Barstool's Dodgers-Brewers trade idea isn't actually half bad

Even if the Dodgers' long-term passion for Shohei Ohtani pays off this offseason, that won't stop them from needing to stack their rotation with plenty of pitching. Ohtani's UCL injury, while it apparently won't shave a dime off his price, devastated the Dodgers nearly as much as losing Dustin May and watching Clayton Kershaw recede.

He was supposed to be it. Now, even with Walker Buehler purportedly returning, the Dodgers will need another high-level ace and an innings-eater or two in order to feel confident about their rotation in any capacity.

Luckily, the Milwaukee Brewers and their (shudder) Scott Boras clients could be on the warpath this trade season. Everyone and their mother will be trying to find a way to take advantage of the Brew Crew's dire straits, brought about by Brandon Woodruff's absence, Craig Counsell's defection, and a looming dark payroll cloud above the state of Wisconsin. Speculation will be rampant all offseason long, and kudos must be given for objective outsiders who get it right, crafting fairly unbiased trade packages that could help those in need.

That's what -- wait, BARSTOOL?! -- Barstool Sports did on Wednesday, giving the Dodgers both Corbin Burnes and the shortstop they've long had a fascination with, Willy Adames, in exchange for a collection of talent they'd probably have to surrender, given their depth chart.

Dodgers-Brewers Trade Package costs LA Miguel Vargas. Worth it?

Add in Trevor Megill, a Long Beach native who posted impressive numbers out of the bullpen last season (52 Ks in 34.2 innings) but needs to keep his WHIP down (1.36)? You've probably got yourself a deal.

Grove struggled through 2023, while Hurt received only a cameo. Sheehan, likely the most integral of the young pitchers to the Dodgers' 2024 plans, is the type of sacrifice a team that's loaded with arms has to make in order to receive a bonafide ace in return. Any other farm system might be harmed irreparably by surrendering three top-20 arms (and two experienced big-leaguers) in one fell swoop. The Dodgers? Just slide Nick Frasso a little further up there and call it a day.

Surrendering Vargas certainly stings, based on what the team projected him to do at the tail end of 2022/start of 2023, but he scuffled last season learning a new position on the fly. The bat was supposed to play anywhere and it didn't. Now he's in consideration for outfield reps in LA? Maybe better to just give him a fresh start, all the while clearing a spot for Adames, a player the Dodgers have reportedly been after for quite a while.

This trade would give Andrew Friedman the inside track at extensions for both Burnes and Adames, with the shortstop far more likely to stay long-term (a Boras client never settles, and rarely ends up in LA). Regardless of how long Burnes' stay in Hollywood would be, this is a trade the Dodgers say yes to without looking back. Think the Brewers just might, too.