The Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Guardians have agreed to a trade that will send shortstop Amed Rosario to the Dodgers pending a review of player medicals, Ken Rosenthal reports. Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers initially reported that the two clubs were deep in talks.
Cleveland remains in the AL Central race, but they're below .500, and the recent decision to move ace Shane Bieber to the 60-day injured list may have nudged them toward the "soft seller" side of the deadline. As for the Dodgers, they've now addressed their lack of depth at the shortstop position.
Rosario, 27, has slashed .265/.306/.369 (89 OPS+) with three home runs and nine stolen bases in 94 games for Cleveland this season. For his career, he's put up an OPS+ of 95 across parts of seven MLB seasons, four of which came with the Mets. Rosario for the balance of his career has been an average-ish fielder at the position, but this season Statcast ranks him as one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball.
The Dodgers were left with an uncertain shortstop situation after the promising young Gavin Lux suffered a season-ending knee injury during spring training. Miguel Rojas when healthy has been the primary shortstop, but he's struggled to produce with a .221/.279/.268 slash line for the year. Superstar Mookie Betts has also seen time at short for the Dodgers in 2023. While Rosario's defensive situation bears monitoring, he figures to be an upgrade at the plate over what Rojas has given the Dodgers this season.
The Dodgers also recently acquired Enrique Hernández from the Red Sox to give them an additional infield option.
The Dodgers presently stand at 58-43 on the year, and they hold a 3 1/2-game lead over the Giants and a four-game lead over the Diamondbacks in the National League West. Los Angeles is aiming for its 11th consecutive trip to the playoffs.
