SAN FRANCISCO — In seeking a bat with a left hand the Dodgers bought Yankees fielder Joey Gallo. A deal that happened in exchange for right-handed pitcher Clayton Beeter, the No. 15 prospect within the organisation. According to the MLB Pipeline the team announced ahead of Tuesday’s trade Deadline.
“A year ago when he was valued at quite a bit in the market. However, he was traded for a significant sum,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “The actual talent level is. We’d like to bring the guy here, getting his team together there’s a exciting upside to this.”
TRADE Details
Dodgers get: OF Joey Gallo
Yankees get: RHP Clayton Beeter (Dodgers’ No. 15 prospect)
The Dodgers were hoping to make an all-out trade with Juan Soto. In the wake of Soto being traded to the rival Padres. The president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman had to move onto a different goal.
Gallo the two-time All-Star and a two-time All-Star, has endured an unforgiving campaign with the Yankees. Furthermore, has posted an .159 average, with 12 homers. The 28-year-old is well-known for his power. But, the Yankees haven’t seen him make use of it this season. The speed at which he exits his game is 88.4 miles per hour. A campaign in which he played only 17 games. Since 2016, this is the lowest he had.
Outfielder Gallo is well-known for his high swing-and miss rate. Also, he was the top player in his team in the Majors in strikeouts last year. This has been a bigger problem this year, since Gallo has struck out more than 106 times in just 233 games. The 38.8 percentage strikeout rate for the season is at the bottom of the one percent of the league. In his brief time as a member of the Yankees. Surprisingly, Gallo struck out 194 times over the course of 140 games.
Despite Gallo’s struggles with his form throughout the past year The Dodgers hope that a change of scene will allow the slugger to get back to his former performance. Prior to joining the Yankees in July. Gallo was an All-Star and hit 25 homers, registering the.869 OPS .869 OPS with the Rangers. Gallo had also been an All-Star in the year 2019, registering the highest career score of .986 OPS.
“I think that, evidently that [he] has elite athleticism, off-the-charts,” Friedman said. “Really great decision-making inside the box and a really solid defensive player in the outfield. He has some swing-and-miss elements in his game certainly. It’s my opinion that just by being in the right environment. Our hitting players are as good as they come. … and all through the season, we’ve been a less than average in the outfield. Therefore, having a solid defensive outfielder can be very beneficial.”
How the Dodgers manage to find a consistent role in the absence of Gallo will be fascinating. Since Chris Taylor still on the injured list. Gallo will split time with Trayce Thompson in left field. Gallo who is batting .102 with lefties is not playing against southpaws. However, he does possess 11 of the 12 hits hit by righties.
Gallo’s role maybe affected obviously is Taylor is back. The Dodgers might also see Taylor or Thompson perform more in centre field. Furthermore, relegate an under-performing Cody Bellinger into a platoon position. James Outman, who is having a remarkable career-best start. Surely, could be the one to watch after Taylor is back.
In the meantime they Dodgers got rid of their position-player problem. Ironically, by transferring the outfielder Jake Lamb to the Mariners for a player who will be announced later or cash considerations.
Lamb recorded an .770 OPS. He also hit two homers during 25 games for the Dodgers during the season. Since Gallo is an unrestricted free agent at the close of the season. The Dodgers see the move as risk-free and high-reward.
“He’s going to be playing and I need to find ways to split up playing time, among the players,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “My suggestion for him was to accept this opportunity and new beginning.”
Beeter 23, 23, has an 5.75 ERA in 18 appearances (16 starts) at the Double-A team of Tulsa during the season.