Dodgers Make Moves at Deadline, Although Not What Fans Were Hoping For

Published on by Andy Lane Chapman

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This season is the first season where there was only one deadline for trading opportunities, just July 31st with no August waiver deadline.

None of the big names that might have been moved were moved. Noah Syndergaard stayed a New York Met, Madison Bumgarner remains a Giant, and Felipe Vasquez will be a Pirate for at least the rest of the year.

The Dodgers, who are known to keep their prospects, felt that the asking price for Vasquez was too high. Pittsburgh was asking for at least one of Dustin May or Gavin Lux, along with other high prospects and perhaps a major league player.

The Dodgers made a few moves at the end of the trade deadline Wednesday, but nothing anywhere close to what Dodger fans were expecting.

As most fans were busy refreshing their social media feeds for news of the Dodgers possibly acquiring a relief pitcher, the news came that Los Angeles had traded for Jedd Gyorko of the St Louis Cardinals. Gyorko, 30, is a right handed utility infielder who is currently on the 60-Day IL. He started the season on the IL with a calf strain, and is currently close to coming off the IL after dealing with a low back strain. The Dodgers will not have to place him on the 40-man roster until he is reinstated from the IL.

In exchange for Gyorko, along with cash considerations and international cap space, the Dodgers sent Tony Cingrani and right handed pitcher Jeffry Abreu to St Louis.

Jedd has a career slash line of .246/.310/.735 with 112 home runs and the 107 doubles. He has a career WAR of 10.9.

The Dodgers also traded catcher Rocky Gale to the Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerations. Keibert Ruiz passed him on the depth chart, and Gale was designated for assignment last week.

Starter Brock Stewart was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays, so that clears a spot on the 40-man rotation.

The Dodgers did end up getting a lefty reliever, and it was not announced until after the deadline. They traded Niko Hulsizer to the Tampa Bay Rays for Adam Kolarek. So far this season for the Rays, Kolarek is 4-3 with a 3.95 ERA, 1.223 WHIP, 4.54 FIP and is averaging 7.5 strikeouts per nine innings.

Kolarek is very good against lefties, as they are only hitting .187 against him this season. In his last 15 games, he has an ERA of 2.40 and 16 strikeouts over 15 innings. He will be under team control through 2025.

The New York Yankees did not make any big upgrades at starting pitching, but the Houston Astros did. Their biggest move was to trade for former Dodger Zack Greinke, and that move could put them ahead of the Yankees as favorites to come out of the AL for the World Series. This writer cannot the thought of a rematch against the Astros but will worry about that at a different time.

While most fans were hoping that the Dodgers would go all in and get that splashy trade of a high end reliever, the front office has once again decided that holding their prospects was more prudent at the moment. Whether that works for them or not is still to be decided.

84 thoughts on “Dodgers Make Moves at Deadline, Although Not What Fans Were Hoping For”

  1. Well, that’s not what I was expecting. The gyrko trade seems odd, to after trading for white, and Negron, now we have three right handed hitting utility men, not counting Taylor, and Hernandez. I think kike may have played his way off the team, who knows.

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  2. I’m totally flabbergasted. I have nothing else to say. Well, actually I do. I’ve got to think that we’ll see Gonsolin and possibly May in September or sooner and if either of them performs exceptionally out of the bullpen they’ll have a chance to make the playoff roster. I’m assuming at some point we’ll hear from AF. That should be interesting, although I guess he’ll just say he warned us he wouldn’t do anything stupid and he has every confidence in the guys we have.

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    1. Astute Jefe….May is being called up Friday and according to reports will make his major league debut against the Padres who have changed considerably since we last played them.

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  3. Once again, who needs a stinking bullpen when you have Will Smith! And Ryu was brilliant! But overall our offense is really struggling right now! At this rate have to wonder if JOC is gonna hit 200 and if Belli will stay above 300!

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  6. 16 Ks today. We won because of a Rockie reliever’s rocky relieving.

    I’m still frustrated. Felt like 5 hours of foreplay only to have her get up and leave the room.

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  7. What a let down Tony Cingrani ended up being. All the arm talent in the world with a good fastball and wipeout slider he could have been the 8th inning lefty we have been seeking all year. Injuries seem to have his career at a crossroads unfortunately.

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  8. Near term winners today were the Astros. They have a shutdown staff of starters and a good enough bullpen. Pitching counts more in the playoffs. But there’s lots of baseball to enjoy before Oct.

