Dodgers Predicted to Trade Young Starter for $8 Million Slugger

Getty Dodgers trade target Randy Arozarena

The Dodgers trade rumors are heating up as the MLB trade deadline approaches, and while it is possible they could make a major trade for a star rotation piece—Garrett Crochet and Tarik Skubal are on the list—there are reports that they will also pursue and outfielder. One such report, from MLB.com, cites a source saying that L.A. is no doubt, “in” on the possibility of acquiring Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena.

The cost, at least on the first ask, would be the team’s current starter and the guy they’re hoping to replace for their stretch run—Andy Pages, whom the Dodgers signed as a teenage Cuban defector in 2017 for the relatively low price of $300,000.

A backup possibility would be outfielder James Outman, who hit 23 homers as a starter last season. But if the Rays can drum up interest in Arozarena, Pages could be gone.

That’s the notion from former MLB GM Jim Bowden, writing in The Athletic. He noted, in an answer to a mailbag question about a Dodgers-Rays swap:

“The Rays likely would ask for outfielder Andy Pages back first. If the Dodgers turned them down, I think their next ask would be James Outman with the idea of getting a major-league-ready outfielder with minimal service time.”

Dodgers Trade Rumors: Randy Arozarena Has Struggled This Season

It would be understandable that the Dodgers would hesitate to give up Pages for Arozarena, because it so happens that the trade deadline arrives as Arozarena is mired in the worst season of his MLB career, batting just .209. He has also not played much center field, which is the reason Pages has mostly kept his spot in the lineup. The Dodgers do not have many options in center.

Outman is their other choice, but he’s struggled worse than Pages or Arozarena this year, batting just .153 in 45 games.

For Arozarena, the slash line here in 2024 is .209/.315/.392, but he was an All-Star last season, when he knocks 23 homers and stole 22 bases. He has 15 homers this season, so the power is still there, and he’s righted himself since June 1. In total, he is batting .282 with a .354 on-base percentage and a .507 slugging percentage in the past eight weeks.

The Dodgers would, presumably, bank on him getting out of Tampa, getting a change of scenery and keeping going his much better line in the past two months. He is on a one-year, $8 million contract this season and is arbitration eligible for the next two years.

Andy Pages Had High Expectations This Year

Trading Pages though would sting, even if he has struggled in the big leagues. The team had high hopes for him to start this season, and he was the organization’s No. 6-rated prospect by The Athletic last year.

Back in April, MLB.com’s Jim Callis offered a look at what the Dodgers expected to get from Pages as he took over the centerfield job.

“Pages stands out most with his plus-plus raw power,” he wrote. “His combination of bat speed, strength and the leverage and loft in his right-handed stroke enables him to drive the ball out of any part of the ballpark. Add in an mindset that focuses on launching balls in the air to his pull side, and he has crushed Minor League pitching throughout his pro career.

“Pages led his respective leagues in extra-base hits his first two full years in the United States and is a career .262/.381/.527 hitter with 94 homers in 416 games as a pro.”

The Dodgers, though, have not seen that version of Pages. Instead, he has struck out too much (85 times in 305 at-bats) and hit with too little power (eight home runs). It would be tough to give up on him, but the team needs an upgrade.