Dodgers, Indians & Reds Have Reportedly Discussed 3-Team Trade

Published on by Dennis Schlossman

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If you happened to catch Andy’s column on Monday, you would have seen that she laid out some of the more prominent trade rumors surrounding the Dodgers in recent weeks, specifically how talks about Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts have evidently re-emerged.

One of the interesting things that surfaced in the news on Tuesday—according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic—is news how the Dodgers, Indians and Reds have discussed a three-player deal at one point over the winter.

The talks apparently involved Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager, among other players. As stated in Rosenthal’s story, one scenario that might have resulted from the talks would have seen Lindor wind up in Los Angeles and Seager in Cincinnati.

Rosenthal also indicated that the discussions between the teams have since resulted in an impasse. However, perhaps the most intriguing thing from his report is the Dodgers have at least thought about moving Seager as his free agency eligibility draws near.

If he continues along his current path, Seager will become a free agent after the 2021 season unless the Dodgers or someone else ink him to a multi-year deal before then. After missing most of the 2018 season because of UCL surgery, Seager came back last year to slash a productive .272/.335/.483 with 19 homers and 87 RBI, producing a 4.0 bWAR in the process. His 44 doubles led the entire National League.

Over the course of his five-year, big league career, the 25-year-old native of Charlotte has hit .294/.362/.491 with 73 long balls and 266 RBI over 489 games. As far as projections go in 2020, Baseball Reference projects him to slash .279/.351/.481 with 18 home runs and 70 RBI over 482 PA.

The rumors surrounding Lindor have seemingly been attached to the Dodgers since the early days of the offseason. Some believed that the intentions of Los Angeles management was to slide Seager to third base with the addition of Lindor, while others felt that a hypothetical deal would have seen Seager end up with the Indians, opening the door for somebody like Kody Hoese or Cristian Santana to take the reigns at third base with Justin Turner‘s prospective departure after the 2020 season.

Like Seager, Lindor will be eligible to file for free agency after his 2021 campaign, so long he’s not extended before that time. Last year, the four-time All-Star, two-time Gold Glover and two-time Silver-Slugger hit .284/.335/.518/ with 40 doubles, 32 homers, 74 RBI and 22 stolen bases, producing a 4.7 bWAR.

Lifetime, the 26-year-old native of Puerto Rico has slashed  .288/.347/.493 with 130 long balls and 384 RBI in 717 games.

Recently, there have been rumors whispered that the Reds have been dangling center fielder Nick Senzel in potential trade talks. In 2019, Senzel hit .256/.315/.427 with 12 long balls and 42 RBI in 102 games.

To bolster its outfield crew, Cincinnati agreed to a four-year, $64 million deal with free agent outfielder Nicholas Castellanos on Monday.

 

40 thoughts on “Dodgers, Indians & Reds Have Reportedly Discussed 3-Team Trade”

  1. I keep reading where people assume the Turner won’t be contributing much, if anything after this year and will most likely not be re-signed. I think that would be a huge mistake. I think he would be one of those rare players who would give a home town discount and even though his play in the field might be slowing down he can still hit. With the DH probably arriving no later than 2022 I would hope that we keep JT around for a few more years. His hitting and role as team leader will more than make up for his regression in the field. After this year and until the arrival of the DH he can move around between third and first and PH. He still has something to contribute.

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    1. It all depends what he’s looking for in a contract and how much he wants to stay in Los Angeles. If he and his agent want a three-year deal, there’s no way Friedman goes that far. Friedman probably wouldn’t even like the year of a two-year deal if the amount is more than $20 million or so. I think a lot of it depends on how much Turner himself envisions contributing to a team beyond 2020.

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      1. Are you saying 20 mil per year or 2 years at a total of 20 mil?
        Basically, it’s going to be dependent upon what kind of 2020 he has but if you figure about 8 mil per WAR he was worth almost 30 mil last year.

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      2. I was thinking 2/20. I think 1/15 might be doable, but I believe everything will depend on his production this year. I guess I feel that mostly everyone would be shying away from a multi-year deal. I don’t see many teams viewing him as a 100+ game player in his age 36 season, but you never know. It should indeed be interesting to see what transpires, though.

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    2. I think we all would like to see JT slide into that David Freese position for a few more years-play some 3B, play some 1B and DH in the AL ballparks. That’s why a RH bat at 3B makes so much sense. With Freese and Martin gone, JT is the only grizzled vet to really lead the youngsters- Pollock? NO, Kersh, Kenley? maybe a little. But this team is lacking some veteran leadership.. JT is a must keep for hopefully a long time.

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  2. I believe we talked about this a couple days ago. Would I trade Seager for Lindor? Of course I would. Lindor projects slightly better over the next 2 years. The question is, who else goes with him? Hoese? Busch? Santana? If it’s any of our top 6, which includes Ruiz, Gonsolin, Gray and Downs, I say no. Busch, Hoese, Cartaya, Peters, Estevez, Vargas, Rios…. maybe. I’d have to know if someone other than Lindor is coming back. In my mind Seager and Lindor are close enough in projected WAR that I don’t want to throw in as much as 10 team controlled WAR for 2 years of Lindor.

