Lately, the Dodgers have been known for three things—being the best team in the National League in 2017, introducing the two most recent NL Rookies of the Year to Major League Baseball, and refusing to trade their top prospects. Their commitment to keeping the top prospects in a Dodgers uniform has already proved to be a good strategy. Had they held on to the common theme of “win now” several years back, Cody Bellinger and/or Corey Seager probably wouldn’t be wearing Blue right now.
Now that Bellinger and Seager are in the majors, Walker Buehler and Alex Verdugo are the top two prospects in the Dodgers organization. Chances are they’ll stay Dodgers for a while, but there may come a time when Los Angeles needs to trade a top prospect for a potential playoff boost.
Here are a few trade scenarios that could help the Dodgers down the stretch.
Trade with: NEW YORK METS
METS GET: Matt Kemp, Alex Verdugo, Yasmani Grandal, Julio Urias
DODGERS GET: Jacob deGrom, Seth Lugo
Trade with: SEATTLE MARINERS
MARINERS GET: Will Smith, Gavin Lux, Trayce Thompson, Kyle Farmer
DODGERS GET: James Paxton, Mitch Haniger
Trade with: DETROIT TIGERS
TIGERS GET: Alex Verdugo, Brock Stewart, Yasmani Grandal
DODGERS GET: Mikie Mahtook, Shane Green
Trade with: BALTIMORE ORIOLES
ORIOLES GET: Alex Verdugo, Gavin Lux, Ross Stripling, Matt Kemp
DODGERS GET: Zach Britton, Mychal Givens
Trade with: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
PHILLIES GET: Julio Urias, Matt Kemp
DODGERS GET: Aaron Nola and cash
The Dodgers shouldn’t trade Buehler. The only players would I would trade Buehler for are already on contenders, and they wouldn’t trade those players, anyway. Baseball evolves by teams rebuilding. It evolves by teams who have fallen out of the playoffs for the foreseeable future trading away their stars and restocking their farm systems with prospects.
It’s no secret that the winter hot stove has been wildly cold as of late, but the Dodgers could be the team that kickstarts things by trading away a few prospects and players for guys that could help them win the World Series this year.
I have never been more confident in this team than I am right now, and so I think that now is as good a time as ever to make some trades. No matter what, the Dodgers’ farm is very strong. They could trade Verdugo and still have one of the best minor league systems in baseball. In a single season, there are two perfect times to make trades; the offseason and the trade deadline.
In any event, the Dodgers could stand to make a few upgrades; and if they do, they’ll be unstoppable.
(FOLLOW SARAH ON TWITTER: @SARAHMANINGER)