The Los Angeles Dodgers will be buyers at this years trade deadline. The two most prominent names being mentioned as targets for the Dodgers are Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox and Chris Archer of the Tampa Bay Rays. I have read that the asking price for Chris Sale is five to seven prospects depending on who the prospects are. The status of Clayton Kershaw for the rest of the season is still undecided for the Dodgers and the best case scenario for the Dodgers if a trade for Sale did occur would be a devastating left handed one-two punch for the Dodgers. The worst case scenario would be Sale slides into Kershaw's number one slot in the rotation and the one-two punch would have to wait until the 2017 season. The most prominent prospect the Dodgers would have to give up would be Julio Urias, the Dodgers #1 pitching prospect and one of the top prospects in baseball for the pat couple of seasons. He has already made several starts for the Dodgers. I believe five prospects is too steep a price to pay for Chris Sale although the Dodgers would have Sale under contract for two more seasons.
Chris Archer is not as a proven commodity as Chris Sale and has not had a good 2016 season but I doubt that is going to drop the asking price for his pitching services that much. Archer is 5-14 this season with an ERA approaching 4.5 on a bad Tampa Bay team. The Dodgers and their fans got a preview of Archer the other night in what could be seen as a tryout. He gave up three runs, only one earned, in seven innings in a 3-2 Dodgers win.
Archer and Sale are the same age. archer is under contract through 2020 and Sale is locked up through 2018. The intangibles I would have to give to Archer. Sale is a much more proven pitcher but he has also made headlines twice this season for butting heads with team management over management decisions. How well would Sale fit into the Dodgers clubhouse?
The Dodgers could fill out a separate roster just for their injuries. They need offense, starting pitchers, and more solid relief pitching. How do you piece together a trade for any/all of that? The Dodgers cobbled together a pitching staff for the last three or four seasons under Don Mattingly and are having to do the same under first year Manager Dave Roberts. My inclination is to leave Chris Sale alone because the price is too steep and go after Chris Archer. He may not win the Cy Young but he will definitely be a much cheaper upgrade from their starting pitchers now.
No comments:
Post a Comment