Getty Dodgers trade acquisition Tommy Edman
Given the way things have gone for the injury-wracked Dodgers this season, it would make perfect sense that their first big acquisition ahead of this year’s MLB trade deadline is a player who can play nearly any position on the diamond. But one who has not done it yet in 2024, because he’s been hurt the whole year.
Yes, on Monday multiple outlets—including Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and Bob Nightengale of USA Today—reported that the Dodgers will complete a three-team trade with the White Sox and the Cardinals for the services of utility man and 2021 Gold Glover Tommy Edman, who has yet to play here in 2024 as he returns from surgery on his right wrist in October.
“A three-team trade in which the Cardinals would acquire Erick Fedde, the Dodgers would acquire Tommy Edman and the White Sox would acquire prospects is close, sources tell me,” Rosenthal wrote on Twitter/X.
Rosenthal later added that reliever Michael Kopech would also head to the Dodgers in the trade.
Dodgers Trade Adds (Another) Injured Player
According to MLB.com, Edman has been in and out of rehab stints in the last few weeks as he continues to undergo soreness in the wrist.
Still, when healthy, Edman can play the outfield, as well as shortstop, second base and third base. Last season, Edman split time between the outfield (43 games), second base (40 games) and shortstop (46 games), and could do the same for the Dodgers, depending on how the rest of the team’s deadline shopping goes.
The expectation is that Edman will be back in early August. But that’s not certain.
Here’s what MLB.com wrote last week:
“Edman, whose Minor League rehab stint was recently interrupted by lingering pain with his sprained right ankle, was expected to be off July 26 before returning to the Double-A Springfield lineup as a DH on July 27, Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said on July 26.
“There is no timetable on when Edman — a 2021 Gold Glove winner and a two-time Gold Glove finalist as a utility player — will play in the field for the first time, Marmol said.
“Edman, who has yet to play for the Cards this season after having surgery on his right wrist in October, has had his rehabilitation shut down repeatedly because of lingering pain in his wrist and an ankle he sprained when he awkwardly stepped on a base during infield practice.”
Tommy Edman Joined by Reliever in L.A.
The Dodgers are also getting Kopech in the Edman deal. Kopech is a former first-round pick of the Red Sox whose career has been derailed by injuries. In the last four seasons, Kopech has been both a starter and a reliever for the White Sox, but in the last two years, he has not done either especially well.
Kopech started 27 games in 2023, and went 5-13 with a 5.43 ERA. The White Sox moved him back to the bullpen this year, and he struggled there, too. His strikeout rate of 12.2 per 9 innings offers some hope, but Kopech has always had control issues, and has given out 24 walks in 43 innings.
It will be interesting to see how the Dodgers use Edman when he does play. The hope is that star Mookie Betts can return to action after a left hand fracture suffered last month. He might be back in the next two weeks or so, and if he does, he could go back to playing shortstop–where he began this season–or move back to the outfield. There’s also been talk of Betts playing second base.
But Edman can play all three of those spots. That should allow Betts to decide where he wants to be in the field when he returns.