February 28th, 2021 at 9:00 am 
by 0799291000348 A play on the words of the old baseball ultimatum “Play me or trade me.”
“Trade me or play me” was reportedly demanded by St. Louis Cardinals player Pepper Martin to general manager Branch Rickey in 1931. The Brooklyn Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson made a “play me or trade me” demand in 1955, and Don Zimmer made a similar demand of the Dodgers in the late 1950s.
But the Dodgers do not trade their top prospects – period. They covet and develop young, talented players as their building blocks for future championships, and there is no argument that 22-year-old catcher Keibert Ruiz is one of the Dodgers’ very best prospects.
Baseball America considers Ruiz to be the Dodgers number one prospect in 2021, while MLB Pipeline and Fangraphs rank him just behind top pitching prospect Josiah Gray. And in each of the last four years (2018 – 2021), the Valencia, Venezuela native has been rated as one of the top-100 prospects in MLB.
Ruiz appears to be a ready-now catching prospect; however, it is unlikely that it will be with the Dodgers in 2021. The dynamic catching duo Will Smith and Austin Barnes are well respected by the entire organization and figure to be the team’s number one and number two catchers on Opening Day, order notwithstanding. Fangraphs’ Eric Longenhagen made the salient point in his December 15, 2020 evaluation Top 51 Prospects: Los Angeles Dodgers that “…unless the Dodgers want to carry three catchers [in 2021], I think [Ruiz] is the odd man out and a potential trade centerpiece this offseason.”
(Photo credit – Jon SooHoo and Harry How)
Regardless of the reason (reportedly “visa issues”), failing to report to Spring Training on time – or at all – has not helped Ruiz in his effort to secure a spot on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster. Nonetheless, it is unlikely that the Dodgers will carry three catchers during the regular season. Keeping Ruiz at Triple-A Oklahoma City will not be well received by the young catching prospect and could potentially reduce his trade value.
Trading a highly regarded prospect who plays a premium defensive position should net the Dodgers a good return, perhaps a late-inning left-handed reliever, or a good right-handed hitter, or several prospects; or perhaps packaging Ruiz with another player whose contract would move the Dodgers 2021 payroll below the $250 million threshold for the 42.5% surtax and lowering their first draft pick 10-spots.
The time has come for the Dodgers to ‘play him or trade him.’
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@Dodgers This makes sense. They seem pretty content with Smith and Barnes. More catchers in system.… https://t.co/IaspkOD0Hz
If Ruiz’s “visa issues” are the result of something out of his control, he gets a pass. But if they are the result of something that he did or did not do, DLTDHYITAOTWO.
@Dodgers They can do better than a left-handed reliever for Ruiz. But the idea of packaging a big con… https://t.co/XcDqkrSNKV
I should have been more specific on the late inning, LH reliever: Josh Hader; Taylor Rogers; Aaron Bummer type LH’ers.
@Dodgers I’m with you, Ron. If the Dodgers are in need of a high end arm at the deadline, I think Rui… https://t.co/p4iOZ7Stau
The piece was written by Jessie Pearce, but he is spot on, IMHO.
Jessie is a non-Twitterer, but absolutely no apology necessary. He is an exceptional writer for us.
AAA needs a starting catcher. And it doesn’t hurt to have a viable starter developing in minors in the event one of Smith or Barnes get hurt. If Cartaya comes out guns blazing, maybe Ruiz could be trade bait. A switch hitting catcher with good contact skills would be worth way more than any kind of rental player at the deadline. Maaaybe Hader if he’s available. They didn’t make any big moves at deadline last year and won it all. Their first string depth is built into roster with the versatility. Given all this, the only way I imagine Ruiz is traded is if there are multiple season ending injuries to top tier players.
Excellent point about having a player like Ruiz ready in case of injury. But I think that is why the team signed the veteran Federowicz. I also like Steve Berman and Hunter Feduccia as backup catching options.
Stevie Berman was a HUGE fan-favorite with the Quakes … back when they were a REAL (High-A) baseball team.
That said, breaking into the Dodgers catching ranks is going to be very difficult for the next few years … but that injury thing is extremely important to be ready for.
If we could aquire Hader for a combination of players starting with Ruiz. Maybe an overpay that includes the Brewers taking KJ in the deal.
Ruiz KJ Gonsolin Peters.
I don’t think the Brewers would take Jansen’s $20M contract even for those three young players.
Unfortunately, Jansen’s best days are behind him, and his contract is an albatross that the Dodgers will invariably end up eating. Jansen’s once elite cutter is now commonplace in the MLB.
History has repeatedly shown us that the best closers are those who are pre-arbitration and arbitration-eligible, not guys signed to ridiculously long – and expensive – contracts. The Mariano Rivera / Éric Gagné days are a thing of the past.
i think “albatross that the Dodgers will invariably end up eating” might be quite the overstatement.
which has a better life of contract value; five years at 86 or two at 85?
i am also very curious to see how the new ball looks from a guy at the top of the ‘soft contact’ sheet.
time will tell.