3 Dodgers prospects that should be untouchable, 2 that should be traded

The Los Angeles Dodgers have had an up-and-down 2023 season thus far, and no matter how you spin it, it's clear that the team needs help at the deadline. Specifically, the Dodgers need to add pitching help. Andrew Friedman said it himself.

With a rich farm system full of prospects, the Dodgers have the means to make headlines at the deadline. The team often has a great track record of trading prospects as well. Unless it's Yordan Alvarez or Oneil Cruz, if the Dodgers trade a prospect, they probably won't fully pan out.

There are several prospects that fans should circle as potential trade bait during the deadline. However, there are also some that may seem like trade bait that the Dodgers should avoid moving at all costs.

And, of course, we're only talking about relevant prospects, not borderline top-30 guys. Bobby Miller is also no longer in consideration as he's firmly part of the big-league club.

Untouchable Dodgers prospect: Diego Cartaya

This one almost goes without saying. Diego Cartaya is the future of the catcher position for the Dodgers and there's not a return that would make it worth trading him during the season.

It would take a true superstar trade package to convince the Dodgers to move Cartaya, and that simply doesn't seem to be in the cards for any team this year. With the looming free agency of Shohei Ohtani (and Juan Soto the year after that), the Dodgers should remain patient, hold onto Cartaya, and make their big splash during the winter.

Cartaya legitimately has the potential to be the next great Dodgers prospect that turns into a household name at Chavez Ravine. It's going to take some time, but fans must be patient.

Untouchable Dodgers prospect: Andy Pages

Andy Pages has become a popular Dodgers prospect for fans to make mock trades with. Pages is right in that range where he has enough value as a prospect to get a good return but he's not an elite-tier prospect that would really sting to lose.

Plus, Pages had season-ending surgery earlier this month. Knowing that he won't make any kind of impact this year and has to recover from the injury, it seems logical to trade him for immediate help.

It's hard to find an avenue in which it makes sense to trade Pages, though. First of all, the Dodgers are not going to get what they should for Pages in a deal because of his injury. It makes no sense to trade a prospect when his value is 75% of what it was six months ago because of an injury.

Additionally, the long-term outlook of the outfield is up in the air. Right now the Dodgers have Mookie Betts and James Outman as options in the outfield in the future. David Peralta and Jason Heyward are on one-year deals. Taylor has struggled and is a utility guy. Jonny DeLuca has not done well at the big-league level.

There's a starting job lined up for Pages whether it be in 2024 or 2025. To take that away and trade him for less than what he's worth would be a silly move.

Dodgers prospect that should be traded: Nick Nastrini

MLB Pipeline ranks Nick Nastrini as the 10th-best prospect in the Dodgers farm system. Los Angeles selected Nastrini in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of UCLA. At one point Nastrini looked like a potential first-round prospect but some struggles at UCLA dropped him to the fourth round.

Nastrini is part of the dynamic Tulsa Drillers rotation that leads all of affiliated baseball in average fastball velocity. The right-hander is certainly doing his part as well, as he has one of the best fastballs in the entire Dodgers organization.

Nastrini is a master of spin rate and his fastball alone is going to take him a long way in professional baseball. His slider is his second-best pitch and plays nicely off of the fastball. He also has a changeup and curveball in his repertoire.

So out of all the pitchers in the Dodgers organization, why Nastrini? The abundance of pitching depth in the farm system makes it easier to trade one of these pitching prospects for immediate help. And at 23 years old, whoever trades for Nastrini can fast-track him to the big-league level.

It's also hard to find a spot for Nastrini in the Dodgers' rotation, both in the short term and in the long term. There's a lot of pitching talent in front of him. His arsenal and occasional struggles with command may land him in the bullpen.

Sure, the Dodgers could put him in the 'pen at the end of the 2023 season to help, but they could get an even bigger return from a team that thinks Nastrini can start and can give him the opportunity.

Untouchable Dodgers prospect: Dalton Rushing

Just like Pages, Dalton Rushing has become a hot name to throw into mock trades for the Dodgers. On paper, it makes all the sense in the world to trade Rushing if the price is right. He's a catching prospect and is blocked by Diego Cartaya ahead of him.

With Will Smith at the big-league level and Cartaya in the wings, the Dodgers have a surplus at the catcher position and Rushing becomes the guy to trade. Better yet, he's a top-tier prospect in the sport so he could warrant a legitimate return for the Dodgers as the centerpiece of a deal.

That all makes sense, but in the grand scheme of things, keeping Rushing around at least for now makes more sense. That doesn't mean he won't be traded in the future, but the worst thing the Dodgers could do is rush into a trade now, especially in a barren market.

Look what the team did with Keibert Ruiz, who was thrown in every single trade idea for years because of Smith's ascension to the big-league club. The Dodgers stood pat, waiting until something made sense, and traded him to the Washington Nationals in the Trea Turner/Max Scherzer deal.

If Los Angeles is going to trade Rushing, then the team needs to wait until it actually makes sense. There's not a reasonable trade on the market this season (at least right now) that would warrant trading Rushing, who will likely only continue to climb the prospect leaderboards.

Plus, there's room for Rushing on the big-league roster. He has been playing first base as well, and two years down the line he could provide a versatile option that can catch, play first, and DH depending on the day and situation.

Rushing is also older than Cartaya by a year. For that reason, he could get the first shot at the big-league club as early as next season. Austin Barnes' tenure with the Dodgers is likely over after 2023 while Smith is not the best defensive catcher and might play more DH, so bringing up one of the top-tier prospects who can fill a void makes more sense than trading him.