Los Angeles Dodgers: Players worth trading Alex Verdugo for
By Jason Reed
1. Corey Kluber
If you keep up with the news around the Los Angeles Dodgers and read articles on a somewhat frequent basis, you are probably sick and tired of hearing about Corey Kluber. Kluber has been connected to the Dodgers since the beginning of the offseason with no move yet being made.
The Indians’ reason for trading Kluber is not only to free up money but to dip into the starting pitching reserve in order to help out the dire situation in the outfield. Kluber certainly is an elite arm, but with the great staff the Indians have, it would benefit the team more to add in the outfield.
Verdugo then becomes the perfect trade target for the Cleveland Indians. Not only is he going to have an impact on day one, but he is also going to save the team a significant amount of money while being one of the cornerstone pieces for the next several years.
For the Dodgers, the team would be getting Corey Kluber for three years at a cheaper rate than the team signed Rich Hill to and could even run a six-man rotation. The threesome of Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber and Walker Buehler would probably be the best 1-2-3 punch in the league.
The overall starting rotation would easily be the best in the league. By adding Kluber as well, the Dodgers could explore trading someone like Hill (who is on an expiring deal) and prospects for salary cap relief as well as an outfielder to replace Verdugo.
Even without Hill, that threesome with Hyun-Jin Ryu and Ross Stripling/Kenta Maeda/Julio Urias would be deadly.