Over the past six weeks Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has been the focal point of trade speculation. With a clear need at the position, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been the primary team connected to Dozier.
In recent weeks the group of clubs with reported interest in Dozier grew to include the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals. However, in the case of the Cardinals, it appeared the Twins were simply attempting to gain leverage on the Dodgers.
Meanwhile, the Giants don’t have the necessary prospects to complete a trade, and the Nationals don’t seem to be a likely fit considering the presence of Daniel Murphy.
On the surface the Dodgers and Twins make for ideal trade partners, but the clubs reportedly remain at odds over which other prospects should be included with Jose De Leon in exchange for Dozier.
While trade talks have seemingly lingered for multiple weeks, the Twins have asked teams to submit their best offer for the All-Star second baseman, according to La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
The club would like interested teams to step up with their best offer in the coming days, or they plan to prepare for the 2017 season with Dozier as their second baseman, according to a source with knowledge of negotiations.
To this point there hasn’t been any indication the Dodgers are willing to trade Yadier Alvarez, Cody Bellinger or Walker Buehler for Dozier or in another deal. It’s a philosophy Los Angeles used when they resisted parting with Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias in previous years.
A previous report indicated the Twins had some level of interest in Brock Stewart. The Dodgers could include Ross Stripling, Chase De Jong or Trevor Oaks, dependent on if Minnesota prefers MLB-ready pitchers or prospects knocking on the doorstep.
Dozier is coming off a season in which he set career highs in on-base plus slugging percentage (.886), doubles (35), home runs (42), RBI (99) and OPS+ (136). He batted .282/.352/.613 with 11 home runs and 21 RBI in 159 plate appearances against left-handed pitching, which was an area the Dodgers struggled in.
The 29-year-old is owed $15 million over the next two season ($6 million in 2017 and $9 million in 2018).
