The Dodges and A’s have officially struck a deal that will deliver Josh Reddick and Rich Hill to Los Angeles. In return, per reports, Oakland will pick up an appealing trio of young righties: Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton.
With the move, the Dodgers have filled two evident needs even as they seek to overtake the Giants in a tightly-contested NL West. With Andre Ethier a question mark and Clayton Kershaw still facing his own uncertainties, now was the time to strike. The move may also help free the team to deal away talented but struggling outfielder Yasiel Puig, who has increasingly seen his name churn through the rumor mill.
[Related: Updated Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics Depth Charts]
Los Angeles chose to fill its desire for a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder and an added starter in a single stroke, and did it without paying for future years of control. Both Reddick and Hill are set to reach the open market after the season — which they’ll now do without any threat of a qualifying offer hanging over their heads. Neither is an expensive piece, but the Dodgers will presumably take over the rest of the contracts; Reddick is playing on a $6.575MM deal, while Hill’s free agent contract promises him $6MM for the season, leaving just over $4.3MM combined on the tab.
There’s an argument to be made that the Dodgers pulled in the two best pure rental pieces on the market. Reddick, 29, has improved upon already-strong results in the prior two seasons, running out a .296/.368/.449 slash over 272 plate appearances on the year. Though he doesn’t generally deliver huge counting stats, Reddick is usually good for double-digit home run and (occasionally) steal tallies, and is playing at that kind of pace again this year.
Reddick did miss time earlier in the year with a broken thumb, though that was suffered on a hit-by-pitch and he seems fully recovered. It should be noted that, while Reddick comes with a solid pedigree with the glove, defensive metrics aren’t as enamored of his work in right as they once were.
As for Hill, the injury concerns are slightly more present. He recovered from a groin strain, but is currently on the disabled list after a finger blister failed to recover as hoped. It is believed to be a minor issue, but Hill isn’t immediately available for the Dodgers — which possibly leaves added space for the team to chase another arm.
There were indications late yesterday that the A’s could be looking into a late-breaking extension with Hill to avoid trading him at a reduced rate. Instead, the team managed to create a package arrangement to maximize his value. In addition to the minor injury questions at present, Hill has dealt with durability issues in the past. And most notably, he hadn’t been a useful pitcher for quite some time before his sudden breakout at the tail end of 2015 with the Red Sox.
Oakland clearly made out well on the calculated gamble to sign Hill over the winter. Over his 76 frames on the year, he carries a 2.25 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 to go with a 50% groundball rate. Hill has allowed just 55 hits and two home runs in that span. He has obviously been quite difficult to square up despite relying most heavily on just two pitches — a four-seam fastball and curve, with a slider and change also mixed in.
That duo didn’t come cheaply, of course. Montas, Holmes, and Cotton have all been considered quality young hurlers for quite some time. While it’s not entirely clear that any or all will stick as starters in the majors, they possess quality arms and gobs of control that should serve Oakland for many years to come.
As things stand at present, Holmes probably rates at the top of the group at present. A first-round pick from the 2014 draft, Holmes has shown some swing and miss stuff and currently owns a 4.02 ERA with 8.5 K/9 vs. 3.7 BB/9 over 105 1/3 frames at the High-A level. He sits within the recent mid-season top-100 prospect rankings of Baseball America (#60) and MLB.com (#82).
Montas may well be rated even higher — BA has him at 82nd — but he has been limited by a rib problem for much of the season. He came over in the three-team Todd Frazier deal over the winter after briefly reaching the majors last year, and was impressive in his 16 frames on the year, but remains a bit of an injury question.
As for Cotton, it had seemed he was knocking on the door after streaking up the ranks of the Dodgers’ farm last year. But he has put up only a 4.90 ERA in his first full run at Triple-A. Still, he has racked up 11.0 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9 while allowing only 80 hits. Trouble is, 17 of those have gone for homers in the hitter-friendly PCL, but there’s good reason to believe that Cotton will be a major league contributor.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the swap via Twitter. Rosenthal (Twitter links) and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (in a tweet) detailed the prospect package.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wow
What does this mean for Puig?
Means someone’s gonna get a slighly used right fielder with a lot of potential for almost nothing.
I really wonder if Puig is actually 35 or something.
Yeah, probably. He’s most likely going to be traded for less than he’s worth just so the Dodgers can get rid of him.
