The Los Angeles Dodgers have made a trade with the Washington Nationals for outfielder Alex Call. Shortly after sending James Outman to the Minnesota Twins for reliever Brock Stewart, they replaced Outman on the bench. Call is in his fourth MLB season and is under team control through 2029. ESPN's Jeff Passan broke the news.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers are acquiring outfielder Alex Call from the Washington Nationals, a source tells ESPN,” Passan reported.
The Dodgers have gotten poor production from Michael Conforto in left field this season. Call is significantly better against lefties, .802 OPS, than Conforto has been this season, with a .688 OPS. They needed to improve their bullpen, which cost them Outman. Then, they needed to replace Outman, so they dipped into their prospect pipeline to get Call.
The Dodgers gave up minor-league pitchers Sean Paul Liñan and Eriq Swan to land Call. Swan was ranked 16th in LA's system, while Liñan was ranked 20th. With a disappointing season slipping away and new management in place, Washington lands two pitchers to improve their pipeline.
The rest of the Nationals' season will be about the continued development of James Wood, CJ Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore. Gore was a part of trade rumors all the way up to the deadline, but Washington was asking a high price. The Cubs and Padres were among the teams interested and could make that move in the winter.
The Dodgers now turn their eyes to another NL West title and another World Series title. Call will get some important at-bats down the stretch, especially if there is an injury. But don't expect to see him in many postseason games as the Dodgers have one of the deepest rosters in the league.
ClutchPoints has you covered with everything MLB trade deadline related as the fallout continues from a wild day.