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  9. Playoff bullpen:
    Maeda
    Stripling
    Gonsulin
    Baez
    Kolarek
    Urias
    Kelly
    Jansen
    Really when you look at it things could be much worse for us. This is still a solid bullpen with a lot of talent. I don’t think most of these guys can perform much worse than they already have so I’m going to stay positive and believe that improvement is coming. Hopefully Ferguson can figure out his problems and Alexander can regain the feeling in his pitching hand also.

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    1. I admire your positive outlook Alex so I’ll play the role of Bear here and point out that Gonsolin has had two MLB appearances, yesterday’s which was very good and his first one which was pretty bad. We haven’t even seen Kolarek yet and need to keep in mind that the Rays are fighting for a playoff spot and traded him away for a prospect who is at a minimum 2-3 years away. This is not to say that May couldn’t come up and be untouchable or Fergie couldn’t rediscover his touch, so I’ll go along with you and try to be positive while at the same time realizing that this is basically the same bullpen that all the experts and most fans agreed was not good enough to win a WS.

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  10. Your right about staying positive Alex, I’m a little disappointed, but Andrew must think very highly of our top four, or he would of moved one or two, and your right about they have no place to go but up. Actually I’ve seen all of our bullpen guys pitch well at one time or another, they’ve just been so inconsistent.

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  11. I’m not just blowing smoke up yalls ass I truly do think improvement is coming. Yes Gonsulin only has 2 appearances but it’s his fastball and wicked splitter combo that excites me for him in a bullpen role. He has the perfect stuff for the role. You don’t see guys throwing splitters like that much anymore for fear of injury but I’m glad he does.

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  14. May is coming in August. Dodgers managed to keep their top 4. Ol Andy had a conference and talked about the deadline. He said that they did not get anyone they were targeting because of the high prices insisted on by the teams they were dealing with. He also said that none of the players targeted were moved, which means that they were never in on Greene as reported earlier. He said months ago, that they would be aggressive, but not stupid, and to that end he kept his word. Kolarek will be the lefty specialist for now Stewart is gone, and I hope for his sake it is a positive move for him.

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    1. In the NL they are all chasing us. In the AL…. Houston just prepared for us.

      You never know in baseball. But the odds aren’t likely to change between now and October.

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    2. Interesting that none of the guys AF was targeting were moved. That makes it a little easier to handle the lack of progress. Stewart can only be helped by the change of scenery. Things couldn’t get any worse for him.

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  15. I haven’t been keeping track. Is May taking Strip’s turn in the rotation or are they moving things around and skipping someone else?

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    1. Urias pitched in his spot today. Friday would be Buehler’s spot. Maybe they are moving him back a day and inserting May into Maeda’s slot. It is going to be interesting on Thursday and Friday when they have to make roster moves to get Kolarek on the roster and May. Gyorko is still on the 60 day until at least next week, so no roster move will be needed until then. I would have to think, if he is healthy, Gyorko is going to take White’s place on the roster since they are both the same player. Corner infielders with pop. I believe White is out of options. Cingrani was some what of a salary dump The Dodgers got cash in return and international space. I think one of the reasons the Stros went for Greinke is that they probably believe they will not be able to retain Cole come this winter. I expect Gonsolin and Lux up in September, and maybe another reliever from the farm.

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      1. Actually it was yesterday that Ross’s start should’ve been, Ryu pitched today. It looks like they’ll be pushing back Buehler and Maeda

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      3. The Dodgers need to pull out the checkbook for Gerritt Cole this winter. I would bring Ryu back and sign Cole giving you a rotation of Kershaw, Cole, Buehler, Ryu and Urias. I don’t see them bringing Hill back and he will have a strong market for his services anyway. This would push Maeda to the pen but for a star like Cole you have to do it.

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  16. What I do find interesting is that other than a minor deal with the Rockies, the Yankees did not make a major trade either. They had a definite need for a starter and were in hot pursuit of Robby Ray of the D-Backs. D-Backs also traded for Leake to fill the vacancy left by the departure of Greinke. Giants did make some trades, but Farhan did not trade his biggest pieces, Bumgarner and Smith. Melancon was dealt, but he is no longer a closer for the Gnats. The other day I got a 1983 Dodger yearbook I ordered off of Ebay. It is in great condition. I also ordered a Allen and Ginter 2019 Dodger team set. Only 10 cards, but Jackie and Sandy are included. Still trying to find a 2019 Media Guide. You can no longer buy them at the ball park and they are rarely up for sale on Ebay. I did not get last years guide until September. For me it is a trove of information.

