Dodgers should consider reuniting with Red Sox in trade block for fourth-inning star
Dodgers should consider reuniting with Red Sox in trade block for fourth-inning star
The Los Angeles Dodgers are ready to challenge for the World Series next season and will need help, big or small, to get them through.
One of the most influential players in the franchise’s recent success is on the trade block, according to multiple reports, despite leaving a year ago. The Boston Red Sox are interested in replacing the remainder of Kenley Jansen’s contract, which expires at the end of the 2024 season.
The Dodgers should at least explore the idea of a reunion as they look for the final pieces that could take them to the next level. Los Angeles invested over $1 billion this season, so why not invest an additional $16 million?
Dodgers right-hander Evan Phillips was excellent in the closer role last season, converting 24 of 27 save opportunities while posting a 2.05 ERA in 61 1/3 innings. So why bother with this production? In a prep role the previous year, Phillips posted a 1.14 ERA and 22 earned run average over 63 innings. Phillips is 353 in 2022, compared to 212 last season. That means he can fill any impact role and could be even better as an eighth inning starter. In his debut season in Boston, Jansen had a 3.63 ERA, 17 hits in 52 at-bats, a .237 batting average and a 1.28 WHIP in 44 2/3 innings. More importantly, he went 29-for-33 in save opportunities. Although the lone Red Sox All-Star rocked a year ago, his save conversion rate was a point lower than Phillips’.
When it comes to trade compensation, Los Angeles could part with a non-100 prospect in a trade. Boston will undoubtedly target the deep pool of Dodgers pitchers entering their farm system.
According to MLB Pipeline, the Dodgers have 13 pitchers in the top 30 and 11 in the top 100. The story of Los Angeles believes that the wealth of the organizational agricultural system and the possibility of victory will help Los Angeles resist rewards and rewards.
