As the trade market has taken shape over the last few days, expectations have held the New York Yankees will trade for Oakland Athletics righty Sonny Gray, and the Los Angeles Dodgers will acquire Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers.
Of late, the Dodgers’ top trade targets are reported as being Zach Britton, Darvish and Gray. Though, it’s believed the team has placed an emphasis on addressing the bullpen more so than their starting rotation.
In terms of a potential trade for Darvish, talks between the Dodgers and Rangers were said to have reached an impasse a mere five hours before the non-waiver trade deadline.
Nonetheless, the Dodgers stand as the Rangers’ top target to complete a trade for Darvish, according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:
The #Dodgers are still the #Rangers top target for a Yu Darvish deal. #Astros and #Indians hanging around. #Yankees depends on Sonny Gray.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 31, 2017
While it appears the Rangers have accepted Walker Buehler will not be included in trade, they aren’t nearly as high on other prospects in the Los Angeles farm system. That notion presumably excludes Alex Verdugo, whom the Rangers reportedly are ‘enamored’ with.
Like with Buehler, however, it’s believed the Dodgers are unwilling to part with Verdugo, particularly for a rental such as Darvish. The Dodgers’ approach matches that of previous years, when the organization refused to trade Joc Pederson, Corey Seager, Julio Urias and Cody Bellinger.
If Los Angeles ultimately deems the price too steep for Darvish — or Gray for that matter — other starters on the market are second tier.