    Turner is a separate issue. How well does he perform this year? If he puts up 3.7 WAR again, yeah, I offer an extension. But, not a 3 year. 1, maybe 2 with a team buyout. If he wants to stay he’d take it. If not, thanks and good luck.

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    1. I wonder if AF really likes Lindor that much better than Seager or just figures that since Seager is a Boras client he’d be much harder to sign or extend? Seager has gone through a lot physically and if totally recovered now he could have a huge year, even though he’ll never be the defensive shortstop that Lindor is. I know there have been stories that he hasn’t bought into the new hitting strategy the team is using but he’s a smart guy and I think, if healthy, he’ll produce.

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      1. I was told by my orthopedic surgeon that it really took a year to totally overcome most orthopedic type surgeries. From personal experience, I believe him. Seager has a full year now to have recovered from his hip and elbow surgeries, he is due to have a huge year. I think we will regret moving him (can you say Jason Werth?), IMHO Seager has more upside than LIndor, if the Dodgers give prospects in order to move Seager in order to obtain Lindor, we’ll all be sorry. I just won’t believe any move until it actually happens, AF has cried wolf about a hundred times to many. The team you see now is likely to be the team that breaks wind, I mean camp.

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      2. At this point I would think that moving Seager in a Lindor trade is less likely than our getting Betts. I expect that we could do better than the Pads offer which has been detailed. The question is will AF want to do that? Being a Shlemming, I say yes! Welcome to L.A. Mookie (and David).

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  3. I know this rumor has resurfaced. I for one do not believe any of it. Reds are at 140 mil right now. I do not see them taking on much more in the way of salary. The piece everyone wants from them is Senzel. The Dodgers do not need Lindor. The need a power RH bat more than a switch hitting SS.

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      1. Speaking of pitching Scoop, how do you feel about our getting Price in a Mookie deal? I really don’t know how I feel about that one. I guess that’s because I have absolutely no idea what kind of a pitcher he’ll be for the next 3 years. I guess the odds are that he won’t be very good over a three year period.
        Who were you referring to when you said you’d rather get pitching.

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      2. Price? Well, if it reduced the value of who we send over it would help. I know I said I’d rather get pitching but my gut tells me we don’t really need him. He’s like a #4-5 now and we already have 4-5 of them. That’s a lot of money for 130 innings of 4.15 ERA. Not my money, but it might prevent future purchases.

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      3. What if taking Price is the only way to get (one year of) Mookie?
        I saw a suggested trade that had us sending Pollock, Stripling, Joc and Kelly for Price and Mookie. Even taking back all of that salary I think it still gets the Sox under the limit. What sayeth you…………or any of the rest of you folks?

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      5. About that one year of Mookie. The Sox offered 10/300 and he countered with 12/420. That’s when phones in every league from here to Moscow started ringing. He ain’t Mike Trout. Is another outfielder with a Brobdingnagian ego what we really need? Betts would cost $27 million AND a couple good prospects. That would be ok if we had him for 3 years. Not ok for just one year .The trade you just posted would cost all those players and $59 million for this year alone, and another $96 million after Betts is gone, or signed here for over $350 million. Do you see Friedman doing that? I ran those numbers and I had a fatal system error in my brain housing.

        I honestly don’t know what 1 year of Betts and 2 years of Lindor are worth, but I think a strong argument could be made we don’t NEED either one of them. I would rather seek out a team controlled #2. Pick out a team that’s going nowhere and ask for their #1. I don’t know…. Mariners Marco Gonzalez, Miami’s Sandy Alcantara, White Sox Lucas Giolito…. turn over all the rocks and find out a gem that will chew the innings while we lead the league in scoring again.

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      6. I like your idea of going after a non-contender’s #1 which, of course, would require sending them multiple good prospects, but we have those. A team that is at least 3-4 years away might consider taking a package consisting of some of Ruiz, Downs, Hoese, Rios, Uceta, Peters, Vargas, etc.
        I thought the idea of the trade I mentioned above was interesting because it would allow us to get rid of Pollock and Kelly (whom lots of Dodger fans aren’t happy with) plus Joc who probably won’t be back next year plus Stripling who is replaceable. No prospects involved. Of course, nothing says the Sox would do that deal.

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      7. Yeah, it makes sense to fans to unload Pollock and Kelly. I wonder if it makes sense to Friedman. Pollock can be quite useful if he can stay on the field. Big if at this point in his career. Kelly has his moments. I don’t have a clue if other teams have any interest in either of them.

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    1. First of all Rich, Shlemmings is always capitalized. A little respect please (I know, very little 🙂 )
      Secondly, we will line up and cheer if second place comes with a trophy and a parade. Otherwise, no.

