Jon Heyman then came in and confirmed the deal, reporting that the Dodgers were acquiring outfielder Trayce Thompson, infielder Micah Johnson, and Montas, while the Reds are set to acquire prospectsJose Peraza, Scott Schebler, and Brandon Dixon, while Frazier is the lone player going to the White Sox. Chicago previously acquired third baseman Brett Lawrie from Oakland, so that means either Lawrie is headed for second base or Frazier is headed for the outfield. He was eighth in the NL with 173 hits last season, but had only 12 homers and 70 RBIs.
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The new group of prospects is seen to have more value than the ones the Dodgers parted ways with, adding to what already is one of the best minor league systems in the game.
Along with getting “a standup guy and a leader” when the Sox acquired Frazier, Ventura said he also thinks they are getting a player who, at age 29, is in his prime. “We feel it addresses a spot that has been rather hard to fill for an extended period of time at third base”.
Before the 2015 season, Peraza was rated as the No. 38 prospect in baseball by MLB.com and the No. 54 prospect by Baseball America. The White Sox surrendered pitcher Frankie Montas, IF Michan Johnson, and OF Trayce Thompson.
This is the beginning of a rebuilding project by the Reds.
Montas, 22, was 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA in two starts and five relief appearances for Chicago last season and 5-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 23 starts at Double-A Birmingham. He made his second straight All-Star team and first start after collecting 52 extra-base hits before the break.
The Dodgers get (in my opinion) the best prospect in the deal while also ending up with a damn fine package considering what they gave up. Schebler also reached the big leagues in ’15, and showed some decent pop with three home runs in 36 at-bats. They had a deal in place to ship closer Aroldis Chapman to the Dodgers this month before an offseason domestic dispute became public, putting the trade on hold.
Though there are many pieces involved, the headliner of the deal is obviously Frazier, who has drawn strong trade interest from teams like the Royals and Indians so far this winter. But seeing as the Dodgers were spurned by Zack Greinke, and have an abundance of top prospects, it seems fathomable that they can pull off a deal for an ace, be it Fernandez or someone else, if they want to go down that route. He hit 28 home runs in Double-A in 2014 and 27 in high Class A in 2013.
As for the departed, Jose Peraza was a candidate to possibly win the second base job out of Spring Training.
Peraza has hit. 281 or better in all of his minor-league stops and stolen as many as 64 bases in a season.
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With Thompson in the major league picture in Los Angeles after hitting.295/.363/.533 with five homers in 44 games for Chicago, the possibility of trading Joc Pederson or Yasiel Puig only grows.
