Dodgers trade Dee Gordon to Marlins for top prospect Andrew Heaney
The new Los Angeles Dodgers front office started swapping Wednesday. After acquiring veteran shortstop Jimmy Rollins from the Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers went young, trading for pitcher Andrew Heaney, the Miami Marlins’ top prospect.
It’s costing the Dodgers an All-Star, as they’re sending speedster second baseman Dee Gordon to Miami in exchange for Heaney.
In all, it’s a six-player trade, with the Marlins also getting starting pitcher Dan Haren, and the Dodgers getting young utilityman Kike Hernandez, catching prospect Austin Barnes and relief pitcher Chris Hatcher.
The trade was first confirmed as done by Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. It’s just awaiting confirmation from both clubs.
The deal is fascinating for a number of reasons, among them:
• The Marlins’ willingness to trade Heaney, who is their No. 1 for 2015 prospect, according to Baseball Prospectus. He’s 23 and pitched in seven games in 2014 with a 5.83 ERA, but he’s a former first-round pick who is expected to be good. Some Marlins fans have to be baffled, considering Heaney’s potential to be a top-flight pitcher.
• The Dodgers shipping off Gordon, 26, who had a breakout season in 2014. He stole 64 bases and hit .289, registering 2.4 WAR and making his first All-Star team. On one hand, the Marlins are getting a dynamic player to put at the top of their order to set the table for Giancarlo Stanton, but on the other, Gordon hadn’t been that good in his three previous season. Owner Jeffrey Loria has said the Marlins want to surround Stanton with All-Stars. Even ones who are regression candidates, apparently.
• The inclusion of Dan Haren, 34, who has said he’d just as soon retire as not play in Southern California. He said that before the trade, and the Marlins still accepted the terms. They must be expecting him to go (hello, salary relief) or they think they can convince him to change his mind.
Like many trades, we’ll be able to properly grade this one in a few years, but the knee-jerk reaction says the Dodgers could be really happy when we do.
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Mike Oz is an editor for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
