3 Dodgers who could be on chopping block after recent signings

This past weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers signed outfielder David Peralta and reliever Alex Reyes to MLB contracts. That means once the deals become official, room will have to be made on the 40-man roster.

Somebody's gotta go! In fact, two players have to go. With spring training already here (players reported on Monday due to participation in the World Baseball Classic), these moves could come relatively soon.

Peralta figures to slot in as the starting left fielder (or at least a left-field option that will play in 120+ games) while Reyes could become a reliable back-end bullpen arm (his deal is loaded with incentives as the Dodgers seemingly hope to unlock his 2021 All-Star campaign).

There are some obvious candidates to get the boot, but then it seems there will be a particularly difficult decision to make. Can we expect a trade on the way, too?

OK, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Whether it's a DFA or a trade, these Dodgers are in danger of losing their 40-man roster spot.

3 Dodgers who could be on chopping block after recent signings

3. Andre Jackson

Jackson is heading into his age-27 season and has just 21.1 innings of major league action under his belt. With a dilapidated bullpen that's still full of question marks, the Dodgers can't possibly make 2023 the year in which Jackson is more heavily utilized. There's probably a reason he's yet to be elevated in the fashion many expected when he was a top prospect.

He's gotten rocked in each of the last two seasons at Triple-A Oklahoma City (4-10, 5.03 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 27 games) and walked 10 batters in his brief MLB cameos. He has one minor-league option remaining, but is that even of any value at this point for the Dodgers?

Jackson is one of two relievers that seem like the logical choices to be replaced by Reyes, but he feels like the most likely because of his underwhelming body of work.

1. Michael Busch

Do the Dodgers value Michael Busch? Because they seem to keep blocking him over and over again with their relatively underwhelming offseason moves.

First, Miguel Rojas crowded the infield picture when he was acquired via trade. Then he was signed to a one-year extension. Miguel Vargas being moved to second base clearly showed the Dodgers are more confident in him than Busch, despite the fact Vargas was less than impressive after making his MLB debut. Throw in the addition of Peralta, which further clouds the outfield picture, and Busch is buried at Triple-A.

A single injury can obviously change everything here, but the Dodgers have expressed confidence in so many other prospects/young players this offseason (Vargas, James Outman, Ryan Pepiot, Gavin Stone, Bobby Miller and others) while Busch has been seemingly pushed aside.

Here's where the trade speculation comes in. Busch occupies a 40-man roster spot and hit .274 with an .881 OPS, 87 runs scored, 21 home runs and 79 RBI across 111 Triple-A games last year. He's played first base, second base and left field in the minors. The versatility is promising, but he still needs some work on that side of the ball.

Might he become another team's developmental project now, though? The organization feels like it's higher on Andy Pages, Jorbit Vivas, Eddys Leonard and Jonny DeLuca -- with both Pages and DeLuca being protected from this year's Rule 5 Draft when they were added to the 40-man. Busch was protected too, but that was much more of a no-brainer give his success at Triple-A.

We've heard the least about him, though, and multiple insiders have suspected he could be part of a trade package before Opening Day. The addition of Peralta, which could also push Chris Taylor into more infield reps, might solidify that.

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