Puig may be 35, but more likely just has the hamstrings of a 35 year old.
Probably but so is pujols he was really 33-34 when he signed with Anaheim.
Local radio in stl said a puig for James shield trade is rumored to be in works. The media is also very inept here so doubt that’s true.
Lol. Not a chance the Dodgers do that
Completely agree that would be awful for Dodgers. Just relaying what passes for sports coverage in stl.
Stupid
Cotton is part of return. This could be very, very interesting
Now that’s what Dodgers needed
Stupid by the a’s
Hill is 36 and is often injured. This is by far his best season. This is attempting to sell high (depending on what returns).
So far, Montas, Holmes and Cotton….it’s a good haul
Pretty good return for the A’s considering all they would’ve gotten is a max of 2 draft picks had they held onto Reddick and Hill. Cotton and Holmes both project as back end rotation starters. The only interesting piece is Montas. He projects as a mid-back end rotation starter or a potentially dominate bullpen piece.
Why is a small market team dumping two impending free agents (Hill would not sign extension) for young controllable prospects stupid?
not a small market team, one of the biggest markets, it is cheap owners that won’t pay to build a stadium or fund a team.
And the city
OMG
I’ll take it. I hope Hill can stay healthy. I am tired of seeing so many players on the DL. I wanted Bruce but I’ll take Reddick. I have a feeling a Puig trade is coming soon.
What else besides Cotton? If its just Cotton…WOW
Definitely needs to be more than just Cotton to get that deal done
My thoughts exactly
I love the trade deadline!
Same!
Bye bye Puig
Dodgers setting up a trade that would include Puig for Sale??
I hope so
Puig would be an add-on piece in a Sale trade. Fourth or fifth element. He has no value right now.
Puig for Shields – no way Sale unless much larger package
Agreed, Puig’s value is at an all time low right now.
I don’t see the Dodgers making a move for Sale after trading for Reddick and Hill.
Yes
Dodgers would have to give up A LOT more for Sale. Urias and De Leon to start.
How about Pederson, De Leon and Barnes for Sale? Move Reddick or Puig to center
Yeah OK!” Its nice to imagine though isn’t it?…Lmao…
What are you smoking? Email me your connect… Because that’s some strong sh*t!! Ooooww Weeeeee!!!
Doesn’t make much sense to give up three quality prospects in order to make a bigger haul. If this were the case, they probably would have targeted a cheaper replacement (Jon Jay, Nick Markakis, Melky Cabrera) or at least just gone after Reddick and left out Hill, or
Puig wouldn’t even be the top add-in piece for a Chris Sale trade.
ChiSox would want Urias, Puig, De Leon, Bellinger, and Verdugo. LAD might be able to convince them to only take two of the last three and a lesser quality prospect (Barnes, Calhoun, Davis, etc.). But, regardless of whether that’s an overpay, I can’t see the White Sox doing much less than that.
Frankie Montas is in the deal too (I think)
Not sure what that would include prospect wise, but the Dodgers needed a splash – this is peanuts to what they needed…
wow Dodgers just got more injury prone
Frankie Montas as well
As puig?
I can’t see the White Sox agreeing to a trade of Puig and Sale it’s going to take a lot for the Sox to be willing to trade Sale and I just don’t think Puig is enough to make it happen
Disappointed the A’s didn’t work out an extension for Reddick. Oh well…let’s see what the full return is…
Montas, Holmes and Cotton… good lord. Way to go Oakland!
wow montas Holmes and cotton. great trade for A’s
Puig to Pittsburgh. Cutch to ? Marte to CF, Puig to LF. Or Polanco to LF, Puig to RF.
Hahahahahahaha yeah right! Keep the jokes coming!
Hahahaha
Hahahaha Dodgers gave up quite a haul here. Better hope these guys stay healthy. Billy Beane strikes again.
Now, with Montas and Holmes this is looking like a bad deal for the Dodgers. Rich Hill is not what they needed this season.
can Puig play 3b? Braves could use him if that’s the case!
I’m guessing Frankie Montas is the top prospect in this deal? The other two prospects entered their mid-20s and are struggling in the minors. I would think Dodgers will extend Josh Reddick.
