Los Angeles Dodgers: The three most likely moves to make

2. Trade for Nicholas Castellanos

Nicholas Castellanos emerged as a potential target for the Los Angeles Dodgers after news broke of the massive trade with the Reds. Although the Dodgers could still field a respectable starting outfield, losing two outfielders in the deal opened the door for someone like Bryce Harper, or in this case, Castellanos.

Initially, I did not love the idea of trading for Castellanos. With Yasiel Puig heading to Cincinnati with one year on his deal, it made no sense to add another one-year outfielder from Detroit. Castellanos is not as good of a fielder, will cost the same and won’t be much of an upgrade.

However, when looking at the needs of the team, it is safe to say that Castellanos fits the Dodgers much better than Yasiel Puig. Los Angeles is very left-handed heavy and struggles against southpaws as a result.

Puig, although right-handed, had a reverse split and hit worse against southpaws. Castellanos, on the other hand, is one of the best hitters against southpaws in the MLB.

Castellanos hit a whopping .381 against left-handed pitching last season with a 1.004 OPS and 16 extra-base hits in 162 plate appearances. He isn’t bad against right-handed pitchers, either, as he hit .273 with a .807 OPS against righties.

Wedging Castellanos at the fifth spot in between Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy makes it harder for opposing managers to manage relievers, especially in the postseason.

Sure, his fielding is questionable, but the Dodgers are great at outfield positioning and disguising bad fielding. Although it was still bad, Matt Kemp had his best fielding year in quite some time and Castellanos can provide a similar outlook.

The best part is that since he is on a one-year deal he can be acquired for relatively cheap. The Dodgers can deal Rich Hill to save money on the trade and package him alongside the other new prospect acquired, Josiah Gray, with a lower prospect in the top-30, such as Omar Estevez, to get the deal done.