For several weeks the Los Angeles Dodgers appeared prime to trade for Minnesota twins second baseman Brian Dozier. Their reported interested first surfaced during last year’s General Manager meetings.
During that same window, Los Angeles was also connected to Detroit tigers second baseman Ian Kinsler — someone they reportedly viewed as strong fit for their roster. But Kinsler’s desire to receive a contract extension as compensation for waiving his no-trade clause made a deal unlikely.
That seemingly led to the Dodgers focusing on Dozier. After weeks of reported trade talks, Jose De Leon was agreed upon as the centerpiece of a deal. But beyond that the Dodgers and Twins remained at odds over a trade package.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Twins sought Yadier Alvarez, Willie Calhoun and De Leon in a trade for Dozier:
Postscript on Brian Dozier/#Dodgers talks: At one point, #Twins wanted Jose De Leon, Yadier Alvarez and Willie Calhoun in the deal. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 31, 2017
The Dodgers reportedly refused to make Alvarez and fellow pitching prospect Walker Buehler available for trade, due to being more bullish on the right-handers than they were De Leon.
Minnesota’s attempts to pry top prospects away from the Dodgers were futile, which included the Twins using the St. Louis Cardinals in hope of gaining leverage in trade talks. There was also the factor of the Twins being under a new regime in the front office.
Dozier expressed his displeasure with the offseason’s events, and though he appears destined to begin the 2017 season with the Twins, a potential trade by the non-waiver deadline holds as a plausible scenario.
