Cody Snavely
The 2024 Major League Baseball trade deadline officially ends tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, and plenty of contenders have made massive trades to help their teams prepare for the August-October run. The Dodgers have thrown their hat into the ring with their first trade of the deadline.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly agreed to a three-team trade that will send utilityman Tommy Edman and relief pitcher Michael Kopech to the Dodgers, Michael Fedde and Tommy Pham to the Cardinals, and Miguel Vargas, 2B Jeral Perez (No. 17 per MLB Pipeline), and INF Alexander Albertus (No. 23) to the White Sox.
Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported yesterday that the Dodgers and Yankees were interested in Edman, which Dodgers beat writer Fabian Ardaya backed up. Later that night, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reported that the Dodgers, White Sox, and Cardinals were involved in a three-team deal.
The Dodgers have been active in the trade market, linked to multiple players throughout the league, but nothing has come to fruition just yet until this most recent deal. However, with Edman on the 60-day injured list and Kopech having an ERA of 4.74, what value do they bring to a Dodgers team hungry for a championship?
Is Edman the bench bat LA has needed this season?
It is no secret that the Dodgers bench and bottom third of the order have been a problem this season. They hit a collective slash line of .222/.294/.361 and rank bottom third in the league in production. The combination of Chris Taylor, Cavan Biggio, Kiké Hernández, and James Outman has not done the Dodgers any favors this season; all four have had terrible offensive seasons.
While Gavin Lux has been performing well, the untimely injuries to Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas have significantly depleted the Dodgers’ position player depth. The team is now in dire need of a reliable everyday position player and requires additional depth on the bench to cover potential injuries or rest days.
Enter Tommy Edman, who is currently on the 60-day injured list due to off-season wrist surgery that was done shortly after the 2023 regular season concluded in October, along with a sprained ankle that has caused him discomfort on his rehab assignment.
Tommy Edman, currently on the 60-day injured list due to offseason wrist surgery, could be the versatile solution the Dodgers need. At 29, Edman is the type of player the Dodgers value, a versatile switch hitter who can be deployed at any position, be it in the outfield or the infield. His experience at third base, shortstop, second base, right field, center field, and left field makes him a valuable asset for the team.
Offensively, Edman has been, at most, a league-average hitter with a career OPS+ at 99 while hitting .265/.319/.408 with a .726 OPS. The 2023 season was a down year for Edman and the Cardinals as a team, finishing last place in the National League Central.
Despite the down year, Edman showed his value in other aspects of the game, such as his ability to steal bases. He finished the 2023 season with twenty stolen bases and ranked in the 88th percentile in sprint speed while showing some pop with thirteen home runs on the year.
However, where Edman truly shines is his above-average defensive play. He ranks in the 96th percentile in OAA (outs-above-average) while shifting around the diamond. Edman put together a combined forty-five DRS (defensive runs saved) in his career as a Cardinal.
Edman has also played at least five different positions at least three hundred innings throughout his career.
- 2B (2277 innings) 15 OAA
- 3B (570 innings) 8 OAA
- SS (1140 innings) 11 OAA
- CF (316 innings) 4 OAA
- RF (495.2 innings) 3 OAA
As for Edman’s fit on the Dodgers, when he is eventually activated, they are desperate for a utility infielder, specifically at shortstop and third base.
With Miguel Rojas out for the foreseeable future, the Dodgers’ current option is recently signed free agent Nick Ahmed, who was DFA’d by the San Fransisco Giants earlier this month.
While Mookie Betts is expected to return in August, it remains to be seen where the Dodgers will put the versatile Betts, as their current outfield could use some reinforcing.
Gavin Lux, who hit well in July and played above-average defense at second base, has likely played well enough to save his job. Still, a platoon with the switch-hitting Edman could potentially be in the cards as he has hit lefties better in his career with a .277/.320/.484 slash line and .800 OPS.
Also, as pointed out above, Edman’s second most played position is shortstop, a position that has been seen as a hole this season despite Betts trying his best but posting the worst defensive numbers of his career.
The big question for Tommy Edman is his health. The switch-hitting defensive wizard has missed all of the 2024 regular season and was recently shut down from all baseball activities over the all-star break due to lingering ankle pain.
However, in twenty-eight minor league at-bats, Edman is hitting .207/.294/.241 while striking out nine times.
While the move makes sense on paper, it is hard to support the deal when Edman is still on the 60-day injured list and in minor-league rehab limbo, similar to Max Muncy. If he can come back, it will be an upgrade over Miguel Vargas, who was more of a defensive liability.
Can Kopech provide much-needed back-end bullpen depth?
It wouldn’t be a deadline without a few contenders trading for some key bullpen arms, and the Dodgers are no exception to that rule this trade deadline.
In the three-team trade, the Dodgers also acquired right-handed relief pitcher Michael Kopech, hoping to join a Dodgers pitching lab that could take him to the next level.
At the beginning of the season, the Dodgers’ workload between the starters and relievers was excellent, with multiple starts, including Gavin Stone, Tyler Glasnow, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, going six or more innings on the regular.
However, injuries have derailed the Dodgers’ pitching plans this season. All the aforementioned starters, minus Gavin Stone, have spent time on the injured list. Since June 15th, the Dodgers’ starting rotation ranks second lowest in the National League in innings pitched at 172.
The Dodgers’ bullpen has been great collectively on the season, ranking 4th in ERA (3.64). However, since June 15th, they have had the fourth-highest ERA (4.95), fourth-highest FIP (4.53), and fourth-highest inning pitched (149).
Enter Michael Kopech. Despite his high 4.74 ERA this season, his arsenal has much to be excited about, and it will boost the entire Dodgers bullpen.
Kopech, the former starter for the White Sox from the 2018 season until last year, transitioned to the bullpen after going 12-22 as a starter with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.352 WHIP.
Since entering the bullpen, it has not been the best transition as in his career, he is 5-11 in the pen with a 4.69 ERA.
Despite the high ERA already mentioned, Kopech currently ranks in the 89th percentile in xBA, 99th in Fastball Velocity, 86th in Whiff%, and 92nd in K% with a whopping 30.9 strikeout rate.
With Evan Phillips‘s struggles since he was activated off the 15-day injured list, along with an overworked crowd of arms, Kopech could be the flame thrower needed for late innings. If the Dodgers can fix his high walk rate, they could potentially just trade for the best relief pitcher on the market.
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