Trade Grades: Dodgers, Rays Both Get What They Want

Los Angeles and Tampa Bay stuck with their individual team-building philosophies in the deal.

The Dodgers officially introduced Shohei Ohtani as a member of the franchise Thursday. But signing the largest free-agent contract in history was only the beginning of their offseason activity. Less than an hour after Ohtani left the stage, Los Angeles was linked to a trade for one of the best starting pitchers available.

The Dodgers will reportedly get pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot from the Rays in exchange for pitcher Ryan Pepiot and outfielder Jonny Deluca. The trade is said to be contingent on L.A.’s signing an extension with Glasnow, 30, who would otherwise reach free agency after 2024. It was first reported by ESPN.

The deal is straightforward—a pitcher and outfielder getting moved in both directions—but fulfills the needs of both teams. The Dodgers get established players to fill out a group with designs on a World Series. The Rays get young talent in their prearbitration years to help a low-cost roster punch above its weight. In other words, if you were looking to distill the organizational philosophy of each team into one trade, you have it here.

Here are our grades:

Dodgers: A-

The Dodgers entered the offseason in desperate need of starting pitching. Yes, they were coming off yet another NL West title and a 100-win season … but they made it to October with their rotation in tatters, and, well, it showed. (They were swept in the NLDS by the Diamondbacks.) Injuries and free agency meant the group projected as even thinner for 2024 than it had been in ’23. The Dodgers came into this winter in serious need of depth here, but they needed top-line talent, too.

Glasnow certainly provides the latter. The righthander has been one of the best pitchers in the game when healthy since he was traded from the Pirates to the Rays in 2018. Now, “when healthy” is a load-bearing caveat: Glasnow reached a career-high innings total last season with … 120 IP. It was just the second time that he’d topped 100 innings in his eight years in the majors. (He had Tommy John surgery in ’21 and missed almost all of ’22 as a result.) But when he’s on the mound? There are few who can match him. Over the last five seasons, Glasnow’s 12.5 K/9 ranks third among starters, behind only Spencer Strider (13.6) and Jacob deGrom (12.8). And Glasnow has done it with a lower ERA and BB/9 than Strider. The injury record is undoubtedly a concern. But it’s hard to argue with the results Glasnow has posted when healthy.

Will he ever be a consistently available workhorse? History suggests no. If you were looking for the Dodgers to add a pitcher who could be counted on annually to provide 180 innings, Glasnow isn’t your guy. But that’s not the role he’s here to fill. If he can give 120 high-quality innings a season and make a lights-out playoff start (or two or three), L.A. will be happy. And there’s no reason to believe the front office is done adding to this rotation. The Dodgers are one of the lead contenders for Japanese ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto and could still make plenty of other moves to add depth.

The Dodgers’ extension for Glasnow has been reported as $135 million over five years. The structure of Ohtani’s contract offers considerably more payroll flexibility than they would have had otherwise, and apparently they’re putting that to use right away.

As for Margot, he’ll offer a right-handed bat in the outfield who can be used to platoon with players like Jason Heyward and James Outman. This isn’t a particularly thrilling pickup, and there’s a case to be made that L.A. could have found this skill set elsewhere at a lower cost or with other benefits. But Margot is a solid defender with an established track record. He should get the job done just fine.

Rays: A

This is a classic example of the Rays’ playbook. They took a pair of players who were among the highest paid on their roster (Glasnow was set to earn $25 million in 2024; Margot, $10 million), toward the end of their contracts (Glasnow would have been a free agent after ’24, and Margot has an option for ’25), and moved them for younger, less expensive talent. This doesn’t meaningfully increase the Rays’ chances of winning right now. But it does contribute to the kind of sustainable, cost-controlled perpetual motion machine of success they seem to favor.

Pepiot and Deluca are not Glasnow and Margot. But they are solid-to-promising talents coming off strong rookie performances.

Pepiot, 26, has split his time in the past between the rotation and the bullpen. But if any org can figure out how to get the most out of his fastball-changeup pairing and learn how to maximize his impact? It’s probably the pitching-savvy Rays. (He’s also worked on developing a slider in the last two years.) Pepiot comes with a spotty injury history of his own—he missed a good chunk of last season with an oblique strain—but will likely see his first full season in the big leagues in 2024.

Deluca, meanwhile, looked capable in his first exposure to the majors last year. He adjusted decently well to big league pitching (a 97 OPS+) and played all three outfield spots. Deluca’s skill set is relatively similar to Margot’s: Both are contact hitters (with very little power to speak of) and effective defenders. That means Deluca should be able to replace much of what the Rays are losing by trading away Margot—at a fraction of the salary and with a much longer time horizon. The 25-year-old will not hit free agency until 2030.

The Rays’ haul in this one is not anywhere near as exciting as the Dodgers’. But this did just what it needed to for both sides. Tampa Bay shed payroll and brought in long-term options; Los Angeles paid up to add immediate-impact talent. Both clubs hope to be playing in October next year. And this trade is a perfect encapsulation of how each one is trying to build its contender.