The Los Angeles Dodgers kickstarted what should be an active non-waiver trade deadline period with the acquisition of All-Star shortstop Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.
The Dodgers yielded five Minor Leaguers to complete the deal, headlined by outfielder Yusniel Diaz — the club’s No. 4 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline. Contrary to previous speculation, Los Angeles had enough prospect capital to finalize the trade without the inclusions of Gavin Lux and Dustin May going back to Baltimore.
Both Lux and May were reportedly off limits in trade talks for Machado. Likewise, the Dodgers excluded top positional prospect Alex Verdugo from discussions with the Orioles as well.
The 22-year-old is optimistic that he’ll stick around with the organization past the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, but otherwise isn’t focusing on trade rumors that may involve him, per Jacob Unruh of The Oklahoman:
“I don’t really care this year,” Verdugo said. “I’m playing baseball. To me, I can’t control that. I think the Dodgers want to keep me. “I’m trying to at least stay with the organization.”
Verdugo’s name has often circulated in trade speculation over recent seasons, but the Dodgers have stayed consistent in ultimately deciding to hold on to him. The club understandably places a high value on Verdugo, and his production at Triple-A Oklahoma City this season has done nothing to change that notion.
Verdugo is hitting .349/.396/.506 with 17 doubles and eight home runs in 283 plate appearances (67 games) for the Dodgers’ top Minor League affiliate, seeing improvements across the board in nearly every statistical category.
While it remains highly unlikely that Verdugo will be moved prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, a deal can never be ruled out if an unforeseeable opportunity arises.
The Dodgers’ front office just proved that with their acquisition of Machado, pouncing on the chance to add one of the best players in all of baseball to an already loaded roster.
Verdugo impressed in his latest stint with the Dodgers, going 5-for-16 with one double, one home run, two RBI and three walks in five games (four starts).
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