San Francisco Giants: Building a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers

San Francisco Giants Trade Proposal

To Dodgers: RHP Sam Dyson, LHP Tony Watson
To Giants: RHP Joe Kelly, OF DJ Peters, 1B/3B Cristian Santana, RHP Yadier Alvarez

The Dodgers have a glut of outfielders. The Giants would play a walrus if it could put up a .270/.330/.400 line.

DJ Peters would bring a set of tools that no player in the entire San Francisco organization can match.

The 23-year-old has power on the same level as Chris Shaw, if not better, but he is also a solid center fielder with a plus arm that gives him a prototypical right field profile.

He’s in the middle of his second season at Double-A, and repeating that level is more about the Dodgers ability to be patient with his development than anything else. He posted a solid .793 OPS with 23 doubles and 29 home runs in 2018, so he was by no means overmatched.

The reality is if he had been drafted by the Giants, he would probably already have made his MLB debut. Strikeouts will always be a problem, and he whiffed a staggering 192 times last season, but he has also shown the ability to work a walk and he slugged a combined 56 home runs in 2017 and 2018.

The Dodgers also have a deep pool of corner infield prospects that would improve the Giants system depth. Cristian Santana is holding his own as a 22-year-old at the Double-A level and would be an excellent pickup.

He has great bat speed and a strong arm, but his free-swinging approach will need to be refined in order for him to take the next step.

Matt Beaty and Edwin Rios are similar prospects in the Dodgers system who are already playing at Triple-A, so they should be willing to part with Santana in the right deal.

Finally, after another injury, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Dodgers were ready to move on from Yadier Alvarez.

The 23-year-old received one of the largest signing bonuses in international free agent history back in 2016 when the Dodgers gave him $16 million and paid a matching tax penalty on the basis of incredible stuff.

He still has an electric fastball, a wipeout slider, and a good curveball, but his command remains a major issue and he walked 44 batters in 55.1 innings in 2018.

His upside still leaves plenty to dream on, though, and now that he has slid down the Dodgers prospect rankings a bit, the Giants should target him as a buy-low lottery ticket.

A package of Peters, Santana, and Alvarez would bring the San Francisco Giants a high variable bunch. That group has a lot of loud raw tools, which is exactly what the Giants’ system needs.

The Dodgers aren’t in a place to be particularly patient with prospects and they need bullpen help immediately. Adding a pair of quality veteran relievers while also unloading Joe Kelly’s contract could be enticing enough to get a deal done.

Yes, it’s a bold proposition, but it just might make enough sense for the two rivals to come to terms on a deal for just the second time this century.