The Summer Hot Stove

This might be the latest this has been created. But then, there hasn't really been a lot of real, viable news on trades anywhere, just yet. This is likely due to the fact that we now have the hard cutoff on the 31st, and a lot of teams that are still trying to decide if they are buyers or sellers.

Okay, 19 days until the deadline. Let's see what happens.

Trade Kike & prospects for Whit Merrifield.

Why would KC want to do that? The prospects would have to be three of the top four.

Not that much/high. Dodgers have a plethora good prospects in the system w/o giving up any of the top 4. Fangraphs has the LA minors rated #3 in baseball.

With Taylor on the shelf for at least a month, if the Dodgers do decide to go outside the organization
for help in the middle infield, the pickings are pretty slim on teams that would be considered sellers,
especially players that can handle SS.

Right now, Hernandez is the only back up SS on the roster.

One players that might be a good fit is Niko Goodrum ( 6'3" 215 - S/R - Age 27 ) of the Tigers.

He is a former 2nd Round Pick of the Minnesota Twins (2010) and plays multiple positions, including SS.

CAREER INNINGS BY POSITION
1B - 328.2
2B - 595.1
SS - 319.1
3B - 084.0
LF - 217.2
CF - 044.2
RF - 112.0

He's also a switch-hitter, which the Dodgers don't have, who is better against LHP, which they need.

SPLITS

vs. LHP

2018 - 119 AB - .303 .371 .412 .783
2019 - 066 AB - .318 .378 .439 .818

vs. RHP

2018 - 325 AB - .225 .294 .440 .734
2019 - 236 AB - .220 .302 .377 .679


SERVICE TIME / CONTRACT STATUS

2019: (27) - $670,000
2020: (28) - TC3
2021: (29) - ARB1
2022: (30) - ARB2
2023: (31) - ARB3

Given that Roberts is already struggling to give players at bats (look at him sitting Pollock after finally showing signs of life), minor league players clearly ready to step in, Seager back and a huge lead in the standings, I'd be surprised if they look to get outside help for the infield. Personally I'd rather see AF focus 100% on shoring up the pen. Also, any team that would actually let Joc play multiple games at first probably thinks someone else on the current roster is ready to back up at SS.

I sure wouldn't recommend it but Turner has played 46 games at SS in the majors.

Ken Rosenthal reports the Royals have pulled Martin Maldonado from their game. They have been working on a trade, but the team is unknown. Who needs a catcher (no, not us)?

Barnes sucks but do we really need Maldonado?

I honestly doubt they will go outside the organization for back up shortstop. Kike is likely to get the innings Taylor was getting at short and if one gets hurt, it is not a long flight from OKC to bring up Gavin Lux. Besides, we still need an arm or two in the pen and I don't want to rely on Stripling getting the odd start in the playoffs. Goodrum is interesting but I think he would cost more than Freddy Galvis in a mid season trade.

I don't think the Dodgers would trade for an infielder at this point. They seem to be 100% all in on Lux. Lux can probably give them what a backup could and it wouldn't cost anything.

My gut tells me that if the Dodgers go big on a RP, we will be seeing Ruiz or Gonsolin going the other way because they won't trade May, Lux or Smith. It would be nice if they could get someone like Will Smith from the Giants for a package maybe centering around Santana and Peters but the competition is going to be fierce for him. Any deal for an elite arm is going to be quite painful.

As much as I don't want to see them give up prime prospects, it's time to quit fucking around with the dumpster guys like Rosscup, the unproven guys like Garcia, the middle relievers who don't belong in the high leverage spots like Floro and the past experiments with guys like Madsen and Axford who were good at one point but aren't in their prime anymore. I also think that it sends a bad message to your team if you don't shore up the one clear weakness that everyone walking the Earth who has watched a baseball game knows you have.

I don't hate Floro, Baez and Chargois. I just don't think that they are those guys you ride to a championship. They are 6th/7th inning pitchers who are being asked to do things they they just can't do consistently. That's why elite BP arms get paid the money they do and cost as much in trade. It's between the ears as much as in the physical makeup.

If this team went out and picked up two more guys for the run like Greene and Smith, it would be lights out.

Pass on Martin Maldonado. He's not an offensive upgrade over what we have behind the plate now.

Bringing Lux up as the starter at 2B, moving Muncy back to 1B and Hernandez back to super sub
would be my first choice.

They're not going to bring up Lux to sit on the bench, outside of a September call up.

If the decide to run with Hernandez as the starter, the upside to Goodrum is that he is more
versatile than Beaty and / or Garlick and has solid stats against LHP.

He also has a better bat that a guy like Galvis.

Maldonado to the Cubs for Mike Montgomery.

That's a weird trade once Contreras comes back. Maldonado will be picking splinters out of his ass.

Might as well just start preparing ourselves for Jake Diekman as a name that could pop up LHP. The Royals are selling and even though he sucks, he won’t cost much.

In the AL the team in the second wild card place currently has a .565 winning percentage. In the NL it is only .511. That's why all but two NL teams are within 3 1/2 games of a wild card spot. Certainly reduces the availability of trade partners in the NL.

Second through sixth place in NL West is separated by only 2.5 games. SF has passed SD and may be rethinking their "seller" mode.

St. Louis is supposedly shopping or listening on their current closer, Carlos Martinez. He's owed a pro-rated $11.5M for 2019, so that may lower the haul requested, but make the Dodgers stay away all together. Our pen scares me enough to throw the luxury tax threshold out the window and go for the best bullpen upgrade available at the least loss of talent.