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  18. With those kind of numbers, it looks like Andrew expects him to be our LOOGY. No one else has really taken hold of that spot, I hope Kolarek can do it
    It sucks that Dyson was traded by Farhan but we were never really linked to him, it shows giants ownership is not going to let Farhan trade with LA, Dyson would have been perfect for us, and I’m sure AF would have had interest in him.

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  19. It’s not that I don’t want to see May pitch. I do. But him being brought up now feels like an okey doke.move … “Hey! Look over here”. I’m being diverted away from the disappointment of today. I really thought they would do something. They did not.

    I’m going to sleep now. When I wake up I shall ask the baseball gods to please allow us home field. It didn’t make a difference last time. Maybe it will this time.

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  20. The more I think about it the more I like that we didn’t sell off 3 top 10 prospects for one reliever. I said early in the season I thought something about this team felt different. It feels like no matter what they will get the job done. Getting a LOOGY for peanuts was a nice move as it hopefully solves the one thing we couldn’t from within the organization. Kolarek gets lefties out and that’s all I care about. Adding Maeda in the playoffs is like making a trade for another reliever. Inreslky do believe this crew is the one to finally end the drought.

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  21. Kolarek huh? In the last month he’s pitched 8.2 innings, probably mostly against left handers as he’s faced 36 batters. ERA of 4.15. In the last week his ERA is 6.75 and hitters slugged .800 against him. I’m not expecting much. Yes, he’s a LOOGY. We’ve tried a few before.

    Winners after the deadline. Not us, that’s for sure. Houston, Washington, Cleveland, Atlanta, Cubs, Phillies, Dbacks. Losers – NY, Boston, LA. Probably the Mets. Toronto.

    SF fans are winners. Not sure the team is good enough to sneak into the playoffs. Hope not. Doubt it. But the city will rally behind Bum and Bochy. San Diego landed Taylor Trammell. Have you seen this guy? He committed to Georgia Tech to play baseball AND football. He’s been compared to Carl Crawford. San Diego has a plan. Who knows if it will work against the multi billion dollar Dodger behemoth. I applaud their effort. They have an exciting group down there.

    We needed a closer. We got a LOOGY with a 4+ ERA. Gulp.

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  22. AF was interviewed about the deadline. There is a story about it on MLBtraderumors.com. He said they were very aggressive in negotiations for the players they had targeted. But in their eyes, the price was more than they were willing to pay. I am pretty sure he was doing what ownership wanted, not sacrificing the future for today. Everyone was saying that the Pirates or the Dodgers would blink, and the Vazquez deal would be done. Neither did. And from what I took out of the conversation, the Pirates asking price was very high. Freidman said that the Dodger offers were fair with what they deemed to be a fair price, Pirates felt otherwise. I don’t think at this point that Huntington was inclined to trade Vazquez unless he got exactly what he wanted. Giles was pretty much off the market because of elbow issues. As to who they did trade for, Gyorko is White with a better track record. Gyorko is supposed to come off of the 60 day next week, which to me means White is nothing more than a stop gap replacement for Freese. His hammy injury is probably a hang over from earlier in the season. Both Kike and Taylor look to be out until close to September. They so far have no time table on Freese. Gyorko, when not injured has been a pretty good player. He has a career .290 average at Dodger Stadium. Freese , as we all know, has been very good in the post season. Gyorko has no post season experience. He is a free agent after the season. Kolarek, my gut tells me, is going to be a lefty specialist. If used in that capacity, he should do pretty well. He is very good against LH hitters. The fact is that now, the players already on this team are going to have to step up their game. Garcia, Jansen, Kelly, Chargois, Ferguson, Urias, the entire pen is going to have to perform better than they have. Belli, Muncy and Verdugo have to be better than they have been the last 2 weeks. All 3 have been slumping. Joc definitely has to turn it up a bunch. He will not be in the lineup tonight because the Pads have a lefty going. I am not panicking because they did not manage to get a lock down guy. What they have should carry them to the playoffs. They just all have to be better once they get there. I am not worried about the Giants either. They cannot keep up the pace they have had recently. They are a little better with the moves they did make, but not in the Dodgers class yet. As for Houston, they definitely got better. But the Dodgers have done well against Greinke. Verlander they beat in the 2017 series. Greinke is 7-6 against the Dodgers with an ERA over 4. In 17 games he has allowed them 18 homers and a .264 batting average. Cole is 3-2 against the Dodgers with an ERA north of 5. They have a .293 batting average against him in 7 games. So, the Stros are better than they were, but not invincible.

