Why Dodgers may consider Luis Robert Jr. trade

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ appetite was already insatiable right after winning the 2024 World Series, as they added two-time Cy Young Blake Snell, Japanese sensation Roki Sasaki and All-Star reliever Tanner Scott to the pitching staff, while also retaining Teoscar Hernandez’s big bat in the lineup. Now that the National League West appears even deeper than people thought, LA could consider resuming its star search.

A vast supply of promising and competent arms will ideally address the team’s perpetual injury issues in the rotation, but there is actually a question mark or two in the outfield that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman may want to answer externally.

Young center fielder Andy Pages is batting just .239 with a .698 OPS through 460 MLB at-bats and free-agent acquisition Michael Conforto has endured his own offensive limitations over the years. The Dodgers could scour the trade market for a potential upgrade, and if they do, they might find it logical to give the American League’s worst ballclub a call.

Can the Dodgers make another key trade with the White Sox?

Amid a historically abysmal 2024 MLB campaign, the Chicago White Sox affirmed their loyalty to center fielder Luis Robert Jr. They shipped out several players ahead of the trade deadline, including relief pitcher Michael Kopech, who landed in LA in a three-team deal that also sent future NL Championship Series MVP Tommy Edman to the Dodgers. But the South Siders kept their 2023 Silver Slugger and All-Star.

Though, as the team continues to lose, and offers pile up, trading Robert for a solid prospect haul might be the clearest path for general manager Chris Getz to take. Friedman is always one to pounce when an opportunity presents itself. A longtime MLB columnist explains why the Dodgers actually stand a chance to get even more robust this year.

“Certainly if they don’t believe Pages is the answer {and} are worried about what happens in October with him, they can always get a guy like that,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale told Doug McKain of Dodgers Nation. “You can always shift Luis Robert over to left field, too, and replace Conforto if you wanted to. So there are options.

“A lot of times you see these trades with the same teams because the general managers get along so well. So, you’re seeing the Michael Kopech type of trade with the White Sox, and it means these two GMs aren’t afraid to deal with each other.”