Dodgers have secret weapon to outbid rival Padres for trade deadline's top prize

With the Cleveland Guardians leaning into being sellers at the MLB trade deadline, especially after the Emmanuel Clase news, the belief is that All-Star outfielder Steven Kwan could be moved. The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the teams expected to make an effort to land Kwan from the Guardians; however, the San Diego Padres are also rumored to have interest.

The Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies are also expected to be interested in Kwan, but this feels like a sweepstakes that will come down to the two National League West contenders.

The Padres are an interesting team to follow ahead of the deadline, considering they are also trying to move Dylan Cease. The belief is that the Padres want to move Cease as a way to address another area of need on their roster. While the Guardians likely wouldn't have an interest in Cease, who is a free agent this offseason, the Padres could acquire pieces in a trade of their former ace, who could then be flipped to Cleveland.

On Wednesday morning, the Kwan rumors hit overdrive, as he moved from a potential target to someone the Guardians are actively "trying to move".

Dodgers quietly positioned to land top prize Padres were chasing in Steven Kwan

There are far fewer gymnastics involved to draw the connection between the Dodgers and Guardians regarding a potential trade of Kwan. The Dodgers have six prospects in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list after their top prospect entering the season, Dalton Rushing, graduated to the Major League level.

While recent reports have suggested that the Dodgers would prefer to hold onto Rushing, it feels like that would be a repeat of the Diego Cartaya disaster. Once the Dodgers' top prospect, but blocked by Will Smith, the Dodgers refused to trade Cartaya until they essentially gave him away to the Minnesota Twins last offseason.

With Smith still performing at an All-Star level, the case can be made that the Dodgers should move Rushing at the deadline. That was the belief of Jon Heyman of the New York Post, who suggested Rushing could be the centerpiece of the Dodgers' package for Kwan.

The Dodgers' front office doesn't often make mistakes, so the Cartaya experience should have taught them a lesson. A lesson that should lead to Rushing being moved as the Dodgers look to address a need in their outfield ahead of the trade deadline on Thursday.

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