Over the last few days the Los Angeles Dodgers have been publicly connected to Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish. First, the Dodgers were said to have scouted his start last Friday, then it was reported the club has significant interest in trading for the 30-year-old.
That was all prior to Clayton Kershaw coming out of his start early due to right lower back tightness. Kershaw is scheduled to undergo further testing and is essentially a lock to be placed on the disabled list.
It’s not yet clear what the uncertainty surrounding his status may mean for the Dodgers’ plans ahead of the July 31 trade deadline. They do have a comfortable lead in the National League West and already are experienced in surviving without their ace.
In the event Los Angeles is further motivated to pursue a trade for Darvish, the Rangers reportedly would seek two prospects from Yadier Alvarez, Walker Buehler, Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com:
Sources say the Rangers are likely to ask the Dodgers for at least two of the following prospects: right-hander Walker Buehler, center fielder Alex Verdugo, second baseman Willie Calhoun and right-hander Yadier Alvarez.
Of the quartet, the Dodgers may be most inclined to retain Buehler and Verudgo. The organization reportedly is keen on not trading prospects who are on the doorstep of reaching the Majors. Instead, there’s thought to be a willingness to trade others who are high-ceiling but further away from making their MLB debuts.
Buehler began the season with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, made a stop with Double-A Tulsa, and is now pitching for Triple-A Oklahoma City. There’s a strong expectation he’ll join the Dodgers in September to pitch out of the bullpen.
As for Verdugo, Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi recently said he did not see a scenario with which the 21-year-old is traded prior to the deadline. Zaidi added Verdugo was ‘big-league ready’ or near that caliber.
Positional questions have dogged Calhoun all the while he’s held his own at the plate throughout the Minors. He leads Oklahoma City with a .584 slugging percentage, 22 home runs and 65 RBI this season.
The Dodgers have cast some doubt on whether Calhoun is capable of playing second base at the Majors. He’s recently played some left field for OKC, which is a position the Dodgers are not lacking depth in.
Alvarez was arguably the Dodgers’ biggest jewel from the 2015-16 international signing period. The Cuban native has received a $16 million signing bonus and though he possess an electric arm that’s capable of reaching triple digits, there are questions about command.
Alvarez made his debut with the Drillers on Sunday, allowing three runs (two earned) on six hits over four innings. Alvarez issued four walks and collected five strikeouts.
What may impact the likelihood of the Rangers have their asking price met is Darvish is eligible to reach free agency this winter. The Dodgers in particularly are not a team under president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman to mortgage the future for a rental.
