January 22nd, 2023 at 8:00 am 
by 0799291000348 As the Hot Stove season cools down with teams beginning to gear up for Spring Training, the Dodgers remain a work in progress with several boxes unchecked on their to-do list. Although the Dodgers have one of the best groups of prospects in MLB, it seems that their highly regarded position players are not aligned with the team’s needs for 2023, namely shortstop and outfield.
Catcher Diego Cartaya is one of the very best prospects in the game, but will not be ready to contribute to the Dodgers earlier than 2024. Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch are considered Major League-ready hitters, but their respective defense ranges from below average to merely adequate. Both are more suited for first base, but 33-year-old / 13-year MLB veteran Freddie Freeman will play the position for the foreseeable future.
(SportsNet LA)
Teams seldom trade prospects for prospects. Usually it is one team sending prospects to another in return for more experienced player(s). Perhaps it is the right time for the Dodgers to be unorthodox and break that paradigm. Rather than forcing young prospects to play out of position or returning them to the minors, trade them for another team’s prospects who play positions of need.
A trade of prospects with the Tampa Bay Rays makes sense for both teams; the Dodgers number-four prospect Michael Busch for the Rays number-two prospect Curtis Meade.
(Zach Buchanan)
The 25-year-old Busch is the left-handed-hitting first baseman the Rays have sought since the end of the 2022 season. For the Dodgers, the 22-year-old right-handed-hitting Meade becomes the team’s heir apparent at third or second base. Busch and Meade have similar hitting profiles. It is simply a one-for-one trade of talented players who are better fits defensively with their new teams.
Why not?
Another trade scenario of prospects that helps both teams: The Cincinnati Reds are loaded with shortstop prospects and they are looking for additional offense. What about a swap of number five prospects – the Reds’ 23-year-old shortstop Matt McLain for the Dodgers’ 22-year-old outfielder Andy Pages? McLain immediately becomes the heir apparent shortstop for the Dodgers, and Pages has the opportunity to immediately move into the Reds outfield.
Why not?
The Washington Nationals could also be a prospects-trade partner with the Dodgers, with 25-year-old talented (but often injured) shortstop / third baseman Carter Kieboom coming to LA in return for 26-year-old right-hander Michael Grove and 23-year-old utility infielder Yonny Hernandez. Both teams trading from positions of strength to improve an area of need.
Indeed. Why not?
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Although we rarely (if ever) hear about it, I have to believe that Andrew Friedman and his entire player development staff have their respective fingers on this very pulse. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised that you revealed their exact thoughts – probably to the man. You are rarely wrong about such things.
Great piece, amigo!
Prospects are still prospects until they prove themselves over an extended period.
I don’t see bringing in someone else’s prospect(s) to play shortstop when we have our own “still-a-prospective-shortstop” (to a degree) in Gavin Lux. At least at the shortstop position he has not proven himself over an entire season.
You aren’t wrong about prospects. I like the athleticism of shortstops – typically you can move an athletic shortstop to almost any defensive position. If Lux is the Dodgers shortstop of the present and future you can move other shortstops to another position — perhaps CF where the Dodgers are also thin in the organization.