Right on the heels of the Enrique Hernandez trade, the Los Angeles Dodgers have made another trade for a veteran utility player, this time for Amed Rosario.
Rosario has mainly played at shortstop, but in the Dodgers official release about the trade, they have listed him at infield/outfield.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the trade is who is going to the Cleveland Guardians in return – none other than Noah Syndergaard, who had spent half of his Dodger career on the injured list.
The transaction appears to be cash neutral, as the Dodgers are sending the difference of the remaining salaries of Syndergaard and Rosario.
While Rosario has not been having his best season, (more on that later), it is notable that President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman convince Cleveland to trade him for Syndergaard. The Guardians are indeed in need of pitching, but this has not been the best season for Thor so far.
Syndergaard has not pitched for the Dodgers since June 7 when he went on the IL with a blister issue. He has made two starts with Triple-A Oklahoma City, neither of which were stellar. The Dodgers were holding onto him to find a suitable trade partner, and they seemingly have found it with the Cleveland Guardians, who have three of their starters currently on the IL also.
For his part, the acquisition of Rosario may also have Dodgers fan scratching their heads. FanGraphs just put out an article about replacement level killers, and Rosario was the featured player for the article.
Still, Rosario and Kiké Hernandez seemingly would be replacements for Yonny Hernandez and Jonny DeLuca off the bench, the latter of whom just went on the 10-day IL.
Of course, we know that the Dodgers are not done making trades. The team is in desperate need of another starter, or two maybe, if the recent outings by Julio Urías, and Tony Gonsolin are any indication. Stay tuned.