Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Not exactly the big trade we were all hoping for, but it appears the Dodgers are bolstering their bench and bullpen in a three-way trade by acquiring Cardinals utility man Tommy Edman (along with teenage pitcher Oliver Gonzalez) and White Sox right-handed reliever Michael Kopech.
The Cardinals are getting White Sox right-hander Erick Fedde and outfielder Tommy Pham (along with a player to be named later or cash from the Dodgers, and cash from the White Sox), while the White Sox are getting outfielder Miguel Vargas, shortstop Alexander Albertus and second baseman Jeral Perez (along with a PTBNL or cash from the Dodgers).
The Dodgers acquired RHP Michael Kopech from the Chicago White Sox and IF/OF Tommy Edman and minor league RHP Oliver Gonzalez from St. Louis in a three-team deal with the White Sox and Cardinals. The Dodgers traded IF/OF Miguel Vargas and minor leaguers Jeral Perez and Alexander…
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 29, 2024
The Dodgers definitely needed to do something about the bench, as guys like Enrique Hernandez, Gavin Lux (though, better of late) and Chris Taylor have vastly underperformed this season. Additionally, the fact it’s anyone’s guess as to when Max Muncy comes back makes Edman a logical acquisition.
Edman, 29, is currently on the 60-day injured list recovering from offseason wrist surgery and ankle problems that popped up during rehab. In eight games with Double-A Springfield, he’s hitting .207/.294/.241. Considering he didn’t have a full offseason of work and Spring Training, it might be a minute before Edman is on the active roster.
Last season, he hit .265/.324/.400 with a 106 wRC+ while playing second base, shortstop and center and right field, and he’s about a league-average hitter for his career. He has experience at every position on the field outside of first base and catcher, and he’s a plus defender at all of them, so he’ll fit right in with his versatility. A floor raiser for a bench that needed somebody to be an average hitter and play great defense.
He’s signed through next season at $9 million, and is due a little less than $2.5 million for the rest of the season.
Also, here’s a throwback from the 2021 postseason.
Welp.
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As for Kopech, I wrote about him less than an hour ago.
“Normally, the Dodgers probably wouldn’t be terribly interested in Kopech. But with them being attached to Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr., it would be more of an acquisition of convenience for LA. The 28-year-old was part of the Chris Sale trade all the way back in 2016. He was a starter for the last two seasons with not-great results. A move to the bullpen has seen him increase his velocity and raise his strikeout rate, but he’s still wild and leans quite a bit on his 4-seamer. He throws it 79% of the time and has some good numbers with it (31.9 Whiff%, .209 BAA, 88.6 MPH EV), but he has also allowed seven homers on it. His cutter and slider are remarkably similar pitches, with about 4.5 MPH of velocity difference.”
“You’d think he would enjoy more success with the breaking stuff. A Martin/Treinen-esque overhaul of usage could help him going forward. He’s under team control through next season and, at this point, would be a little better than a throw-in type if the Dodgers and White Sox consummate a larger deal. I don’t see Kopech, on his own, being a target for LA.”
Technically, I was correct, the best kind of correct. He’ll be a much-needed addition to a beleaguered bullpen, and if the Dodgers can extract results that match his impressive Stuff+ profile then they may have just stolen a closer in a seller’s market.
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Gonzalez, the prospect the Dodgers got from the Cardinals, is a 17-year-old right-handed pitcher.
Neat.
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Going the other way is one of my favorite prospects in the last decade in Vargas. He’s the biggest name the White Sox are acquiring in the deal. It looked like he was going to break through last season and be a future cog in the Dodgers’ machine. However, a move to second base didn’t work out too well and he’s been a bit of an adventure in the outfield. Still, he has ability with the bat, but playing time in LA got foggier (even with the injuries) and he appeared to fall out of favor with the front office. Even if he hits, Vargas basically just had no place on this Dodgers roster.
Infield prospects Albertus and Perez (recently a Futures Game attendee) also leave the Dodgers to the White Sox, which is not a terrible price to pay as a return to fill two positions of need. A lot of potential, but a lot of risk as well, and their development is more on the timeline the White Sox are operating on.
The Dodgers will also send a PTBNL or cash to both teams in the deal, but neither is expected to be significant.
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The first domino has seemingly fallen and it’s a solid start, but let’s hope there are a couple more significant moves in Andrew Friedman‘s future.
