In fact, Gonzalez was a big part of the 2020 World Championship for the Dodgers posting a 2.70 ERA over 8 appearances, including 4 outings in the World Series against the Rays. And, just last year, Gonzalez gave up just 1 run in his last 9 outings, which spans 10 innings.
So, the Dodgers are giving up a lot for a SS prospect that, according to Baseball America, has “fringy” defensive skills & “fringy” speed, and that hasn’t made it past AA. But, he was a 1st Round draft pick in 2021, has made some swing changes that have unlocked higher exit velocities, and he fills a position of need at the upper levels of the Minor Leagues for the Dodgers organization.
So, actually, when you analyze it further, the reasons as to why is was necessary, it actually makes total sense.
With the re-signing of Joe Kelly, then the acquisition of Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers were over 2 spots on their 40 man roster. So, to clear space for those two spots, 2 players had to be removed. The Dodgers had 2 ways to do that: 1) DFA 2 players, or clear 2 spots via trade, by trading 2 players that were on the 40 man roster.
If you follow Dodgers Daily, you know I’ve been talking for some time that the cleaner path is via trade. And, not just that, but with players that are at positions that the Dodgers have an abundance of depth, and, thus, have no real path to the MLB. At least not in the near future. Well, when Doc revealed that Mookie Betts was going to be the 2nd baseman, at least on a consistent basis, that blocked Vivas.
So, while giving up a prospect as talented as he is is not easy, it actually was needed, and, it’s a win/win! The Dodgers got Ohtani and Kelly, Vivas gets a cleaner path to an MLB career, and, if the Dodgers were forced to go the DFA route, Gonzalez likely was going to be one of the candidates at the top of the list.
In essence, the Dodgers gave up a prospect that didn’t have a path to the MLB, and another player that they were likely going to get nothing back for if/when he was DFA’d.
And, SS, at the upper levels, is definitely a position of need, and when evaluating trades, instead of looking at rankings, it’s better to evaluate each teams needs. If a team is stacked at a position & has no path for a certain player, it’s better to deal them & get something back, as opposed to letting them peak in the Minor Leagues.
Yonny Hernandez, the AAA SS, is gone, Eddys Leonard was DFA’d a while back & he was the AA Tulsa SS, Luis Diaz & Bryson Brigman became FAs, so that leaves just Austin Gauthier at the AA level or above. Gauthier is a great player, but, still, that’s not enough depth. And that’s why this trade makes so much sense.
The Dodgers fill a position of need, while giving away two players that had no real path at helping in the near future.
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