I’m a Dodger fan and I knew those Front Office morons would make a horrible deal like me this. Rich Hill, really and ANOTHER lefty hitter? WTF?! We get another lefty pitcher who is injury prone and 36 and a lefty hitter who is maybe league average when healthy? It’s a deal just to make a deal!
I am not a Dodgers fan, but if you think that Josh Reddick is league average when healthy then you need to open up a tab of baseball-reference.
While I can see Reddick being a questionable addition…they need starting pitching. They could go out and get Chris Sale, but that’s going to cost the farm. I know they also need relief pitchers, but considering the price of relief pitchers thus far, I can see the hesistance to go and trade for one as well.
Dodgers have been winning without pitching. We didnt need this. If your gonna get a pitcher, get a really good one. Especially for that return.
Who do you think they could get for that return? They aren’t getting an ace/young pitcher with control without giving up more than that (so probably de Leon and/or Verdugo). Isn’t Kershaw still out? Because if so, and it turns out he’s done for the year, their only chance to compete would be to acquire a starter.
Agree 100%. Dumb trade for the Dodgers . Zaidi helping out his old mates.
I agree, I don’t get it. Holmes and Montas both have a lot of promise.
I don’t understand how fans cannot get over that being in the postseason means more to GMs that promising prospects. They all think like that, yet posters in here value prospects over winning, its illogical.
I value winning, I just don’t think Hill and Reddick do that nor are they worth those prospects
Agreed. A lot of fans expect their teams to acquire stars while giving up a bag of baseballs. In order to acquire talent, you have to give up something of value. Especially around the trade deadline, the price of players is increased and teams usually overpay. Yeah the young guys have a lot of promise, but no guarantee they actually do anything. And would you rather have a shot at winning this year or hold onto your prospects and hope that they develop well enough so you can have a shot in a couple of years?
Let’s be honest all three are questionable starters. all three because of control are headed towards the pen. It was a nice move for both teams. Was it an overpay maybe but you have to give something to get something. I absolutely love cotton but he has trouble with getting stretched in the pen. Let be honest he wasn’t going to crack the rotation. Montas throws really really hard but let’s see his transaction for what it was they obtained a piece others wanted. So in end none of these were going to help the team this year. Maybe Montas, but that is reliant upon his ramping up quickly and staying healthy. They have traded from a position of unbelievable talent in their system. They still have their top guys to make a sale/archer move in the offseason. You can’t hold onto every prospect. I’m glad though that Cotton will finally get his big league opportunity.
A’s young pitching just got very deep. Now get us a replacement OF.
Goes to show I know nothing of how the prospect market works. Only one prospect they are giving up are in the top 100 on mlb.com.
While top 100 does count, its better to look at the organizational rankings of prospects. That applies for both the rankings of each individual prospect within the organization and the ranking of the whole farm system when compared to the rest of the league.
I have feeling Puig going to Red Sox!
I don’t see that. I think the Red Sox are fine with the outfield they have now that Holt is back and gives them flexibility. I could be wrong though.
Deal makes more sense now. Cost of doing business this season. If Holmes cant learn to get breaking balls over for strikes there is a good chance they just picked up Reddick and Hill for 3 relievers.
I don’t think they gave up too much like people are saying. The only pitcher I really liked here is Montas but if Hill can stay Healthy and Riddick can as well then we just got a lot better.
Grant Holmes is the stud here.
Stupid stupid stupid trade by the Dodgers F.O.
Really hoping Verdugo or Bellinger were in this instead of Cotton. Holmes & Montas are fine returns for two rentals though, A’s fans really don’t need to complain here. They are also free to go after Reddick and Hill in FA if they desire.
Opens the door for a Puig for James Shields deal?
I say hold on to Puig, unless you flip him, De Leon, and let’s say Leon to the White Sox for Sale.
More like Urias, De Leon, Bellinger, Verdugo and Puig for Sale.
Terrible trade. Sale is arguably a top 3 pitcher in MLB and is team controlled. A deal for him is going to require MULTIPLE top 5 prospects.
Multiple top 5? Get out of here dude.
For one of the top 3 starting pitchers in the league who is team controlled? Yes. A deal for Sale starts with at least two top 5 prospects and another one or two from the top 10 (depending on the farm system). Anything less than four top 10 prospects is a steal. Its a lot, but its warranted when you consider Sale’s talent, contract and youth.
I hope not.
The Dodgers SHOULDN’T want Shields.
