3 Shortstop Trade Targets Named for Dodgers As Infield Defense Struggles

Getty The Los Angeles Dodgers might seek a new shortstop via trade, perhaps targeting the New York Yankees' Oswald Peraza

The Los Angeles Dodgers are off to the kind of start you’d expect after spending more than $1 billion in the offseason — ranking in the top of MLB in numerous hitting and pitching categories.

But the team does have one significant perceived weakness: its defense has a middling -2 outs above average ranking as it has opened the season with six-time Gold Glove outfielder Mookie Betts attempting to become an everyday shortstop, natural first baseman Max Muncy manning third base and questions lingering over where second baseman Gavin Lux might be able to stick. 

As a result, the team might be looking to make an infield acquisition via trade, as projected by Mike Axisa of CBS Sports.

“The obvious trade target would be Milwaukee Brewers shortstop Willy Adames, a gifted defender who can contribute on offense,” Axisa wrote. “Other trade candidates like, say New York Yankees infielder Oswald Peraza or Pittsburgh Pirates youngster Alika Williams would bring a quality glove, though the Dodgers already have a glove-first shortstop in (Miguel) Rojas.”

Willy Adames Has Been Connected to a Trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Adames has been a popular trade candidate for the Dodgers as their need at shortstop is apparent and he ranks as the second-overall defensive shortstop in MLB so far this season, per FanGraphs. His bat would also fit into the tail-end of the Dodgers’ intimidating batting order as he’s a career .248/.321/.440 hitter with 119 homers in seven big-league seasons.

Plus, the Brewers announced themselves as potential sellers when they traded ace Corbin Burnes to the Baltimore Orioles. Adames is set to hit unrestricted free agency after the season, making him likely to be a trade chip for a team that doesn’t seem poised for a playoff run this year.

“A trade at shortstop is hardly out of the question for the Dodgers — if not by Opening Day, then at the deadline,” Ken Rosenthal reported for The Athletic. “Willy Adames remains an obvious target, and the Milwaukee Brewers’ chances of contending diminished with the news that closer Devin Williams will miss about three months after being diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back.”

Oswald Peraza, Alika Williams Could Be Traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Peraza and Williams are also compelling candidates for the Dodgers, though they don’t have the history of defensive prowess that Adames does. 

Peraza has been sidelined to start the season with a shoulder strain, but he’s had a perfect fielding percentage in 17 starts at shortstop with the Yankees in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Williams has a .964 fielding percentage in 34 starts at shortstop for the Pirates in 2023 and 2024. 

Ultimately, the decision to go for a trade and which candidate such a transaction might include will come down to how the Dodgers’ infield defense develops from here and whether or not Lux can prove himself as a worthy member of an everyday infield role.

“For now, the infield defense stands out as an issue for the Dodgers, even if it hasn’t hurt them in the standings yet,” Axisa concluded. “There’s nothing they can do with Muncy other than live with him at third. Really, it’s on Lux to show he deserves to stay in the lineup.”