The Dodgers and Reds pulled off a blockbuster trade on Friday — with Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood being sent to Cincinnati — and it’s starting to look like the team may be heavy in pursuit of superstar Bryce Harper.
For LA, this transaction appears to be a salary-cap clearing move, as these three veterans combined for a hefty amount in 2019. Alex Wood made $6 million last season, and Puig made $7.5 million. They’re set to enter arbitration, and could be looking at the $20 million range. The Reds clearly were looking for veterans to upgrade their roster, and attempt to “win now,” but they’re paying a lot of money for overpriced players to do so.
The trade details are as follows:
The full deal, as @JonHeyman and @Joelsherman1 said, is:
Reds get: Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood, Matt Kemp, Kyle Farmer and $7M
Dodgers get: Homer Bailey, SS/2B Jeter Downs, RHP Josiah Gray.
(Downs is 20, Gray 21. Both are high-round picks who are favorites of scouts.)
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2018
Shortstop Jeter Downs is headed to the Dodgers in the monster deal, sources tell Yahoo Sports. He really impressed scouts this year and has a chance to be a capital-G guy.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2018
The Dodgers will be looking at a payroll of $180 million after the trade, which opens the door for signing Harper — assuming they’re willing to foot the bill for the luxury tax. We’re willing to be they will, having been to back-to-back World Series, hungry to win one, and ownership can certainly afford it.
Harper is the perfect player for the LA market. His bigger-than-baseball personality will play well, and he’ll fill the seats at Dodger Stadium every night. He’s marketable, and can fill the void in slugging left by Puig and Kemp.
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