Los Angeles Dodgers: Trading Joc Pederson isn’t a swap for A.J. Pollock

Reports have surfaced that the Los Angeles Dodgers are interested in trading Joc Pederson and signing A.J. Pollock, which appears to be a swap of talent.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have not been overly busy this offseason and haven’t added much to the team to make it better from a year ago. If anything, the Dodgers look like an unfinished project as Spring Training looms around the corner.

In fact, the Los Angeles Dodgers are an unfinished project, as the front office is reportedly looking to make two pretty big moves.

The first is to potentially trade Joc Pederson. Pederson really emerged with a great season in 2018 after floundering the in the previous years. Prior to last season, there was a large selection of the fanbase that wanted Pederson in the minor leagues and Andrew Toles in the majors.

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The front office is seemingly looking to capitalize on Pederson’s good year. There is also the element of handiness, as Pederson only adds to the surplus of power-hitting left-handed hitters.

The other move the Dodgers are reportedly interested in is bringing in former rival outfielder A.J. Pollock. With Pollock being right-handed and the reports surfacing right after another, it appears as if the Dodgers are looking to swap Pederson for Pollock.

On the surface, there are not a lot of fans that are happy at this prospect. Although Pollock was once an all-star, he also has not played a full season since 2015 and struggled nearly as bad as Yasiel Puig did against southpaws last season, which doesn’t really help the cause.

However, this is much more than a swap from Pederson to Pollock. The Los Angeles Dodgers front office would not be crazy enough to simply get Pederson off the roster to make room for Pollock. That would be silly, an unneeded use of money and a move that is so unlike what the Dodgers typically do.

That is why it is not what they are doing. Fans are justified to be upset at the idea of a Pederson for Pollock swap.

The Dodgers are not going to trade Pederson just to trade Pederson. Instead, I would not be surprised to see the Dodgers capitalize on Pederson’s newfound value to make an improvement in the outfield.

The important thing to remember is that Pederson is 28, is entering the prime of his career and is under contract for another three seasons. However, as we stated earlier, the last thing the Dodgers really need is another power-hitting left-handed bat.

Thus, the Dodgers can bank on Pederson’s three years remaining on his contract and target a better outfielder that is on an expiring deal. The first name that comes to mind is Nicholas Castellanos, who will be a free agent after 2019 but also lead the MLB in batting average against southpaws last season.

The Detroit Tigers, who are not close to contending, should be more than willing to take Pederson and a low-end top-30 prospect (25-30) for Castellanos. They would essentially be extending Castellanos’ production out to three years (as the two players have similar WAR) and a hopeful prospect to look forward to.

As for the Dodgers, they would be getting someone that directly helps the team’s biggest need and would be a huge help in game planning in October. Pederson does not help that gameplan and the Dodgers’ farm is so loaded that they can easily afford to give up one low-end prospect.

It does not even have to be Castellanos but the deal should follow this similar framework. When you take that into consideration, it becomes clear that the Dodgers are not looking to simply replace Pederson with Pollock.

Instead, the team is looking to make a two-for-one deal, doubling the value that Pederson brings to the Los Angeles Dodgers.