Los Angeles Dodgers: Matt Beaty opens the door for a Joc Pederson trade

Matt Beaty has been the definition of clutch for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season and could create a domino effect for another left-handed hitting Dodger.

Aside from the stellar pitching staff, one of the key reasons why the Los Angeles Dodgers are on their way to their seventh consecutive National League West crown is the depth. You don’t win seven straight division crowns by accident and the depth certainly helps that.

Heck, in Dave Roberts‘ first year as manager in 2016 the Dodgers literally set the record for the most players put on the disabled list (now injured list) and still finished with a four-game cushion in the west.

This year is no different as the Dodgers are dominating teams in the regular season and have showcased one of the deepest rosters in baseball. Despite having three major key players in Corey Seager, Rich Hill and A.J. Pollock miss significant time, the team never missed a beat.

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Certain players, such as Cody Bellinger, have elevated their play while youngins such as Alex Verdugo have been extremely efficient. No player better represents this depth than Matt Beaty, who has been the definition of clutch for the Dodgers this year.

It did not take long for Beaty to collect his first career walk-off home run as just his second home run in the majors was a walk-off. Now after getting called back up with Chris Taylor on the IL, Beaty has delivered two three-run home runs late in games to give the Dodgers the lead.

Beaty is hitting .303 with five home runs and 24 RBIs in 119 plate appearances for the Dodgers this season. It is too small of a sample size to call Beaty a surefire thing yet, but it does tell us one thing.

It tells us that the Dodgers have the flexibility to trade a big-league talent for a relief arm, something the team desperately needs. Instead of trading multiple prospects for Felipe Vazquez, the team can attempt to package one prospect with a big leaguer to get a different solid relief arm.

That big leaguer that suddenly looks to be on the chopping block is none other than Joc Pederson.

It is safe to say that Dodger fans love Joc Pederson. Nothing compares to a massive Joc-pop home run and when Pederson is hot he is among the best hitters in the league. The only problem is that Pederson is night and day; he is either the hottest hitter on the planet or the coldest.

And for his entire career, it has been the latter that has reigned supreme. Batting average may be a flawed stat but Pederson is hitting just .240 this season, although he has an .857 OPS.

He is as exciting as it comes as a lead-off hitter but it is important to keep one thing in mind: he is practically unplayable against southpaws. He is so bad against left-handed pitching that he has only 33 plate appearances against lefties this season and has six hits (.182 average).

That is going to come back to burn the Dodgers in the postseason. Beaty is not great by any means against southpaws either but the Dodgers would essentially be wasting Pederson’s power potential if they sub him every time a southpaw is in the game.

Another reason for trading Pederson is defense. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ best defensive outfield does not have Pederson in it, which is why the team has been trying him at first base. It is tricky though as Pederson has been pretty woeful at first base this year.

Suddenly, Pederson finds himself on the outside looking in come October as errors are much more impactful in do-or-die games than they are in July. And if you’re going to have Pederson be on the bench anyway, might as well have Beaty, who has shown to be extremely clutch and can play first and the corner outfield spots better than Pederson.

Pederson has a higher ceiling as a hitter but he also has a higher trade value. Beaty is proving to not be much of a fall-off from Joc, especially if Joc is cold, so why not include Pederson in a trade to make the team better as a whole?

What do you think? Would you be open to the Los Angeles Dodgers trading Joc Pederson? Let us know in the comments below.