Here we go…
Sooo is montas like a back end of the bullpen type of guy?
I don’t like the move. We get a 36 year old pitcher who’s having a career year in a pitchers park and a off injured OF who’s no better than Thompson.
Rich Hill, 2016: 3.45 ERA at home, 1.41 ERA away. 2.25 ERA/2.53 FIP. His last 17 starts have resulted in less than 3 runs and he has struck out 10+ in 6 of those 17. He is an ace no matter how you look at it. An oft-injured one, but still the Dodgers #2 behind Kershaw in a playoff rotation. He is flithy, I have watched all his games this year and its not smoke and mirrors, he is simply dominant.
And blisters are not true injuries, not in the way elbow/shoulder/arm ones are.
Reddick is a much better hitter than Thompson, and he also has playoff experience. These are excellent additions to the Dodgers, I just don’t know why the A’s like Montas or Cotton over Bellinger and Verdugo.
They probably knew there weren’t getting Bellinger and Verdugo.
2 players with contracts that expire at year end for prospects. Bad move IMO.
And such is the price of good players, whether or not they are rentals. You aren’t getting a top player for a bag of balls…you have to give something to get something.
Good package for the A’s
Good deal for both sides. I don’t understand how you can be critical of the deal from either side. The A’s wanted Espinoza for Hill before he was traded to the Padres for Pomeranz so we knew the price would be high. Hill and Reddick if/when healthy are great additions to the Dodgers give them much need depth. They definitely gave up a lot but their window with this current roster is beginning to close. If you have a chance to win now you have to go for it. Flags fly forever.
I don’t follow a whole lot of Dodgers games (I do have Kershaw in my strat o matic league though!), but what I have seen leads me to believe they may have some issues giving their pitchers run support. Is this or is thus not the case? I know Rich Hill will dominate any lineup prone to chasing nasty curveballs.
Like the trade for the momentary upside but if both walk away as free agents, seems like a lot to give up. The only other benefit is that instead of trading these four for Bruce (which was the rumor) you’re adding two pieces (one of which lightly lessens the Kershaw injury)
I am still mystified by why the Dodgers were seen to be in need of a lefty corner outfielder. Their splits are already poor against LHP and it looks to get even worse now (with the player we can’t even name).
I agree. They must not watch the Dodgers games.
You don’t even need to watch the games just look at the team splits. The Dodgers are getting eaten up by lefty pitching already. Somebody please scratch my head for me. I’m getting tired of doing it myself.
Wow. Dodgers went for rentals. There should be another trade coming in for Dodgers to make this one. Longo and Archer to Dodgers next?
Reddick broke his thumb sliding into 2nd on a stolen base, not being hit by a pitch.
Grant Holmes is the true value in this trade for A’s. Montas is a big injury prone, Monta will lose all his ribs before he gets back to pitching, when we Dodgers got Montas, I really thought he would help until 2 ribs broke as of right now, one has been removed. Cotton? So far he is no name as of now.
We could have signed Cueto, Greinke or Hamels. Instead we allowed the Giants to get better. Now the Dodgers are scrambling for a SP and might give Uria up. Funny.
How could they have signed Hamels? He wasn’t a free agent. Texas traded for him.
Lord, for this trio they should have been able to get a Rays starter, not some 60 day rentals on the shelf for a interminable blister and a big question mark in the OF. I guess that means that Ethier isn’t playing this year and they’ll move Puig. Too bad, ATL should have looked to trade for Teheran for Puig and some of this group and looked to flip a rejuvenated OF after a year or so.
Overpay by the Dodgers unless they retain Reddick beyond this year. Hill, while serviceable, is not a rotation answer while Montas and Holmes are power arms. Nice job Billy Beane. I think he fleeced his old pal Farhan.
Serviceable? You should be questioning his health, not his ability. I don’t think you’ve followed his starts.
As a Dodgers fan I’m perfectly fine with the trade. Dodgers have prospect capital and they traded from their excess of good but not great prospects to improve their chances to get to the playoffs. You gotta pay to play in October and they gave up good arms but not guys that would surpass Kershaw, Urias, or De Leon in the future rotation. Montas , Holmes , and Cotton might all turn into power relievers in the end.
Dodgers still have Urias and De Leon to call up for bullpen help and still have Verdugo, Bellinger , Calhoun, and Alvarez in the system.
