Dodgers trade Dee, Haren, Rojas to Marlins for Heaney, Hatcher, 2 prospects

The Dodgers have traded second baseman Dee Gordon and starting pitcher Dan Haren to the Marlins for reliever Chris Hatcher, and prospects Andrew Heaney, Kike Hernandez, and Austin Barnes, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald.

We all know about Dee Gordon and his All-Star season in 2014 that provided a great comeback story of sorts, and he was indeed valuable to the team’s run this past year. However, after he was named an All-Star, he struggled to a .284/.300/.348/.648 line, walked just four times against 47 strikeouts, and was only successful on 21-of-31 stolen-base attempts. No reason to pretend he was bad overall, but given his mechanical problems and past history, there was ample reason to wonder how legit his 2014 really was.

As far as the return goes, Andrew Heaney is a 23-year-old highly-touted left-handed pitching prospect who was ranked before the 2014 season as the #30 prospect in all of baseball for Baseball Prospectus, #30 for Baseball America, and #29 for MLB.com. As of right now, he’s MLB.com’s #18 prospect in baseball after he made his way to the majors in 2014. Heaney struggled in his MLB debut, posting a 5.83 ERA and 5.45 FIP across five starts, two relief appearances, and 29.1 innings. However, across the board, he’s considered an impact prospect that should settle into the middle of a rotation with the upside to be a #2 type. Heaney sits 91-93 mph with the fastball but can work up to 95 mph, and he features a strikeout pitch in a wipeout slider to go along with a workable and improving changeup.

Chris Hatcher is a 29-year-old right-handed reliever who is a converted catcher and posted an excellent 2014 after struggling for three years prior. Only a pitcher since 2011, Hatcher had a 3.38 ERA and 2.56 FIP in 56 innings while striking out more than a batter per frame. He’s a hard-thrower who works in the mid to high-90s and has seen his velocity uptick by two mph in recent years.

(Kike) Enrique Hernandez is a 23-year-old utilityman, who has played all three outfield positions, shortstop, second base, and third base in his brief major-league career. Kike posted a .248/.321/.421/.742 line in his rookie season in 2014, and put up a breakout .319/.372/.484/.856 line between AA and AAA in the minors.

Austin Barnes is a 24-year-old catcher that has also played second base and third base. He was old for the league, but did have a .303/.413/.503/.916 line at AA with excellent plate discipline numbers (62 BB/46 K). Barnes also threw out 38% of runners as a catcher, so he doesn’t seem like a terrible catch-and-throw guy. He would’ve been the #10 prospect for the Marlins in 2015, according to John Manuel of Baseball America.

Austin Barnes is other notable prospect going to LA: can play legit C, 2B & 3B, 50+ bat, VG plate disc, 8-10 HR power, super UT, 2015-16 ETA

— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) December 11, 2014

Meanwhile, Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish reports that a source close to Haren says there’s no way he would report to the Marlins and would probably choose to retire instead. Here’s the thing, the Dodgers agreed to pay the $10 million on Haren’s option if he decides to play, but if Haren doesn’t, then apparently both teams pay nothing. So basically the Marlins agreed to take on Haren for the Dodgers, with the Dodgers daring him to retire.

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Not sure there’s a whole lot to complain about here. The only worry is who plays second base now, but it’s only Dec. 10 and there’s more moves to be made. In terms of value, the Dodgers certainly seem to have sold high on Gordon, netting them an excellent prospect, a reliever with a plus-plus arm and good current MLB performance, a prospect with potential to be a regular at catcher or second base, and a super utilityman. Better yet, pieces from this could be used to net a bigger fish down the road.

Can’t imagine they could’ve done much better in terms of return and addressing needs.

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Update

Apparently the Dodgers are paying Haren’s salary no matter what, and are also paying Gordon’s salary.

#dodgers will pay #marlins $10 million (Haren's salary) whether or not he retires. They're also paying Gordon's projected $2.5 million.

— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) December 11, 2014

Plus, Miguel Rojas is another guy going to the Marlins.

I've heard INF Miguel Rojas is also headed to #Marlins from #Dodgers and Miami will receive financial compensation if Haren retires

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) December 11, 2014

None of this affects much of anything.