When the Dodgers lost Gavin Lux for the season earlier this month, the focus quickly turned to how the team would replace him on the roster. Dave Roberts shared pretty quickly that Miguel Rojas would be replacing him on the field, but the loss of Lux had a domino effect on the LA bench.
Some ideas on how the Dodgers could fill the void were quickly thrown out there, including several free agent options still on the market. And, of course, the trade market is always open when Andrew Friedman is running things. While Friedman has gone on record as saying the club is more interested in adding a player that fits the “right profile” rather than just going out and adding a shortstop, MLB insider Jon Heyman suggested a shortstop trade option the team could explore that makes a lot of sense.
“The Dodgers also would make sense for (Isiah) Kiner-Falefa.”
Kiner-Falafa ended up as the primary shortstop for the New York Yankees last season but has played all over the field over his professional career. One thing the Dodgers’ front office loves is positional versatility. Having a player like IKF, as he’s called, would give the roster the closest thing they could get to a Kiké Hernandez replacement, a role they’ve been trying to fill for the last two years. Kiner-Falafa has even caught a number of games at the big league level where they never let Kiké catch in LA.
There’s a need for more infield versatility on the Dodger roster following the loss of Lux. The best in-house option, Yonny Hernandez, is having a nice spring (6-16 entering play on Saturday), but he’s also struggled at the major league level over his career (.198 lifetime). If Kiner-Falafa becomes available in a trade, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Friedman explore his market.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old fell out of favor with fans in New York after a long cold stretch in the second half of last season. As it stands, he’s battling for a spot on the roster this spring. The Yankees are giving a long look at two top prospects to potentially run away with the starting job.
The Dodgers have never been ones to shy away from a trade at any time of the year, so anything is possible before opening day. But it’s hard to envision the Yankees moving him before the season.
