July 21st, 2016 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka There isn’t a veteran (aka: old) Dodger fan around who doesn’t consider the 1994 trade of right-hander Pedro Martinez for second baseman Delano DeShields as the absolute worst trade in Dodgers history (although the Mike Piazza trade in 1998 runs a very close second). While the then 22-year-old Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic native went on to become one of the greatest pitchers of his generation and eventually landed in the sacred Halls of Cooperstown, the then 25-year-old DeShields went on to hit a pedestrian .241 / .326 / .327 with 15 home runs and 111 RBIs in his three seasons with the Dodgers. Granted, the Seaford, Delaware native would go on to enjoy a 13-year MLB career, but his was the type of career that is rarely looked up on Baseball-Reference.com and usually only brought up when discussing the ill-fated Martinez trade.
Fast forward to July 21, 2016
To say that Dodgers pitchers are dropping like flies would be a gross understatement. In fact, of the 22 players that have landed on the disabled list thus far in the 2016 season, 13 have been pitchers – with Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-jin Ryu, Alex Wood, Casey Fien and Chris Hatcher being among the most recent. As a result, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi have been scampering around like crazy trying to keep the Dodgers starting rotation and bullpen in contention in the NL West race and, quite frankly, are doing an outstanding job at it. They are, however, looking to make several deals before the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline to both patch up their rotation and shore up their bullpen.
The Dodgers have made it abundantly clear that, for the most part, money is no object for them. The problem is, it isn’t money that potential trading partners are looking for. Instead, they are looking to rebuild their struggling franchises by negotiating for top-tier, MLB-ready prospects and the Dodgers have an abundance of them in their pitcher-rich farm system. And while the immediate knee-jerk reaction my be to go ahead and offer up several of these top-ranked prospects, doing so could very well lead to yet another Pedro Martinez-type fiasco.
Although it is probably safe to say that top pitching prospect Julio Urias (who will be making his ninth major league start at 9:05 am PT this morning) is untouchable, it is also probably safe to say that just about anyone else in the Dodgers farm system is not. There is, however, one pitching prospect who absolutely needs to be untouchable – 23-year-old Isabel, Puerto Rico native Jose De Leon.
Trading Jose De Leon could end up being the disastrous equivalent to trading Pedro Martinez 22 years ago. (Photo courtesy of MiLB.com)
Anyone who has followed this site for any period of time is well aware that we have profiled De Leon on many occasions and, in fact, were among the first Dodgers blog sites to do so, dating back to his early days with the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons. We continued to do so as the soft-spoken and extremely polite young right-hander made his way through Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa, eventually landing in Triple-A Oklahoma City – all over the course of slightly more than one full season.
Like they have done with Urias and recent Tommy John recipient Ross Stripling, the Dodgers have been very protective of De Leon with regards to his innings limit and it’s hard to find fault in that logic. That being said, De Leon once again proved that he has gone as far as he possible can in the minor leagues when, on Wednesday night, he had the longest and most dominant outing of his four-year professional career. De Leon allowed no runs and only four hits while walking none and striking out 10 in his eight shutout innings pitched to lead the OKC Dodgers to a 7-0 win over the Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners). It was the second consecutive 10-strikeout outing and the 13th of his career in his combined 57 minor league starts. That’s 23 percent of them.
While it is understood and generally accepted that pitching in the minors is nothing like pitching at baseball’s highest level, Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi would be absolutely foolish to: A) trade Jose De Leon; and B) not to call him up in the very near future and immediately insert him into the Dodgers starting rotation. Because, Lord forbid, if they do not and instead trade him, they could very well be trading away the next Pedro Martinez.
…and we all know how that one worked out.
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Excellent summary on the state of the Dodgers.
I agree FAZ has done an “outstanding” job dealing with all the injuries. Today, if the season ended, we would be going to the playoffs. Don’t ruin it by making a crazy trade. I saw De Leon pitch last weekend in Reno, He looked like a man among boys to me. I agree with you Ron, DON’t DO IT! Bring him to LA, lets start De Leon..mania.
Additionally, regarding Puig, I don’t know the daily dynamics regarding Puig, is he doing his best to do what’s asked of him. Looks like he is to me, but, I don’t know. If he is, I only trade a 25 yr old potential super star, on a reasonable salary, for a HUGE return. He isn’t delivering with the bat like we want, but, that could change in a big hurry. Stay the course.
Thanks for bringing back the memories of the Pedro Martinez and Mike Piazza trades. Man, I hope we don’t go through one of those things again. The FO of those era’s showed very little foresight when it came to recognizing a great player and the team was sure hurt by these trades. Let’s hope this present group can be trusted.
I see the Dodgers have replaced Zach Walters with Grant Dayton from OKC. This is the kind of trade I want to see. I like how it’s a total organization “All Hands on Deck” approach. Now let’s see some of the youngsters get it done!
I think there are pitching options out there – good options under different circumstances – but not a #1 or #2. Every team knows the Dodgers are a bit desperate right now so the price has escalated. The thing to do, in my opinion, is not to deal out of desperation. Unless there is a three-way trade with the Dodgers getting almost a lone acquisition in return, I don’t see how a big gun is acquired. You gotta know when to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, when to walk away, when to run. I believe FAZ will do that. Next year is coming.
I’m all in on an inside job of holding things together. Good move with Dayton. The Dodger sky is cloudy but it is not falling.
