Los Angeles Dodgers: Felipe Vazquez is worth these two prospects

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the market for a reliever at the MLB Trade Deadline and the biggest name available is Pittsburgh’s Felipe Vazquez.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are undoubtedly going to be buyers during the MLB Trade Deadline. The team is looking to win its third pennant in a row and is finally looking to get over the World Series hump.

The Dodgers have one of the most talented rosters and the best way to maximize that current talent is to add players into areas of weakness. And as we have seen thus far this season, there is no bigger area of weakness than the bullpen.

To be completely honest, the bullpen has actually been better than some fans give it credit for. But at the end of the day, the Dodgers are blowing leads at an alarming rate, something that will come back to bite in October and has come back to bite before.

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There are several names that have been connected to the Los Angeles Dodgers and your opinion on who the team should trade for probably depends on what you think the team should give up.

There is one common target that is being speculated and that is none other than the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Felipe Vazquez.

Vazquez has a 1.87 ERA on the season with 21 saves. He has been one of the best relievers in all of baseball over the last three years with a combined 2.10 ERA and 245 strikeouts in 188.2 innings pitched.

Vazquez would not only provide a lights out arm to bring into high-leverage situations but he could even take over the closer role in October if Kenley Jansen continues to struggle.

Nobody is refuting that the Los Angeles Dodgers need Vazquez. Where the debate comes into play is who the Dodgers should deal out of the farm system for Vazquez. With the Pirates’ reported asking price, we can break down exactly what the Dodgers should send.

The Pirates reportedly want two of the big four consisting of Gavin Lux, Will Smith, Dustin May or Keibert Ruiz. If you follow us here at LA Sports Hub, you probably know that two weeks ago we actually said that the asking price was far too much.

However, with the bullpen struggles continuing and the current status of the Dodgers’ organization, we do think that two of the prospects would be worth dealing.

Out of the four, the Dodgers should be willing to part ways with catching prospect Keibert Ruiz and pitching prospect Dustin May.

Ruiz is the top-ranked catching prospect in the Dodgers organization and has been regarded as the future of the position for quite some time. However, Will Smith is also a top-10 catching prospect in the MLB and was just promoted to the big league club and is tearing it up.

The last thing we want to do is overhype Smith after a very small sample size but the fact remains that the Dodgers have the leverage to trade a catching prospect.

The same can be said for the starting rotation and Dustin May. May does have filthy stuff and could be a second or third starter in the big league rotation in a year or two.

However, the team already has two stellar young arms in Walker Buehler and Julio Urias to headline the rotation in the future. Clayton Kershaw is here to stay for two more years and Kenta Maeda is under contract for four more seasons.

The organization has other pitching talents such as Tony Gonsolin, Dennis Santana, Josiah Gray and Mitchell White, just to name a few. Plus, the team always has the money to add arms when needed as well.

So you’re taking two areas of strength that are not impacting the big league club and flipping it into an area of need. Not only are you addressing a need, but you would also be adding a piece that is under contract for four more seasons as well.

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It would not be sacrificing the future as Vazquez would be part of the future. For that reason, the Los Angeles Dodgers should be willing to trade Keibert Ruiz and Dustin May.

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