Question: A top 100 prospect is not considered “great” to you why?
Well said. Montas, Holmes and Cotton are talented depth, They got an ace pitcher and a solid OF for the stretch run battle against the Giants. They still have Urias, DeLeon, Verdugo, Bellinger and more.on the farm. It’s nice to see them going for it, and if Kershaw comes back in September, they have a strong and deep playoff rotation. It will be interesting to see if they are done dealing.
So to recap: A’s trade 2 rentals for 2 top 100 prospects and an underrated SP prospect who is MLB ready (dont believe that AAA ERA).
Can all these prospect hounds please understand that they aren’t as valuable as you think they are, compared to how ALL GM’s view them?
Winning > prospects = every GM. All of them. Every last one. Winning is the only thing. Prospects only matter to under .500 teams, to all over .500 teams winning is more important than almost all prospects.
BTW Rich Hill was scheduled to come off the DL this Friday. If the Dodgers decide to keep him on that track, he’d start against the Red Sox, the team where he initiated his miraculous comeback into elite SP.
The Dodgers Front office are inept, incompetent, and clueless. Rentals for three talented, controllable prospects? This doesn’t make any sense. The Dodgers were said to be “Big-Game Hunting” this like hunting for squirrels in local town park! Sale or Archer were the only two it’s worth acquiring at this point. I’m tired of AF and Zaidi making moves that don’t make us better, in fact, they hurt us, LA leads all of MLB with DL stints. Coincidence? I think not. Be prepared to see these two rentals on the DL down the stretch. In fact, Hill is currently there. Smh
Given the cost I’m not sure I would trade Urias , De Leon , Bellinger , Verdugo , and another prospect for Sale or Archer. Not to say they are not Aces but not worth the entire top tier of our farm system. Long term that’s too heavy a cost to pay in my opinion. Dodgers addressed needs without altering the future of the farm so I can live with that.
I would argue that Alvarez will be in the top 100 next year with Holmes falling out. His inability to locate his offspeed stuff in the strike zone has become more recognizable as the competition gets better. Once Montas figures out which ribs hes gonna hold on to he should be solid out of the pen.. If Cotton became anything more than back end help id be surprised. I don’t understand the irrational hate for moving 2 guys who probably wouldn’t move the needle and Montas.
Hell, I like Brock Stewart more than any 3 of these guys.
….soooooo who is gonna hit against lefties?
I’m sorry, I’d like to know where you get your scouting report on Holmes? Have you physically watched him pitch? He’s a young power arm with room to improve, first round talent for a reason. Montas never made an appearance, so we’ll never know what he had. Cotton is ok with me in the trade. But two Rentals, 36 yr old journeyman who’s pitching his best in the last calendar year to date, injury prone (like the rest of our staff) and Reddick, who I watched plenty cause I live in the east bay. Injured quite often the last 2-3 years. A’s took advantage of the Desperate Dodgers. This will not end well.
This is a move to gain a championship for THIS year and I think it’s a good one. Both teams did well in my opinion. The Dodgers didn’t give up the most elite prospects and answered some big production issues and the A’s got a treasure of talent depth. If there is one thing true about prospects, today’s fringe top 100 guy is tomorrow’s top 10 guy. This trio is clearly talented.
I think it’s a pretty fair trade for both teams. Reddick and/or Hill could have commanded QOs – so you are basically going to have to give up that type of talent in return for both. Add in another prospect and you have the frameworks of a deal.
Maybe the Dodgers keep Puig and reduce his playing time in place of Reddick against RHP.
Could play Puig , Kendrick, van Slyke, and Kike vs LHP in the OF
Maybe this lights a fire under Puig and he picks it up in 2017. If not he can still be moved next year if not moved today.
Now we know why the A’s traded Billy Burns they needed a Josh Reddick replacement with some pop.
The A’s traded for pitchers in return cause they are running out of major league ready arms after all the injuries this year.
I bet the Giants offered a similar package but the A’s chose the Dodgers cause the Giants won’t let the A’s move to San Jose lol
Giants get young, controllable, Matt Moore for a bag of baseballs…. Nice work fried & z
For a bag of baseballs? You must not know who they gave up if that’s the case. A bag of baseballs, name SS’s in the Dodgers system that are of want for the Rays. They tried to ink Fox originally.