2022 MLB trade deadline: What trades did the Los Angeles Dodgers make?
The Padres trading for Juan Soto means the Dodgers will have fierce competition, but they have made moves to stay on top.
This time around, the Dodgers were not able to swoop in and hijack a trade deadline move between the Padres and the Nationals like they did last year. The Angelenos have a commanding lead in their division and a team full of stars, albeit many injured or slumping ones, so they just added some complementary pieces to a roster that is set for the playoffs. The Dodgers did not lose the trade deadline, they did not win it either, they did not need to.
Joey Gallo, the big move
A big impact bat whose average is well under .200 this season, Joey Gallo was one of the main moves the Yankees made during last season’s trade deadline, but he’s headed to LA just a year later. An impending free agent this offseason, Gallo has not been performing as expected. The Italian-American player has always been a low-average big-power hitter, but the average has gone down to abysmal levels without the power to sustain it, batting just .159 this year with only 12 home runs to offset it, giving him a measly 77 OPS+.
He was being booed by Yankees fans and was not needed after the team traded for Andrew Benintendi, so a trade was on the cards. The Dodgers sent second-round pick pitcher Clayton Beeter to NY. Aaron Boone, the Yankees manager, had this to say about the move: “A lot of us really feel for the situation he was in and the burden he felt and carried. I think a lot of us, myself included, very much hope he goes and kind of recaptures what we know he’s capable of doing. I’ll truly be rooting for him from afar.’’
Trading away little pieces
The Dodgers were in a tough position with regards to their 40-man roster, so they had to clear space both for when some of their inactive players come out of the injured list and for the offseason. That’s the reason they traded away utility player Jake Lamb, a 3B from Seattle who is going back home to the Mariners. He was having a good season with 113 OPS+ in limited plate appearances, but Los Angeles had no space for him. They will receive either a player to be named later or cash considerations for the infielder.
The Dodgers have a strong bullpen at the moment, which they improved by trading for veteran Chris Martin (not the Coldplay one) from the Cubs. They got an offer of some minor league pitchers from the Blue Jays in exchange for one of their middle relievers, Mitch White, which they accepted to replenish the minors a bit as they wait for players such as Brusdar Graterol to be healthy again. They made a similar move earlier in the day by trading Garrett Cleavinger, a reliever who was in the majors, for prospect OF German Tapia from the Blue Jays, opening up another spot on the roster, one that would eventually be used for Gallo.
Third baseman Justin Turner also headed to the injured list yesterday, which made the Dodgers call up one of their top prospects in Miguel Vargas, who has put up a .879 OPS in Triple-A this year.