As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal suggested as news of the blockbuster Mookie Betts trade hit, the Dodgers have agreed to trade outfielder Joc Pederson and pitcher Ross Stripling to the Angels. They will receive infielder Luis Rengifo and two prospects in return.
Pederson, 29, hit a productive .249/.339/.538 with 36 home runs and 74 RBI across 514 plate appearances last season. 464 of those plate appearances came against right-handed pitchers.
Stripling, 30, made 15 starts and 17 relief appearances last season, posting a 3.47 ERA with 93 strikeouts and 20 walks across 90 2/3 innings of work.
Rengifo, 22, made his major league debut last season, batting .238/.321/.364 with 28 extra-base hits, 33 RBI, and 44 runs scored in 406 trips to the plate. He was, according to publicly available metrics, an above-average defender.
Pederson and the Dodgers couldn’t agree on a salary for the 2020 season, so they were headed to arbitration. Pederson filed for $9.5 million while the Dodgers countered at $7.75 million. Now it’s the Angels’ problem. More importantly for the Dodgers, getting Pederson off the books helps them absorb more of the salary taken on in the Betts trade which also included David Price. In Rengifo, the Dodgers also receive a solid middle infielder who will be under team control for quite a while.