NY Mets predicted to trade .220 hitting minor league depth piece to the LA Dodgers

There’s an LA Post? Apparently so, even with New York Post splashed over the top of the page, a sister site of the NY Post does plenty of Los Angeles Dodgers coverage. Jack Harris, who covers the Dodgers, makes regular predictions about which players will be coming to them next. Keeping it real, he chose a New York Mets player you won’t really mind getting sent there.

If you thought you had little attachment to Freddy Peralta, how’s a trade of Ben Rortvedt to the Dodgers make you feel? You might have to pinch yourself to feel anything at all. This is the man predicted to go from New York to LA in an attempt to make up for the loss of Will Smith.

The connection is easy. Rortvedt spent 18 games with the Dodgers last year in a light backup catcher role. Familiarity with some of their pitchers, position players, and the organization is the rationalization. It’s not as if the Mets have used him at all or have much of a need.

This is a trade the Mets make only if they get a body and maybe they get lucky with the return

Please, not cash for player trade. International bonus slot money or something else that directly translates into a player or a better one is acceptable. Just cash is not something the Mets should ever aim to acquire even with such minor deals like this.

Unlike some other veterans stashed in the minors, Rortvedt was a waiver claim by the Mets who already passed through. There’s no upward mobility clause in his contract to be concerned about. He belongs to the Mets right now and they shouldn’t hand him over so easily, especially to the Dodgers. This isn’t a ball club you need to build a good working relationship with. They’re your competitors. 

Rortvedt has never dazzled in the majors, owning a career .190 batting average. He’s at .220/.304/.410 this year with Syracuse. The Dodgers would need him more for experience and defense. He is what the Mets would probably like Hayden Senger to become even though Senger is a year older.

There is no roster crunch for the Mets as Rortvedt isn’t on the 40-man roster. They can ask for whatever they want, but happily settle for something along the lines of the 2023 Dominic Leone for Jeremiah Jackson return. 

No massive bidding war is about to ensue over a guy hitting barely over his weight in Triple-A. Some clever scouting can still award the Mets with value. The 2024 trade of Josh Walker is beginning to reap rewards. In 2028, maybe we can say the same about Rortvedt. The Dodgers are the same team who traded Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow