Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The combination of the Dodgers and the trade deadline will inevitably result in a lot of noise, especially tying them to the biggest names on the market. And why not? They can afford anything and have the farm system to trade for anybody they like. Makes sense as fits for any deal that people want to throw out there.
That said, as alluded to before on this site, perhaps the biggest task for the front office will be maneuvering around the margins. Of the actual reporting around their potential deadline moves, much of the focus so far has been around exactly those types of deals, with names like Alex Call, Eric Lauer, and even Teoscar Hernandez floating around.
Since those have some smoke, why not take a look at where they could land?
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Ever since Call was acquired at last year’s deadline, he has performed admirably in what became a role as a fifth outfielder. He’s posted a .246/.347/.349/.687 line with a 97 wRC+ as a Dodger while playing solid defense, though that has been weighed down by a .527 OPS in the last two months as his playing time has evaporated. And that’s a big part of why they’d look to move him despite his role in last year’s NLDS, three seasons of control after 2026, and his acceptance of a limited role.
With the returns of Enrique Hernandez and Tommy Edman, he’s now the last man on the bench that has five other outfielders, all of whom matchup best with lefties. The Dodgers hate to move on from depth more than anything, but they have Ryan Ward, Jack Suwinski, and Alek Thomas at AAA for emergencies — and arguably could do with moving at least one those guys to one of these teams as well — and could even call up a top prospect in all of baseball as a last resort. As such, it essentially leaves Call with no role on this team, and with the dearth of right-handed hitting outfielders around the league, he seems like a prime candidate to be on the move. While Call obviously isn’t an impact bat that’s necessarily gonna excite anybody, but he’s valuable for teams that need a guy to not be a free out, to turn the lineup over a times, and who’s willing to play his role.
As far as teams to matchup with, the Phillies have been particularly bad from the right side and in the outfield, the Guardians are a contender that aren’t getting better production from multiple spots and could use him as a fourth outfielder at worse. The Red Sox have basically started three outfielders all year, but Jarren Duran has been abysmal and Call could at least eat into his playing time from an initial bench role and/or a platoon. Another pairing is the Tigers if they decide to go for it, as they could definitely do with even average outfield production. A surprising inclusion? The Twins, who I’m only including because it’s been reported they’re poking around. Surprising mostly because they already have a lot of guys who can play in the outfield and even from the right-hand side.
In terms of return, trying to predict that is usually a fool’s errand since it depends on internal team preferences, but as you look through the prospect lists for the above teams, the Dodgers would likely be looking at an A-ball player with some upside at positions like pitcher, infielder, or catcher. Or for the Guardians specifically, one of their backup catchers would likely do.
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Meanwhile, trading the undefeated Lauer almost feels like bad luck at this point, as all he’s done since coming over is win every game he’s pitched in while posting a 3.35 ERA over 45.2 innings. However, it’s also clear he hasn’t exactly unlocked anything in particular since coming over from the Blue Jays, as he also has a 4.06 xERA, 5.45 FIP, and 5.14 SIERA. He has struck out even less batters, but has found success by walking less guys, limiting hard contact better, and … well, getting luckier.
Like Call, there’s nothing wrong with his contributions to this point, but with Blake Snell on the verge of returning and Tyler Glasnow also starting his ramp up (and the Dodgers maybe getting some Tarik Skubal guy), Lauer could soon be without a real role on the team. His main value is taking the ball every fifth or sixth day and keeping his team in the game, but the regular season isn’t all that valuable to the Dodgers at this point, and they likely already have a handful of starters moving to the pen in the playoffs, so Lauer probably has more value elsewhere even if he isn’t a flashy move.
His best fit then are teams who simply need innings, either for the rest of the season or even just for a month or so. This includes the Cubs, Braves, Marlins, and yes, the Phillies again. If they choose to go for it, the Nationals or Diamondbacks could also use guys who simply don’t have peripherals worse than 6 or 7 in the last rotation spot, which could allow their offenses to steal more games. Again, not exactly an impact player who will excite anybody, but the kind of target that teams can use to marginally improve
As far as the return goes … well, you’re probably looking at a lottery ticket from A-ball or below, or a post-hype prospect the team has given up on. Something like that. A bigger return could potentially be had from the Phillies by pairing both Call and Lauer, probably. While there’s some concern about helping a potential playoff opponent improve, perhaps filling holes for them would also prevent them from going after significantly better options instead.
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Lastly, I’ll quickly touch on Teoscar because he’s being mentioned in passing again, and quite frankly has been mentioned for the last 12 months, really. The obvious is that he’s a beloved figure in the clubhouse and with the fanbase, the Dodgers arguably don’t win the last two World Series without him, and at his best he’s a powerful right-handed threat in a lineup that needs one for balance. Also obvious? Since re-signing, he’s been injury prone, has posted a league average .247/.296/.431/.727 line, and has played bad defense. It adds up to a fringe-average regular that’s owed about $25 million before the team can opt-out after 2027, including like $11 million deferred.
To me, though, the complicating factor is what dealing him even does for the Dodgers unless they acquire an upgrade. Moving on from him is very easy to justify if you replace his spot with a shock trade for CJ Abrams or Francisco Lindor while moving Edman and Enrique to left, maybe even if they get like a Taylor Ward or a buy-low guy like Steven Kwan. However, if it’s just straight-up dumping him, I’m not sure how much better off the Dodgers are with some kind of Edman, Hernandez, Call, Ward, Miguel Rojas, and Alex Freeland timeshare between second and left field. I’d only be inclined to move him if it was for a clear reason, mostly.
In any case, everything that applies to Call in terms of reasons to trade him, why others teams would want him, and the list of teams that would have interest applies to Teoscar as well. Unless they’re taking on a bad contract themselves, for the Dodgers to get any kind of return, they’d have to eat significant money or include a prospect since Teoscar’s contract is underwater at this point. Still, with the lack of power-hitting righties on the market, maybe he could end up getting the front office a promising piece of the future or present somehow.
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So, there’s now less than a week left before the deadline. While the Dodgers don’t seem to have any glaring needs, obviously this is likely a once-in-a-lifetime chance to secure a three-peat, and they have more than enough tools to make a splash. They also have some work that can be done around the margins to set them up better for the future, and this trio will certainly be a potential part of their ongoing discussions.
