Los Angeles Dodgers: Why Marcus Semien will never be traded for

Another potential trade target for the Los Angeles Dodgers has emerged from the speculation mill in American League MVP finalist, Marcus Semien.

Fans are hoping that the Los Angeles Dodgers do something significant this winter after falling short in the National League Division Series. To make matters worse, this disappointing loss comes after an offseason where the Dodgers did not land any of the big-name free agents and instead signed A.J. Pollock and Joe Kelly.

The mixture of these two things has led to an expectation that the team will make some sort of huge move this winter. The team has space under the luxury tax threshold and has assets to spend.

Several names have been tossed around as expectations are starting to get a bit too high. Anthony Rendon and Gerrit Cole are the marquee names that Dodger fans are hoping for; Josh Donaldson is a possibility and even a Mookie Betts trade is not inconceivable.

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Another name has been thrown into the mix in Marcus Semien, who, like Rendon and Cole, had a career year in 2019 and finished third in American League MVP voting.

Semien hit .285 with 33 home runs, 92 RBIs and a .892 OPS. Despite not even being named an all-star, Semien was named an MVP finalist after finishing fourth in the MLB in WAR.

So, why would the Oakland Athletics look to trade Semien? The though is that the A’s, who are a small market team, would look to trade Semien in his last year of team control before being due a big-time contract. Spotrac estimates Semien to make $13.5 million in arbitration this winter.

Oakland can theoretically accomplish two things in this trade. First, they could get assets for one year of a player that they probably won’t look to extend next season, and second, will free up $13.5 million on the payroll this season.

For a team like Oakland, that is a big deal.

I don’t hate the idea of Oakland shopping Semien this winter. All of the reasoning checks out and the A’s are the textbook team to make this kind of move. However, the idea of the Dodgers trading for Semien is very far-fetched.

The speculation of the Dodgers adding an infielder such as Anthony Rendon or Francisco Lindor (which also seems far-fetched, but not as much) has fueled this Semien conversation to make it seem like a natural fit.

When in reality, the Dodgers really have no place for Semien on this team. The infield is full with Justin Turner, Corey Seager, Gavin Lux and Max Muncy likely being the starting infield for 2020.

It is not worth getting rid of any of those guys to make room for Semien. Sure, Turner is on an expiring deal and Semien would essentially be a better expiring deal, but the Dodgers are never going to make that trade and the A’s would have absolutely no reason to take that.

Not only is there no room, but the Dodgers are not going to give up prospects for one guaranteed year of Semien when they do not even need him. The team would likely have to send a package similar to the one they received for Yasiel Puig and company last year, which included standout prospects Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray.

Semien is better than Puig and with Downs and Gray’s increased value that would be a fair price point in terms of pure value. In the Dodgers’ case, it makes absolutely no sense, again, because it is not even a drastic need.

There is a difference between Rendon and Semien. If the Dodgers were to get Rendon it would be for multiple years and can be something the team continues to build around, without giving up assets.

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Semien would take assets, has no long-term commitment and isn’t as proven as Anthony Rendon to warrant shuffling the infield around. For that reason, a Marcus Semien trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers is about as far-fetched as it comes.

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