Oh yes, as suggested by Ron on a number of occasions – don’t touch Jose De Leon unless it to bring him to the mound at the MLB level in Dodgers Blue.
I absolutely agree that Jose De Leon should be considered untouchable regardless as to what happens with Kershaw this year. Promote De Leon for the rest of 2016 to get acclimated at the ML level, with emphasis on development over results. Besides Urias and De Leon, I would include Alex Verdugo as another untouchable, with Cody Bellinger and Yadier Alveraz just about there. Alveraz, at 20, was just promoted to Great Lakes from AZL (bypassing Ogden) and started last night; 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, and 10 K. Chase de Jong, Walker Buehler, Grant Holmes, and Frankie Montas are additional pitching prospects that need to be considered special.
The direction of the 2016 Dodgers is really dependent on the prognosis of Clayton Kershaw’s back, and if he will be able to pitch again in 2016. If the Dodgers do become sellers, I would assume that both Puig and Jansen will be discussed. If Kershaw is done for 2016, perhaps Friedman can work one of those multiple team trades and package Puig and Jansen for multiple prospects that Tampa Bay would want in return for Chris Archer. If the Dodgers can get Archer, that would give them a legit #2 for 2017, and with Maeda, Urias, and De Leon a formidable rotation. I would think that Kazmir would opt out if he understood that it is more probable that he is not considered a viable SP. If McCarthy continues to pitch well, he becomes a Winter trade consideration, or retained “just in case”. Wood probably goes to the bullpen, and Ryu is the unknown. Liberatore becomes the closer for the remainder of 2016 to determine if he is a viable/realistic closer option.
I have no problem with Grant Dayton, but he is certainly no youngster. I wonder what FO is saying about Cotton behind closed doors, since Dayton had to be added to 40 man before he got called up, and Jharel was bypassed once again. It appears that Cotton is getting the Zach Lee treatment.
Perhaps I’m missing something but I do not see Chris Archer as a solution to ANYTHING. He has more losses than ANY starter in the AL (13) with a horrible 4.60 ERA. To trade away even a couple Low and High-A pitchers for him is too much.
The panacea that Dodger fans seem to think is out there simply is not, and those that are would be rentals. Is this really worth giving up the farm? I say no.
No doubt Archer is having a down year, but based on his performance 2013 through 2015 along with his talent, age, and team control years, if Dodgers can acquire him for a couple of pitchers like Cotton and Oaks and perhaps position players like Johnson and Garlick then team should grab him.
I do not believe Chris Archer is an Ace, but he is a better option than Scott Kazmir. I do not believe anyone knows where Ryu is health-wise. While McCarthy has pitched well, can/will he hold up? There is probably something in those Maeda X-Rays that gives LA pause, having them offer the type of contract that they did. Urias and De Leon are extremely talented but unproven. Alex Wood is probably headed for the bullpen in 2017. There are no worthy FA pitchers available.
Chris Archer is on pace for 200 IP, something no Dodger is going to do this year. He had 194 and 212 IP for the two previous years. His 2013-2015 ERA was around at 3.2 for the three previous years. It appears that his command is off, but he still has swing and miss capabilities with 10+K/9. His HR allowed give additional credence to his command being off. He had a quality start with 11 Ks against the Rox yesterday. I am not as concerned about his WL record being on the fourth worst team in MLB. In no way am I making any comparison to Steve Carlton, but in 1973 (at 28) Carlton was 13-20 with a bad Philly team with a 3.9 ERA, one year removed from a CY with 27-10 and 1.97 ERA. It was his worst ERA until 1986. The point is that off years happen, even to young players.
While not an Ace, Archer is a workhorse like Samardzija and Leake, at an absolute fraction of the cost. His contract calls for $35M for the next 5 years, if the last 2 options are exercised at $8.25M each year. I do not know what it would take to get someone like Chris Archer or Jake Odorizzi or Matt Moore or Sonny Gray, but to say no to a quality pitcher like any of the 4, because the FO does not want to trade a Josh Sborz, or Andy Sopko, or Dennis Santana, or Caleb Ferguson (High A and Low A pitchers) is defeating one of the purposes of building a strong minor league system. I would not advocate Grant Holmes, Chase de Jong, Walker Buehler, or Yadier Alveraz. But RHSP is at an excess for the Dodger organization. They are not going to move all of them up to the ML team, so why not package a couple for someone at the level of Archer, Odorizzi, Moore, or Gray who can help this year and 2017-2018. You cannot just hoard pitchers or they end up like Zach Lee or Jharel Cotton. Tampa Bay could also use a team controlled bat like Puig. Not to mention creating a great defensive OF with Kiermaier. Tampa Bay has no catching, so Austin Barnes might be someone they could look at. There are options that do not necessarily include top front line pitching prospects.
I’m down with this.
I’ve not been able to read up on everything Dodgers related this season. Life is keeping me plenty busy… so with that said…
DODGERS, PLEASE DO NOT TRADE JOSE DE LEONE!! His numbers are EXACTLY what the rotation needs… right now! And for crying out loud, the kid is four years older than Urias… so how long can the Dodger brass keep pushing “inning limits” on their prospects without knowing whether a player is MLB ready or not? They have the opportunity to build from within and keep the cream of their farm system. Now is the time to utilize their assets and see what their mettle consists of.
Thank you for your concise reporting, Ron. It helps keep me in touch with the reality of all things Dodgers related. I appreciate the time spent in answering a few dumb questions, even when these questions are answered in your blog articles. Keep up the good work.