Los Angeles Dodgers: Three trades to make after acquiring A.J. Pollock
By Jason Reed
This is a trade that would do wonders for the Los Angeles Dodgers and would fully get me to buy in on the team being significantly better in 2019 than it was in 2018. Adding Jose Abreu to the middle of the order would be the perfect piece to sum the entire roster up and give the Dodgers a terrifyingly balanced lineup.
The Dodgers were linked to Abreu earlier in the offseason but those reports never surfaced into anything. The team is also reportedly shopping Joc Pederson, especially after bringing in Pollock, with the White Sox being one of the reported teams interested.
This is the combination of two different reports and would work out nicely for both sides. Chicago would get to free up Abreu’s $16 million this season before he hits free agency and would essentially be flipping that for multiple cheaper years of Pederson and youth that can help the big league club immediately.
This is important to keep in mind with the White Sox appearing to be the frontrunners for Manny Machado. The team won’t be able to pay Abreu what he will ask for past 2019 and would benefit more from what Pederson, Dennis Santana and Matt Beaty bring to the table the next several years.
As for the Dodgers, they get the right-handed bat to put in the middle of the order, allowing Pollock to lead off. Having Abreu between Cody Bellinger and Max Muncy would do wonders for game planning.
This would also move Bellinger to the outfield, in one of the corner outfield spots with Alex Verdugo in the other. Bellinger, Pollock and Verdugo is an elite defensive outfield that makes up for the below average fielding of Muncy and Abreu on the right side of the infield.