CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers had a surplus of outfielders. With one attention-getting deal, they reshaped their roster in hopes of another pennant run.

The reigning NL champions shook up their lineup on Friday, trading Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp and left-hander Alex Wood along with cash to the Cincinnati Reds for a pair of prospects as part of a seven-player deal.

Andrew Miller is heading west: The free agent left-handed reliever agreed to a two-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals after two-plus seasons with Cleveland. Associated Press/Tony Dejak

The Reds included starter Homer Bailey in the swap, a way of freeing them from the $28 million owed him in the final year of his contract. Bailey didn’t fit into the Reds’ pitching plans, so they wanted to include him in a deal if possible. The Dodgers plan to release him.

The Dodgers get minor leaguer infielder Jeter Downs and right-hander Josiah Gray. The Reds got catcher Kyle Farmer for depth at the position.

“I think if you look back over last few years, a hallmark of our teams has been depth on our roster,” said Andrew Friedman, the Dodgers’ president of baseball operations.. “This put us in position with a surplus in the outfield and pitching. A big focus was to figure out moves on those fronts that made sense.”

For the Reds, it’s another move toward becoming competitive after four straight 90-loss seasons. Cincinnati has been rebuilding since 2015, and decided it’s time to spend some money and make some deals to complement its core of young players.

“We still have (financial) resources to make this team better – we’re not done yet,” said Dick Williams, the Reds’ president of baseball operations. “We did trade some good prospects here, but we acquired four major league players that address needs for us and I think we’re better in the short term.”

Cincinnati didn’t know what to do with Bailey, who went 1-14 last season with a 6.09 ERA and resisted a move to the bullpen. He threw a pair of no-hitters before his career was sidetracked by three arm operations.

The rotation has been the Reds’ biggest problem, and Wood provides another upgrade. He was an All-Star for the Dodgers in 2017, and last season went 9-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 33 appearances (27 starts).

The Reds’ outfield was in flux when they chose not to tender a contact to Billy Hamilton, making him a free agent. Puig is expected to play right field. He’s in the final year of a seven-year, $42 million deal.

Kemp, 34, batted .290 with 25 doubles, 21 homers and 85 RBI last season, when he was an All-Star for the third time.

RED SOX: Boston agreed to a one-year contract with reliever Heath Hembree, avoiding salary arbitration.

Hembree’s non-guaranteed deal is worth $1,312,500. He had a $581,500 salary this year.

The 29-year-old Hembree went 4-1 with a 4.20 ERA in 67 appearances last season, helping the Red Sox win the World Series. The right-hander made four scoreless appearances in the playoffs covering 4 2/3 innings.

Hembree is 12-5 with a 3.46 ERA in 204 major league appearances, all in relief. He also has 226 strikeouts in 216 career innings.

ATHLETICS-RANGERS-RAYS: Texas traded infielder Jurickson Profar to Oakland in a deal that included Tampa Bay and netted the Rangers four prospects.

Profar hit .254 with 20 homers and 77 RBI in 146 games while playing all four infield positions for Texas this year.

The Rangers acquired right-hander Yoel Espinal and left-handers Kyle Bird and Brock Burke from Tampa Bay, and infielder Eli White from Oakland. Texas also got $750,000 international signing bonus pool allocation from the A’s.

Texas sent right-hander Rollie Lacy to Tampa Bay. The A’s also sent right-hander Emilio Pagan and a 2019 competitive balance Round A pick to the Rays.

• Oakland also finalized a $15 million, two-year contract with free agent right-hander Joakim Soria. The 34-year-old two-time All-Star, went 3-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 66 appearances and 602/3 innings this year for the White Sox and Brewers.

CARDINALS: Relief pitcher Andrew Miller agreed to a $25 million, two-year deal with St. Louis that includes a club option and performance bonuses that could make it worth $36 million over three seasons.

The 6-foot-7 left-hander has been dominant for much of this decade, but he went just 2-4 with a 4.24 ERA in 37 games with Cleveland last season while dealing with hamstring, knee and shoulder issues.

GIANTS: Switch-pitcher Pat Venditte agreed to a one-year contract. Venditte made 15 appearances with a 2.57 ERA over 14 innings for the Dodgers last season.

MARINERS-BREWERS: Seattle acquired outfielder Domingo Santana from Milwaukee for outfielder Ben Gamel and minor-league pitcher Noah Zavalos. The 26-year-old Santana is two years removed from hitting 30 home runs and having 85 RBI, but he struggled to find a consistent spot in the Brewers’ outfield last season.

ROCKIES: Colorado brought in Daniel Murphy to play first base, signing the veteran to a $24 million, two-year deal. The 33-year-old hit .299 over 91 games with Washington and the Chicago Cubs after returning from knee surgery.

YANKEES: CC Sabathia had a stent inserted after a blockage was found in an artery from his heart this month, but the 38-year-old pitcher is expected to be ready for spring training.

« Previous

Next »

Related Stories