Dodgers finally get the right Fitzgerald in trade with Blue Jays after offseason mishap

Although the Dodgers' offseason was relatively uneventful between signing Edwin Díaz in mid-December and signing Kyle Tucker in late January, they made a couple of small moves that turned out to be totally inconsequential.

In early January, they signed former Tigers infielder Andy Ibáñez to a one-year, $1 million deal and claimed utility man Ryan Fitzgerald off of waivers from the Twins. These were harmless moves and clearly insurance for Kiké Hernández and Tommy Edman's absences with injury, but neither ended up lasting very long.

Fitzgerald spent four days on the roster but was bumped when Ibáñez's signing became official. The Dodgers announced the move on Twitter and made a pretty significant gaffe: mistaking Ryan Fitzgerald for division rival Tyler Fitzgerald. The tweet was up for less than 10 minutes before the admin corrected, but it made LA's latest move that much funnier.

On Tuesday night, they announced that they had acquired Tyler Fitzgerald in a cash trade with the Blue Jays and added him to the 40-man roster while Landon Knack moved to the 60-day IL.

Maybe this was the Dodgers' plan all along.

Dodgers trade for former division rival Tyler Fitzgerald, send cash considerations to Blue Jays

Fitzgerald spent his entire professional career with the Giants up until March 30, when he was DFA'ed to make room on their roster for reliever Dylan Smith. The Blue Jays picked him up in a cash trade on April 4, but he was DFA'ed again on April 24 without making an appearance in the major leagues.

This is a simple depth move for LA, but there may be a world in which he could take Santiago Espinal's spot on the active roster, as Espinal hasn't lived up to expectations after an impressive spring training.

Fitzgerald had a nice rookie season with the Giants in 2024, hitting .280 with a .831 OPS in 96 games, and he still managed to turn in an above-replacement 2025 season (though his offensive numbers don't look pretty).

There have been little-to-no updates on Edman's status, but when Hernández and Mookie Betts come off the IL, Espinal and one of either Alex Freeland or Hyeseong Kim will have to come off the roster, but if patience with Espinal is already running thin, Fitzgerald could get a very small window to get a few at-bats or come in as late-inning defensive insurance in the majors with the Dodgers.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow