The Los Angeles Dodgers have solid depth across the diamond, potentially leaving Alex Guerrero out of the mix for playing time and making him an intriguing trade chip for the team.
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Dodgers Have Reportedly Begun Shopping Guerrero in Trades
Thursday, Feb. 11
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported that the Dodgers were “talking to numerous teams” about dealing Guerrero, adding that the player “fits best with an AL club.”
Guerrero, 29, hit .233 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI in 219 at-bats last season. He has some pop from the right side of the plate but can be a liability in the field, hence his fit with an American League team, where he could be a designated hitter.
In Los Angeles, it’s unclear where he fits. Second base and third base are filled by Howie Kendrick and Justin Turner, respectively, while Chase Utley and Kike Hernandez are available for depth. In the outfield, the team has a logjam with Carl Crawford, Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson, Yasiel Puig and Scott Van Slyke all available.
When asked where Guerrero will fit with the team in 2016 in a press conference in early February, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was non-committal, per Eric Stephen of SB Nation:
We’ll get into spring training and figure it out. [Guerrero] had some versatility with his ability to play the infield and outfield. Things tend to happen over the course of spring training, as we saw last year and we do most years. We’ll figure it out as we get into March and look at exactly how we want to configure our roster, figuring out which pieces fit and which ones don’t as well.
It certainly seems as though a trade would be the best option for both teams, as Guerrero might not even make the team’s roster and likely would prefer to earn more playing time elsewhere. Dealing him would at least ensure some type of return for the Dodgers.
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