The Los Angeles Dodgers traded Dylan Floro to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Alex Vesia and Minor League pitcher Kyle Hurt on Friday. The deal came not long after the Dodgers sent Adam Kolarek and Cody Thomas to the Oakland Athletics for Sheldon Neuse and Gus Varland.
Of course, both trades came one day removed from the Dodgers making their three-year contract with Trevor Bauer official.
In Vesia, L.A. is replenishing their depth of left-handed relief pitchers that was trimmed into with trading Kolarek. That left them looking at a scenario with Scott Alexander, Garrett Cleavinger and Victor Gonzalez as the lone southpaws in the bullpen.
Vesia made his MLB debut last season, though struggled in limited opportunities. He finished with an 18.69 ERA and allowed three home runs in just 4.1 innings pitched over five games.
That was in stark contrast to how the 26-year-old has performed in the Minors, however, as Vesia holds a career 1.62 ERA with 138 strikeouts and five saves in 52 games across two seasons.
Perhaps most importantly, he has three option years remaining and figures to be part of roster churning the Dodgers are almost guaranteed to do in effort to keep pitchers healthy as they adjust from a 60-game season to a regular schedule.
Hurt was the Marlins fifth-round selection in the 2020 Draft out of USC. Hurt went 2-1 with a 3.71 ERA and 25 strikeouts in four starts for the Trojans last year. He pitched in the Cape Cod League in 2018, going 1-1 with a 3.47 ERA and 22 strikeouts for the Chatham A’s.
Floro went 11-4 with a 3.10 ERA, 3.09 FIP and 1.18 WHIP in 104 games over parts of three seasons with the Dodgers. He was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds, along with Zach Neal and international bonus pool money, in July of 2018.
The right-hander was 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA, 2.66 FIP and 1.11 WHIP in 25 games last season. He had success against both right- and left-handed batters by relying on a refined changeup more heavily than in other years.
That pitch memorably was on full display in the World Series as Floro threw three consecutive changeups to strike out Randy Arozarena in Game 6 of the World Series.
Dodgers still need third baseman
While the Dodgers have certainly increased their level of activity, fact remains they still are in need of a third baseman. That search effectively overlaps with president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s desire to add a right-handed bat to the lineup.
The most obvious solution is re-signing Justin Turner, which Friedman said was not ruled out as a possibility in the wake of signing Bauer.
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