The Los Angeles Dodgers will try once again to trade an outfielder this off-season as the MLB hot stove heats up.
These are the trade rumors that won’t go away. The situations around the individual players might change, but the essence of the grumblings remains the same: the Dodgers would love to trade one or two members of their overpaid trio of outfielders: Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and Carl Crawford.
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Of that group, Kemp would hold the most value in terms of on-field production. His contract is arguably the most onerous, but given the price tags for Ethier and Crawford, any hypothetical trade partner would likely want to at least get elite production in return.
For their part, the Dodgers would likely prefer to keep Kemp and pair him with Yasiel Puig and top prospect Joc Pederson in their outfield. They could then use whichever player between Ethier and Crawford that they keep as a handsomely paid fourth outfielder. That might be the Dodgers’ dream scenario, but in practice it is easier said than done.
Ken Rosenthal reports the following about the Dodgers and their outfield situation.
Sources: #Dodgers aggressively trying to move Kemp, Crawford or Ethier. Puig not in play.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2014
#Dodgers willing to include anything from no money to significant money depending upon return.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2014
#Dodgers' Kemp obviously drawing attention, but some teams prefer a left-handed hitter such as Ethier or Crawford.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 10, 2014
If the Dodgers can actually get the parameters of a deal in place for either Crawford or Ethier, it seems likely that they would happily settle for diminished returns if it meant they could unclog their outfield situation.
This off-season is gaining a reputation as one that is light in terms of available position players in free agency. That might make this the time for the Dodgers to actually pull off a trade for one of their outfielders, and it sounds like their first order of business is to pursue that possibility.
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