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    1. Hope so. And Lindor will start for the AL. Projections show slight edge to Lindor, and he’s better defensively. I think most would agree Lindor is the better player. But if Seager is finally healthy…. he’s the real deal. Is it more likely he can be re-signed? I think so, but you never know.

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  6. Like Scoop just said, I’d rather acquire pitching. Screwing around with position players is just a stupid game or stupid talk, the real issue comes down to SP and Relievers, anything else is missing the entire issue of real needs.

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  7. Agree again, do you really like our chances against that Yankee lineup with October Kersh and Maeda each pitching 2 games in that series? We need another front line starter and Urias to develop into his full potential if we’re gonna win a WS

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    1. Just think. The 1963 World Champion Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4 games to none, and they did it with superior pitching. And they did it utilizing 4 pitchers over 4 games. Koufax had 2 complete game wins and gave up 3 of the 4 runs the Yankees scored in the series. Drysdale had a complete game 1-0 shut out, and Johnny Podres pitched 8 1/3 innings and Ron Perranoski the last 2/3 in game 2. Only 3 Dodger hitters batted .300 or better, Davis, Howard and former Yankee, Bill Skowron. Yankees batted .171 for the series, their lowest ever batting average in a series, the Dodgers hit .214. Tommy Davis had 2 triples in game 2. No one else has ever done that in a world series game. Still after all these years my favorite World Series team. Even more so than 1988. And the only World Series won at home.

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  8. The Dodgers have spent, and this is after saying they were going after elite talent, 15.5 million dollars in free agency this year. 10 million of that going to one guy, Trienen, who is their only top 50 pick up. You can forget Lindor. He is basically off of the market. Chances of Padres picking up Betts at this point are also slim. They really want the Sox to take on most of Myers contract in return. Pillar and Puig are the 2 best outfielders who hit RH left on the market. There are also a couple of interesting starters still out there.

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    1. 1 year of Mookie. It would be fun to see but he’s likely gone after that, as would be the prospects we send over. Just prospects,I know, but it’s like just one year of Mookie. It also might mean a $96 million Price tag. Yoiks.

      I wait.

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      1. According to the latest stuff I have read, Price is not even in the conversation now, and would not be unless LA was sending pitching to Boston. There is a poll on MLBTR asking if the Dodgers are going to make a blockbuster trade before spring training. Over 50 percent have said no.

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      3. I voted once Jefe, since that is all the computer allows you to do, otherwise I would have had my finger on speed dial for a no.

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    1. He’ll be out of Chicago within a week. Only question is who winds up with him. Cubs seem to be very anxious to do something with their roster.

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      1. How much sense does he make for us? $18.6M. We can sure do that. 2 years before free agency. That’s intriguing. .884 OPS. Who doesn’t like that? Negative dWAR. That drops his value. But by how much? Turner to first, Muncy to ….. Second? What do we do with Lux?

        I don’t know. I think I like Muncy at first, Lux at second. And it’s my opinion our offense isn’t really in need of an upgrade….. but Kris Bryant in a Dodger uniform sure sounds cool.

        I think other teams will offer more.

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      2. I agree that other teams will probably offer more.
        I also don’t like the idea of getting him to be our every day third baseman. As our every day left fielder (which would probably involve trading Pollock and/or Joc to the Cubs or elsewhere) I’m OK with it, depending on the prospect cost.

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      3. I’d love Bryant.
        It’s an inconvenience for 1 year. In that year, Muncy to 2nd, Turner and Bryant at the corners however it best fits. Lux gets playing time filling in at 2nd and SS.
        Then Turner leaves. Muncy returns. Lux becomes full time. And the team still has Bryant.

        As for the original thrust of this article:

        Everyone’s favorite trade simulator agrees with:
        Dodgers get:
        Lindor

        Indians get:
        Senzel

        Reds get:
        Maeda
        Seager

        This WILL NEVER HAPPEN. But it does highlight a potential problem with the trade simulator. How it seems to account for injuries. He has a torn labrum. But his value is at a very high level. Obviously, over the long-term he should perform (best case) but I don’t think the injury has the “weight” it does IRL.

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  10. If we sign Bryant he basically will replace JOC and how much do we gain there especially against right handed pitching. I still say the difference maker for this team in the playoffs is a #2 starter behind Buehler. And AF may have to wait till the deadline to make that happen.

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  11. I do not think they get anyone before spring, no matter what Friedman has said, or Kasten for that matter. All this lefty, righty stuff is a farce. Right now on the 40 man roster they have 9 RH hitters, and 9 LH hitters, and 1 switch hitter, Ruiz. Infield is lefty heavy, and the outfield is 4-3 RH to left. Learn to hit guys who pitch from either side and there is no debate. You know what I do?I take the guys who have trouble hitting lefty’s and I have them see a steady diet of LHP in spring games and batting practice. I increase the amount of time players have to work on beating the shift. Change the mindset, change the result.

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  12. Like that approach bear, couldn’t agree with you more, instead of avoiding something your not comfortable with, do it more until there is no problem.

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