The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Ryan Brasier and cash to the Chicago Cubs at the beginning of the month after he spent parts of two seasons with the club.
In return the Dodgers are due to receive either a player to be named later or cash considerations.
In need of space on their 40-man roster to sign Kirby Yates, Brasier was designated for assignment days prior to his eventual trade. The designation gave the Dodgers a window to receive some compensation rather than lose Brasier for nothing.
The 37-year-old admitted to being surprised by the Dodgers’ trade but is happy to have landed with the Cubs, according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic:
“I definitely didn’t have that on my bingo card for the offseason,” Brasier said of his trade on Sunday before the Cubs’ first workout for pitchers and catchers. “I was surprised, but I get it. I’ve been around long enough where I understand they’ve got to make decisions. You don’t always have to like ‘em or agree with ‘em. But I ended up in a good spot. There are a lot of other places that I wouldn’t have been as excited about it.”
Brasier was productive during his time with the Dodgers, posting a 1.89 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 68 appearances over parts of two seasons. But in a bullpen filled to the brim with talent and only so many roster spots to go around, tough decisions needed to be made.
Brasier was the logical casualty of a roster crunch after regressing last season and missing significant time due to a calf strain. On a more positive note, the right-hander was able to improve his strikeout-to-walk ratio from 3.80 in 2023 to 5.00 last year.
In a market always in need of serviceable relief options, Brasier was an attractive option, especially considering his $4.5 million salary in 2025.
Why did Dodgers trade Ryan Brasier?
The Dodgers could have possibly delayed the signing of Yates to when they could utilize the 60-day injured list at the onset of Spring Training, like they are poised to do with Kiké Hernández and eventually Clayton Kershaw.
However, the team foresaw an inevitable need for roster flexibility down the line and decided to simply rip the band-aid beforehand.
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