Dodgers Reportedly Were Involved In Trade Talks For Josh Hamilton

With president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi at the helm of the front office, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been among baseball’s most active teams dating back to the offseason.

More recently, the Dodgers have been busy claiming and waiving several pitchers in effort to continue adding depth throughout the organization. While the club went on a claiming spree that lasted roughly one week, they reportedly were involved in a much larger scenario.

According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, the Dodgers discussed trade talks with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Josh Hamilton prior to him being sent to the Texas Rangers:

The Dodgers were in the middle of the Josh Hamilton trade talks before the cross-town Angels traded him to his preferred Rangers, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

However, rather than add Hamilton to an already crowded outfield (when the full complement of outfielders are healthy), the Dodgers were said to have been in search of prospects:

The Dodgers are believed to have discussed both straight deals and three-way scenarios that would have sent Hamilton to Texas but it’s apparent that ultimately they couldn’t quite pull off any sort of deal that satisfied the Angels. The cash-rich Dodgers’ main intention apparently was to pay some money while gathering prospects, not add Hamilton to their talented and crowded outfield mix; so even if a straight deal worked, presumably Hamilton would have gone to the Rangers eventually, anyway.

Aside from it later becoming evident Hamilton’s preference was to return to Texas, his no-trade clause figures to have stymied any progress in talks between the Angels and Dodgers. Hamilton spent Spring Training away from the Angels while he recovered from shoulder surgery in the Lone Star state.

Hamilton’s relationship with the Angels quickly became a damaged one after it was revealed the 33 year old suffered a relapse in his battle with substance abuse. Now with the Rangers, it’s believed Hamilton may make his 2015 debut at some point in mid or late-May.

Expectations during the offseason largely held the Dodgers would move at least one outfielder, even after the Matt Kemp trade. However, by holding maintaining a surplus, they’re now in better position to offset the losses of Carl Crawford and Yasiel Puig.

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