen the rotation, and Kelly has proven he can eat a decent amount of innings (183.1 in 2019 and 158 in 2021).

While Arizona has just $82 million committed to next year’s payroll, Kelly is certainly not in their future plans, and they’d stand to get a top-15 prospect in return for what he can offer at a cost-effective salary (he’s making $3 million FEWER than Andrew Heaney!).

This potential acquisition, with or without Kershaw, would help LA. Right now, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías are heading into 2022 after being majorly overworked in 2021. Dustin May is coming off Tommy John surgery and probably won’t pitch until the second half of the year. David Price … what is he even doing? Trevor Bauer is all but officially gone. And then there’s Heaney and Tony Gonsolin. More depth is needed, especially that of experience.

Additionally, Kelly absolutely owns the Giants and Padres (but somehow not the Rockies?). In 10 starts against the Giants, he owns a 3.21 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. In 10 starts against the Pads, he’s 7-2 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. The Dodgers could use that kind of production against those opponents also vying for NL West supremacy.

1. San Francisco Giants: Tyler Beede

Sorry we had to end this with an underwhelming scenario, but the Dodgers and Giants more than likely will not be trading with one another, so we had to make it as realistic and least impactful as possible.

Former first-round pick (back in 2014) Tyler Beede had lofty expectations coming out of Vanderbilt, but he’s now entering his age-29 season and hasn’t come close to meeting any of them. He’s appeared in 27 career MLB games since 2018. He missed all of 2020 and pitched just one game in 2021 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in March of 2020.

Do the Giants still want to keep kicking the can down the road here? Or would they consider moving him and getting something in return as they deepen their pitching staff with a number of other veterans? Truth be told, they might be scared to trade Beede to the Dodgers because Giants’ exec Farhan Zaidi knows how the Dodgers can unlock underperforming or oft-injured pitchers after working alongside Friedman for years.

The Dodgers have taken chance on so many arms, most recently Phil Bickford, who burst onto the scene in 2021 after largely failing in his other stops. Beede, a former top draft prospect with the potential to make an impact, could help the Dodgers deepen their pitching staff if Roberts’ assistants can help him unlock his “stuff” after TJ surgery. It’s unclear if he’s abandoned his slider or just added a fourth pitch, but we’re sure the Dodgers can figure out a way to put him in the best possible position to succeed with his offerings (fastball, curveball, changeup and possibly slider).

Don’t forget, the Giants need to make WAY more upgrades than the Dodgers, and with Beede occupying an active roster spot, it wouldn’t be insane if they cut their losses and looked to improve more drastically after a 107-win season with all the talent that’s departed.

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