The Los Angeles Dodgers were active Monday, one day ahead of Major League Baseball’s trade deadline.
The Dodgers were in the center of a three-team deal involving the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, according to multiple MLB insiders and later confirmed by the teams involved.
The trade will provide Los Angeles with a new bat and another body for the injury-riddled infield in the form of Tommy Edman, a three-positional utility man from the Cardinals. Edman, 29, has played primarily shortstop, second base and center field during his career in the bigs.
He has yet to suit up this season after undergoing offseason wrist surgery, but has a career batting average of .265, an OPS of .726 and 53 home runs. A Southern California native, Edman went to high school in La Jolla and was drafted in the sixth round of the 2016 MLB June Amateur Draft out of Stanford University.
The deal will also bring Los Angeles some bullpen help with White Sox right-handed reliever Michael Kopech joining the team.
Kopech, 28, has appeared in 43 games this season, finishing 26 of them. He has a 4.74 ERA and 59 strikeouts this season. He has played exclusively a reliever role in 2024 after starting more than 50 games the prior two seasons combined.
Oliver Gonzalez, a 17-year-old pitcher from the Cardinals farm system, is also coming to L.A.
Dodgers relievers were a bright spot earlier in the season, but they have since been a major weakness due to inconsistency and injuries. In what is perhaps the worst loss of the season, the shaky Dodgers bullpen blew a 5-0 lead on the road against the Houston Astros on Saturday.
The Dodgers will be sending multiple prospects out as part of the deal, most notably infielder/outfielder Miguel Vargas, who has provided a reliable bat when called upon this season but has struggled to find a position on defense and has had to compete for regular playing time.
Vargas will join the White Sox and shouldn’t have any problem getting runs for the team with the worst record in all of baseball.
The Dodgers are also sending infield prospects Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus to Chicago. The Cardinals will receive pitcher Erick Fedde, outfielder Tommy Pham and cash from the White Sox.
The White Sox announced the trade on social media, adding that the Dodgers will owe both Chicago and St. Louis either cash considerations or a prospect to be named later.
The Dodgers also traded right-hander Ricky Vanasco to the Detroit Tigers earlier in the day in exchange for cash considerations, the team announced.
In another Dodgers-related piece of trade news, former fan favorite and 2020 World Series champion Justin Turner was traded to the Seattle Mariners from the Toronto Blue Jays Monday. Turner, who last played for the Dodgers in 2022, was pulled mid-game after the trade was completed.
Seattle sent Toronto outfield prospect RJ Schreck in exchange for the 39-year-old Turner.