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    1. The stros got better. We didn’t. They are a game and half behind us in the standings. Thus my prayer to the baseball gods for home field.

      I’ll say this for the entire Dodgers organization
      – they are a cocky bunch. The better teams in the NL are coming for us and they didn’t address our need. We now have a Baker’s bullseye target on our back. I’m not panicked either. But. this just doesn’t feel right to me.

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      1. I get it my friend. Believe me I really thought Ol Andy would do something more significant than he did. But we cannot change it, so I am not pulling out any more of my hair, I have so little left. What I am going to do is believe these guys will get the job done. The game is played on the field and not on a piece of paper in the print out.

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      2. You’re right. And we are still the team to beat in the NL. Frankly I think the Astros are a bit better. I won’t be surprised if they catch and pass us in win %.

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      3. Some nicknames for May have been floating around twitter….I kind of like Gingergaard! Boy has some really flaming red hair. With his hair and JT’s beard, that is some colorful stuff out there. Glad I will get to see his DEBUT on TV.

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  23. They can still pick up players on waivers. And you can bet Ol Andy will have his eyes on that list..he always does. Weird move by the Giants, one of the players they got yesterday, Dan Winkler, was DFA’d today. He was a return in the Melancon trade to Atlanta.

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    1. The Giants made out like bandits on that deal even with the dfa today. Melancon has 18 mil remaining on his contract between this year and next. That’s a lot of money to dump when the guy you’re getting rid of isn’t helping much in the first place, and the little help he’s giving you is at a vastly inflated price. All in all, a very nice trade for Farhan.

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      1. Very true, and the D-backs managed to get 53 million off of their payroll. They sent 24 mil to the Stros, but the Stros picked up the remaining 53. I do like that the Dodgers, along with Gyorko got some international money included. They have been pretty active in that regard and sooner or later, I have to believe it is going to pay off. Cartaya, who is what, 17? That kid is supposed to be better than Ruiz or Smith down the line.

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      2. Andrew is slowly gathering stock on good catchers. One year in the next 2 or 3 he’ll have a catcher’s auction at the Winter Meetings, having cornered the market on most of the good catching prospects. At least Smith can also play infield. Haven’t heard anything about Cartaya, and it seems as though Ruiz is a catcher first, last and in between. Probably unlikely that all three of those guys ever play here at the same time, but maybe Joc can teach Cartaya how to play first base.

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      3. Supposed to be. We’ll see. But not for a few years.

        Yeah, Dbacks and giants did well. Neither will catch us this year. But the other Division leaders improved and are coming.

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  24. In his career, Gyorko has played all over the place. He has played every position except catcher. That I did not know. That’s the versatility factor that this FO loves.

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  25. From the photo’s I have seen, Kolarek looks like a sidewinder when he delivers. That cannot be comfortable with hitters.

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  26. Hmmm. Roster is at 26 right now. Someone needs to move before tonight’s game. Bet it is a reliever, and my guess would be either Chargois or Ferguson.

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  27. Maybe one of you guys can answer me this, why is Yadier Alvarez still on the 40 man roster? He is at AA on the 7 day IL, he is 9-13 in his minor league career with an ERA of 4.02. His K to BB ratio is just a shade over 2 to 1, and he is not even a top 30 prospect anymore. By the way, the kid they drafted in June, Kody Hoese, is their # 9 already.

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    1. He’s still on the 40 man because there’s a lottery ticket’s chance that he actually fulfills his promise some day. The minute they have 41 guys they really want to keep on the 40 man roster, ol’ Yadi will be gone.

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      1. They did manage to jettison some floxam on deadline day. Cingrani, Gale, guys who were not going to contribute this year at all.

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  28. Let’s see who will step up and be part of our playoff bullpen! A little nervous about putting May or Gonzo in playoff pressure situations. We’ll see!

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    1. Who knows, perhaps May steps right in and gets ML hitters out. I don’t see him on the playoff roster, but after this deadline maybe Friedman does.

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    2. Remember Steve Howe? He came up from AA and did great. No reason to think that those guys cannot do better. They both have some pretty nasty stuff.

