With the Los Angeles Dodgers expected to be active in the reliever trade market, the front office has just five days to pull off a deal, and there have been rumors swirling about which top Dodgers’ prospects are going to be made available.
Los Angeles is 61-43 and has a healthy six-game lead in the National League West, but they have their eyes on repeating as World Series Champions, and the roster, mainly the bullpen, could use some reinforcements. There hasn’t been a year in recent memory when the Dodgers haven’t been active at the trade deadline. With a rotation that is seemingly getting healthier, the most logical trade plans for the Dodgers are to target a high-leverage reliever.
Dodgers’ Top Prospect Could Be on the Move
Every year at Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, there are top prospects from around the sport who end up finding new organizations. In circumstances where the contending team is attempting to improve its current roster, oftentimes, its best trade piece is a top prospect who may be able to turn another organization around. While that’s not necessarily the case for the Los Angeles Dodgers, they have a deep farm system and enjoy the luxury of having many high-quality trade chips.
In a recent article by Bleacher Report, the Dodgers’ third-ranked prospect Alex Freeland was named as a player who could be a jewel of the deadline:
“A third-round pick in the 2022 draft who ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers system at the start of last season, Alex Freeland was one of the breakout prospects of 2024. He hit .260/.387/.442 with 32 doubles, 18 home runs, 74 RBI and 31 steals in 137 games across three minor league levels, opening the year at High-A and finishing it out with 39 games at Triple-A. In 91 games back at Triple-A Oklahoma City this year, he has an .803 OPS with 26 doubles, 11 home runs, 70 RBI and 16 steals, and he has split his time defensively between shortstop and third base.”
Freeland is one of those prospects who is pretty close to getting his shot at the big-league level, and that could go a long way for another MLB organization that is looking for that.
What Teams Are a Good Fit for Freeland?
Thinking about the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top needs, a reliever, they are likely going to be making calls with selling teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves about some of their higher-leverage arms. The Minnesota Twins may also be included in those conversations with some of the bullpen pieces they have.
The Pirates have David Bednar, and they are desperate for hitters who could either play for their major league team now or very soon in the future. Freeland fits that bill, and it’s the same situation for the Braves, who are in dire need of prospects that can be developed in their depleted farm system.
If the Dodgers pull off a blockbuster-type deal for a reliever, the sense is that it could be one of the Pirates or Braves that are the beneficiaries of receiving Freeland. He may be Los Angeles’s top trade chip, and many expect him to be moved in the next five days.
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