How could they fill the hole in the outfield without breaking the bank in free agency?
Easy. Swing a trade for Chicago White Sox star outfielder Luis Robert Jr. Well, maybe not so easy.
Robert is coming off a rough 2024 season, so his value isn’t going to be as high as it was in 2023 when he slugged 38 home runs and stole 20 bases.
Here’s a deal that would send Robert to the Dodgers this winter:
- Los Angeles Dodgers receive: OF Luis Robert Jr., OF Andrew Benintendi, $24.5 million (Pay half Benintendi’s contract)
- Chicago White Sox receive: SS Alex Freeland (No. 3 prospect), SS Emil Morales (No. 8 prospect)
This is a two-part trade. The White Sox are looking for a massive haul of positon players in order to trade away Robert, but Chicago is also looking to dump Andrew Benintendi’s horrible contract.
The Dodgers don’t have the position player depth in their farm system to comfortably deal for Robert, so they would take on Benintendi to lessen the prospect return. Chicago would cover half of his contract (about $24.5 million over the next three years).
The two prospects returning to Chicago are no slouches either. Alex Freeland, the Dodgers’ third-ranked prospect, posted a .829 OPS as he surged through three levels of the minor leagues last season. He’s a shortstop with pop and an above-average glove.
Emil Morales is the Dodgers’ eighth-ranked prospect, though he should probably be ranked higher. Last season, Morales slashed .342/.478/.691 in 46 games as a 17-year-old.
Robert would be a huge add for the Dodgers. He would give them the depth and potential in the outfield they could use to surge back to another World Series.
Dodgers All-Star predicted to sign $90 million deal to return to LA
The Los Angeles Dodgers accomplished everything they possibly could’ve hoped for in 2024.
Los Angeles revamped the organization with over $1 billion in contracts last offseason despite winning 100 games in 2023. The Dodgers were unable to win the World Series last year so they made heavy investments back into the club to help get it over the hump.
The spending clearly worked out as the Dodgers were able to take down the New York Yankees in the World Series.
Things are looking up in Los Angeles and the Dodgers should be able to contend for years to come, but there are some key players hitting free agency. One who is available on the open market is Teoscar Hernández.
It was surprising that he even was available for the Dodgers last offseason, but he landed in LA and had an All-Star season. It would be hard to see him go, but Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller predicted that won’t be the case, and he’ll re-sign with the team on a four-year, $90 million deal.
“Contract Prediction: 4 years, $90 million to the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Miller said. “Will the Dodgers actually sign both Willy Adames and Teoscar Hernández in their pursuit of back-to-back titles? Maybe not. But in this salary cap-less world where three of this past season’s four semifinalists are all going to make an exorbitant luxury-tax payment about a month from now, there’s not a whole lot stopping them if they want to put those final touches on what would be a preposterous lineup from top to bottom…
“Hernández fit in well with them in 2024, setting a career-high in home runs and racking up more hits, home runs and RBI than all Dodgers not named Shohei Ohtani.”
Miller predicted that Milwaukee Brewers star shortstop Willy Adames would land in Los Angeles as well.
If the Dodgers could find a way to keep Hernández for the next few years, it only would help their title chances.
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