Los Angeles Dodgers should trade Austin Barnes, re-sign Russell Martin

Fans are hoping that the next move that the Los Angeles Dodgers make is a blockbuster but it could be a trade that sends a familiar face away.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have made exactly one move this offseason and that is signing Blake Treinen to a one-year deal. Outside of that and international signings, the Dodgers have been rather inactive this winter.

While there are reports and speculation of the team making a blockbuster trade, a realistic trade that the Dodgers should look to make in the near future involves a current familiar face, Austin Barnes.

Barnes has been on the receiving end of some stark criticism over the last year as he was very unproductive at the plate, which even led to him getting demoted to AAA Oklahoma City, making way for Will Smith to start.

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The Dodgers agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract with Barnes to avoid arbitration but that does not guarantee that he will be a Dodger. In fact, there have already been rumors that Barnes could have some suitors on the trade market.

Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reported in mid-December that the Houston Astros inquired about Barnes. Both Robinson Chirinos and Martin Maldonado are free agents this season and Barnes not only provides a replacement option this season but for the future as well as he has several years of team control.

While Barnes has been poor at the plate, in his report, Castillo stated that the Astros are high on what Barnes can bring to the table in terms of his pitch framing.

The Los Angeles Dodgers should absolutely be open to trading Austin Barnes as he should not even be the team’s backup catcher in 2020. If I were running the show, I would trade Barnes in an instance to bring back Russell Martin on a one-year deal.

While Martin is not a massive upgrade from Barnes he brings that veteran presence that is extremely valuable when you have a young catcher like Smith and he works very well with the starting rotation.

Plus, he might just be the best mop-up position player pitcher in the league as he had four scoreless innings in 2019. Realistically, Martin is the more sound option to transition into a Smith-Keibert Ruiz tandem, if that is what the Dodgers have in mind.

So who should the Dodgers target from the Houston Astros? The trade I would try to make would be a straight one-for-one flip of Austin Barnes for Brad Peacock. Peacock is a free agent after this season, and with the Astros already tip-toeing the luxury tax line, chances are they are not going to re-sign him.

The hope here is that the Astros are willing to sacrifice a bullpen arm for a starting catcher. If not, I would not even be opposed to sending a pitching prospect, such as Dennis Santana (who was awful in AAA last season) to get the deal done.

Peacock is not a world-beater by any means but he is someone who can eat innings in the bullpen and has shown before that he can be a very reliable option. In 2017 and 2018 Peacock had a combined 3.15 ERA in 197 innings pitched and had a stellar performance in the World Series against the Dodgers.

Peacock threw seven and one-third innings in that series while only allowing two runs. The potential upside is there, and if he achieves it, it would be an absolute steal for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are better off with Martin, anyway.