Getty Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the Miami Marlins
The Los Angeles Dodgers roster is loaded with superstars at several positions.
A proposed trade from Bleacher Report would give the Dodgers another star: the Miami Marlins centerfielder Jazz Chisolm Jr.
“If the Dodgers want to leave nothing to chance, this is where Chisholm should interest them. And besides, the whole vibe of this team is that there’s no such thing as too much star power,” Zachary D. Rymer wrote in a May 8 story about potential landing spots for Chisolm if the Marlins continue trading away their best players.
Chisolm, an All-Star in 2022, can play both centerfield and second base when he’s healthy. But health concerns have been a knock on Chisholm, who has played in “only 59 percent of Miami’s games between 2021 and 2023,” wrote Rymer.
Chisholm took Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto deep on the first pitch in LA’s 8-2 win on May 7.
Jazz in Lala Land? What a concept!
Dodgers Would Send Top Prospect for Chisholm in Proposal
The Dodgers currently have James Outman in a platoon with Andy Pages at center field. Chisholm could replace Gavin Lux, who is struggling at the plate. Rymer’s proposal has the Dodgers sending catcher Dalton Rushing, the team’s top prospect, and left-handed pitcher Maddux Bruns, the team’s No. 14 prospect, to the Marlins for Chisholm.
The Dodgers may view Rushing as a valuable trade piece with Smith playing behind the plate. He is the team’s top prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 71 prospect. The Dodgers signed Smith to a 10-year, $140 million extension in March. With Smith locked up long-term, Rushing’s path to the big leagues is blocked.
“Catcher has been a problem for the Marlins ever since they traded JT Realmuto in 2019. Hence the appeal of adding Rushing, who’s blocked by Will Smith in Los Angeles anyway,” wrote Rymer.
Rushing is hitting .290 with a .963 OPS in Double-A Tulsa this year.
With the emergence of Pages, the Dodgers would likely use Chisholm at second base. Lux is hitting just .191 on the year with one home run. Despite Lux’s struggles the Dodgers are still the highest-scoring offense in the league.
Marlins Open for Business
The Marlins have already indicated their intentions when it comes to the trade deadline. With the deadline still a ways away, the Marlins traded two-time All-Star and batting champion Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres.
Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix indicated the club’s thought process when asked about trading away a proven player for players with the potential to succeed.
“It’s part of the value of the player for the rest of the season when unfortunately our record is what it is and the fact is that we’re unlikely to make the playoffs this year,” said Bendix, according to the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson. “Trading that for future value seems like the right thing for this organization right now.”
When asked whether Chisholm would be on the Marlins when the season ends Bendix said he “doesn’t know,” according to Fox Sport’s Andy Slater.
Chisholm, 26, has a career slash line of .245/.306/.447 with 58 homers, 175 RBI and 67 stolen bases. He signed a one-year, $2.6 million deal after losing an arbitration case. With two remaining years of arbitration the best fits for Chisholm “are teams that are trying to win now and later, and have needs at center field and/or second base,” wrote Rymer.