Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers had a busy couple of days leading up to the 2024 trade deadline, and their moves led to some top prospects exiting the farm system.
First, they swung a three-team deal with the White Sox and Cardinals Monday that sent two prospects to Chicago alongside young major league outfielder Miguel Vargas. Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez, both teenage infielders, were dealt to Chicago. The White Sox and Cardinals also each got one “player to be named later or cash” in the deal from the Dodgers, but it should not be big names if they choose players.
Next, they made a smaller trade with the Rays that brought infielder (and newly converted utilityman) Amed Rosario back to Los Angeles. Going to Tampa Bay in the deal was soon-to-be 28-year-old relief pitcher Michael Flynn, who has spent this season in the Oklahoma City bullpen. This was Flynn’s first year in the organization and he has a solid slider that he throws as his primary pitch.
Moving on to the actual deadline day Tuesday, the Dodgers made their biggest trade of the week just minutes before the 3 p.m. deadline. Connected multiple times recently with the Tigers as one of the teams pursuing resurgent star right-hander Jack Flaherty, the Dodgers won out in the bidding, picking up the Harvard-Westlake High School graduate for catcher Thayron Liranzo and infielder Trey Sweeney.
Let’s take a look at those prospects that are now elsewhere.
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This year was one of the biggest sellers’ markets that has ever been seen. Many of the deals made in the days leading up to the deadline brought back prospect returns far larger than had been expected. However, the Dodgers did an excellent job avoiding falling victim to this trend.
The best prospect they gave up was Thayron Liranzo, who competed in the 2024 Futures Game a few weeks ago. Liranzo is a switch-hitting backstop who possesses massive raw power. He led the Single-A California League in homers last year by mashing 24 long balls for Rancho Cucamonga.
Liranzo, 21, is midway through his first season in High-A, where he has not had quite as much success. The Venezuelan has an even .700 OPS through 74 games, batting just .220 with seven home runs. That said, his on-base ability has continued to impress, producing a 15.6% walk rate and .344 on-base percentage.
While his raw power is his best attribute, Liranzo has struggled with swing-and-miss to this point in his career. He has struck out at a rate just north of 26% each of the past two seasons and has to work on limiting his in-zone whiff rate to reach his peak. Defensively, Liranzo is fairly raw at catcher, and he may end up splitting his time between first base and catcher if he can stick behind the dish after all.
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The two 19-year-olds that the Dodgers sent to the White Sox, Alexander Albertus and Jeral Perez, have each been quick risers in the last two seasons and especially this year. Albertus recently received his first Single-A promotion and has only played 19 games with the Quakes. Perez has been in Single-A for all of 2024 while producing impressive numbers like an .800 OPS and 25 extra-base-hits.
Albertus is a contact-first hitter who has great feel for the strike zone and all things around the diamond, including his glove. He walked far more often than he struck out all the way through the rookie ball levels and should be a consistent on-base threat moving forward. His defense is above-average in the infield, and he can produce highlight plays across third base, second base and shortstop.
While there are a lot of tools to like with Albertus, his ceiling is not particularly high because of his subpar power ability. His other strong suits make him a less risky prospect than most teenagers but he still has a long way to go before he gets to the major leagues. He is an electric player but not the kind that could turn into a perennial All-Star and haunt the Dodgers forever.
Perez has a slightly higher ceiling offensively because of the power production he has shown so far as a pro. He led the Arizona Complex League in homers last year and has slugged .420 with the Quakes this season. Defensively, Perez is likely to be locked to second base, giving him a more volatile profile than Albertus’ ability to move around the diamond.
Alongside Liranzo, Perez was the other Dodger prospect to compete in the Futures Game in Arlington this year. The 6-foot, 179 pound infielder has good projection to add strength as he ages, and his power will have to continue showing through as he moves up the ranks to eventually become a quality major leaguer.
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Lastly, Trey Sweeney had his time in the organization cut short before he reached a full season’s tenure. The former first-round shortstop was acquired in the offseason from the Yankees and has spent this full year in Triple-A with Oklahoma City.
Sweeney has not been great in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League this season. He’s been the everyday shortstop, and through 96 games, the 24-year-old has a lackluster 87 wRC+ (where 100 is average). Sweeney has had a jump in his strikeout rate compared to previous seasons, striking out 26.8% of the time compared to a 19.1% rate in Double-A with New York last year.
While he has played exclusively shortstop this year, save for two games at third base, Sweeney is not a particularly great defender. He lacks some range and was more likely to be a “can play there in a pinch” defender at shortstop than an everyday one. He has good quickness despite limited speed which helps the glove as well as his baserunning, where he has swiped 16 bags this year.
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Overall, considering the prospect capital that other teams parted with at this deadline, it’s hard not to be thrilled with how the Dodgers came out of it. They made quality additions in the Majors that will help their quest to win the World Series this year, along with a couple pieces that will be around beyond this fall.
Liranzo is the toughest prospect to part with, but in order to get Flaherty back, that is an easy loss to move on from. When the trade first broke and the return was not yet public, it seemed likely that top names in the system like Dalton Rushing, Josue De Paula, River Ryan and/or Justin Wrobleski could be included in the deal. The Dodgers managed to avoid that.
A contending team with a strong farm like the Dodgers should have two goals in mind whenever they enter a deadline season: First, acquire quality big league talent that will improve the team for an October run. Second, make an effort to retain your very best prospects to avoid mortgaging your organization’s bright future. It can be hard to accomplish both, but the Dodgers managed to do that today.