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  29. There are other ways of getting what they might need before September. The waiver claim. Not good if the guy is owed substantial money. Remember Jose Canseco? Sign players who are free agents or who have been released outright. Sign a foreign player, not often done but has been. Trade for vets on minor league deals, say OKC trades Quackenbush to Memphis for a pitcher they might feel will improve the team. Trade for minor leaguers. And lastly check the independent leagues….no sexy, but can get results. Rich Hill was signed out of an independent league and saved from the trash heap by Boston.

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  30. Wow….Puig only got a 3 game suspension for that fight. Garrett on the other hand got 8. Kela, the Pirates pitcher got 10,, shaded of Juan Marichal. Bell got 6 which I find somewhat weird since he had been thrown out of the game and came out of the club house to get involved.

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      2. We’re taking up a collection and we’ll pay the fine because of your lifelong contributions to TBPC.

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      4. Wilbon said the Pirates are thugs and the league needs to step in. He’s a NL Central guy. He’s seen a lot of them. I believe him.

        Waiver wire. Does that still work the same? We pick last?

        I understand Friedman held his ground. I get it. I didn’t want to trade any of our top 3 either. He no doubt made a decent offer, one that would have made the Pirates a stronger organization. It didn’t work out for us. The Pirates are fine being a last place club. What do they care? But it sure worked out for Houston and Atlanta.

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      6. Protest a suspension? That does no good. Protests haven’t worked since the Civil Rights demonstrations. You appeal suspensions, then they are reviewed. Since you don’t understand the process I’ll give you the benefit here. I’ll consider your protest as an appeal, then review your suspension. Give me a minute.

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      9. I read that piece earlier Jefe. astrosgotgreinkewtf had some interesting things to say in the comments section. I think he may be on to something.

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    1. Thornburg could turn out to be a great signing, but it’s been a very long time since 2016 (his last good season). That said, some injuries take a long time to come back from. Fingers crossed.

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  32. Read a story just a few minutes ago that MLB made a scoring change. 2 earned runs that were charged to Ryu have been changed to unearned. That drops his ERA to 1.53. Not bad,

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    1. Nice! The price of his next contract just went up a little. A fair amount of money coming off the books next year so we could certainly afford to re-sign him.
      It will be interesting to see how the rest of his season goes. He’s at 135 innings right now which is more innings than he’s pitched in any season since 2014 (152). His highest innings total in MLB has been 192 and that was in his first year, 2013. We may see him hit a wall pretty soon (figuratively speaking). I just wonder if a little trip to the IL and skipping 3 or 4 starts might not be worthwhile in order to keep him fresh for October.

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  33. The Thornburg’s, epic best-selling novel by the Australian author Colleen McCullough. Set primarily on Drogheda—a fictional sheep station in the Australian Outback named after Drogheda, Ireland—the story focuses on the Cleary family and the scandals……

    wait…. that was The Thorn Birds. Thornburg? Never heard of him.

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  34. Once again AF looking for a diamond in the dumpster! But we do have some prospects who could hit it big! Can’t wait for May’s outing. Kersh kind of getting overlooked in tonight’s start!

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  35. I called that one, Fergie sent down. Kolarek activated. Will wear number # 56. Lineup tonight, Pollock CF, Muncy 2B, Turner 3B, Bellinger RF, White 1B, Smith C, Verdugo LF, Negron SS, Kershaw P.

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  36. Good news for Bear. Bad news for Scoop. Doc says Belli will play more first base for the next couple of months and Joc probably won’t be seen there again this year.

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    1. It’s temporary. Obviously they are frustrated with the team’s defensive play. We lose dWAR taking our best defensive outfielder and moving him in. Before you say it, I know Bellinger is our best first baseman. But from what I’ve seen, I could play first better than Joc. Muncy should play there for now.

      We suck defensively. Negrón will help, but only a little.

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      3. If you leave now you might barely make it for the first pitch.
        Looks like #12 is available. It’s yours!
        Not too many well-known Dodgers have worn it, Tommy Davis and Dusty B. are probably the most famous. No one since Nicasio in 2015.

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  37. Can’t have 12….that’s Ebel’s number. Change in the lineup, Beaty gets the start in left, Verdugo has a bum knee.

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  38. Did not know that the D-Backs have considered moving to Henderson Nevada. Talks have stalled for now, but AZ can leave Chase Field in 2022. Kershaw gives up a HR to Renfroe.

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      1. Difference is if the Rays were to move there, they would have to realign the divisions to accommodate the move. Letting AZ go there changes nothing. That is one reason they have considered allowing Tampa to become a 2 city franchise. Tampa Bay and Montreal.

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