Dodgers reportedly promote top prospect (and untouchable) ahead of trade deadline

UPDATE: According to Dave Roberts, Freeland will be headed to Cincinnati as the Dodgers weigh the status of Tommy Edman and Hyeseong Kim. If one of the two is unable to perform, Freeland will be the corresponding move.

Despite reports of teams actively scouting former No. 1 Dodgers prospect Dalton Rushing ahead of the trade deadline, and speculation that he might be required for the Dodgers to actually pull off one of the blockbuster trades they've been said to show interest in, the front office is reportedly "reluctant" to move him. Dave Roberts confirmed that he didn't "see a world in which [Rushing is] moved."

Rushing isn't the only one, though. LA's No. 3 prospect, shortstop Alex Freeland, is also basically untouchable.

Freeland, like Rushing, is blocked at his primary position by one of many massive Dodger contracts (in this case, Mookie Betts'). However, they managed to find a way for Rushing to come up in mid-May, and per Fabian Ardaya of the Athletic, they've now found one for Freeland.

Ardaya reported on Monday that the Dodgers would be calling up Freeland for his MLB debut. The corresponding roster move has yet to be confirmed.

Dodgers to promote No. 3 prospect, trade deadline untouchable Alex Freeland for MLB debut

Freeland, a third-round pick in 2022, has rocketed to No. 3 in the Dodgers' pipeline after a brief stay at No. 28 in 2023 and falling off of the list in 2024, after a disappointing performance in High-A Great Lakes (he batted .240 with a .707 OPS in 106 games). He seemed to make some adjustments going into last season, and was promoted to Double-A Tulsa after 23 games with a 1.111 OPS. He spent 59 games in Double-A before the Dodgers promoted him again to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

This year, he's batting .253 with a .798 OPS in 94 games in Oklahoma City. On July 24, he went 3-5 at the plate with seven total bases (including a homer) and a staggering six RBI. It wasn't even the first six RBI performance of his season, as he had almost the exact same performance on April 8.

Freeland has spent the vast majority of his minor league innings at shortstop, but does have some experience at second and third. He could take over at third full-time until Max Muncy returns and occasionally play shortstop behind Mookie Betts, but maybe he's solving a different problem for the Dodgers.

Betts is in the middle of a season-long slump, and for the first time since moving to shortstop, hesitated when recently asked if the position switch had affected his offensive performance. The Dodgers could have an internal solution for both that and the Michael Conforto problem right in front of them. Dump Conforto, move Betts back to the outfield, give Freeland a shot as LA's full-time shortstop? That doesn't sound terrible.