With the Aug. 31 waiver trade deadline approaching on Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers may very still be striving to upgrade their roster in the coming days.
This past Thursday, the club swung a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that sent veteran catcher Carlos Ruiz and cash to Los Angeles in exchange for A.J. Ellis, pitching prospect Tommy Bergjans and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
The reasoning to acquire Ruiz, and ultimately parting ways with longtime Dodgers catcher Ellis, was for Ruiz’s ability to hit left-handed pitching — an area in which Los Angeles has vastly struggled this season.
Prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline, the team had a bigger target in mind. They reportedly discussed a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire local product and 2011 National League Most Valuable Player Ryan Braun.
Unable to agree to a trade at the time, the Dodgers alternatively acquired Rich Hill and Josh Reddick from the Oakland Athletics, despite the latter’s ineffectiveness against southpaws.
Reddick has struggled mightily so far in nearly a month of action with Los Angeles, and with Yasiel Puig’s uncertainty in the organization, the Brewers and Dodgers hypothetically could re-visit a deal surrounding Braun over the next few days.
Braun has reportedly cleared waivers, which allows the Brewers to freely discuss potential trades with any clubs. The only obvious obstacle that can prevent a deal from happening is the amount of money tied into Braun’s contract.
He’s still owed $76 million over the next four years. A high-revenue team like the Dodgers, however, can presumably take on the large salary if it means giving up lesser prospects — a strategy in which the current front office has deployed in the past.
So, would acquiring a polarizing but talented player like Braun be worth the Dodgers’ time? Let’s look at the pros and cons.
Pros
Premium offense
Braun, a six-time All-Star, is in the midst of his best season since 2012. He has battled minor injuries throughout the year, but is still producing in a big way.
In 460 plate appearances, he’s hitting .313/.376/.547 with 24 home runs — good for a 139 wRC+. He has lowered his strikeout percentage to 16.7 — down from 20.2 in 2015, and is boasting his highest ISO (.237) since the 2012 season.
Perhaps most appealing to the Dodgers is Braun’s ability to crush left-handed pitching. Against southpaws, he’s slashing .356/.427/.614 in 117 plate appearances this season — outperforming his career slash line of .337/.405/.626 when facing a lefty.
Los Angeles clearly needs an answer to their offensive woes against left-handers, and Braun could certainly be a game-changer at that. A lineup come October with Braun batting cleanup behind Justin Turner against the likes of a Madison Bumgarner or Jon Lester just sounds more appealing.
Weak free agent market
With the exceptions of two New York Mets outfielders, Jay Bruce and Yoenis Cespedes, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista and current Dodgers outfielder Reddick, the upcoming free agent market for corner outfielders is seemingly weak.
The Mets control the destiny of Bruce’s free agency — they can pick up his club option for next season, but that only appears likely if Cespedes opts out of his current deal. If Cespedes does in fact test the market for a second consecutive offseason, he should be in line for a contract nearing the $200 million mark.
That’s the type of contract the Dodgers front office, under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi, have shied away from thus far.
What’s more, both Bruce and Cespedes are liabilities on the defensive side. Additionally, Cespedes is entering the wrong side of 30 (he’ll turn 31 in October) and while Bruce hasn’t approached that number yet, he’s another left-handed bat that the Dodgers passed on acquiring at the non-waiver trade deadline.
Bautista will be 36 in 2017 and isn’t great defensively either, but he won’t command a contract even close to what Cespedes is seeking because of his age. During his prime, Bautista was one of the best offensive players in the Majors and has continued to put up elite numbers as recently as the 2015 season.
As for Reddick, he obviously hasn’t lived up to expectations so far. He can always turn things around in September, but if he continues to struggle, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him sign elsewhere next season.
And unless Puig is given a second chance on the Major League roster, the Dodgers would have no clear long-term answer in right field. Thus, acquiring Braun now, or later this offseason, makes sense to a degree.
Cons
Subpar defense
Braun isn’t an atrocity defensively, but he would be a clear downgrade from the recent likes of Puig and Reddick. Though he is the Brewers’ everyday left fielder for the first time since 2013, Braun was the team’s primary right fielder over the last two seasons and would have no issues moving back to the position in Los Angeles.
This season in left field, he has posted an UZR/150 of -4.0 with five defensive runs saved in 880.2 defensive innings. That’s a small improvement from the -7.9 and -7.6 marks he respectively posted over the last two years with a combined -9 DRS.
Theoretically, Braun could remain in left field with Reddick in right field, but that would require Howie Kendrick or Chase Utley shifting to a bench role.
With the possible return of Andre Ethier as well, it just seems more likely that Braun would have to transition back to right field in order to ensure playing time for everyone else.
Age 33 in 2017
Despite being historically good since coming into the league in 2007, Braun will be entering his age-33 season in 2017, making an inevitable decline likely in the near future. With four years remaining on his current contract, the Dodgers could realistically expect two, maybe three more productive offensive campaigns from Braun.
If he becomes a liability in the final year or two of his deal, the front office can just pay him to go away, a la Carl Crawford and Alex Guerrero. This wouldn’t be ideal of course, but with many resources to the Dodgers’ advantage, a potential transaction like this seems more plausible.
Whether Braun becomes a Dodger within the next week remains to be seen, but it’s apparent that the club is still looking to improve against left-handed pitching.
