Although the Los Angeles Dodgers were interested in making a trade for Chicago White Sox pitcher Garett Crochet, the club wasn’t willing to give up Dalton Rushing.
Rushing is ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 46 overall prospect. The 23-year-old recently received a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, but the unwillingness of the Dodgers to let Rushing go adds to the speculation that the prospect could make his Dodgers debut at the tail end of the 2024 season.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies made attractive offers for Crochet on the final day before the trade deadline.
Los Angeles even offered rookie River Ryan in the trade talks with the White Sox, but his health was a point of concern for the club. Ryan missed the first two months of the season due to a shoulder injury and after suffering an elbow injury earlier this month, the right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery. Ryan had just four major league starts for the Dodgers.
Chicago didn’t think any prospect should have been off the table in exchange for Crochet, including Rushing. Crochet is on the trajectory of becoming an ace in his first year as a starter. He has a 3.61 ERA for Chicago and 176 strikeouts through 124.2 innings pitched.
Several Dodgers fans viewed the southpaw as a must-trade player, but the deal never came to fruition.
Instead, the Dodgers landed Jack Flaherty for the pitching rotation from the Detroit Tigers and managed to keep one of their top prospects in Rushing.
It’s evident the front office is keeping a close eye on Rushing and his progress in the minors. Upon his arrival to Oklahoma City, Rushing made the switch from being a catcher to playing in the outfield.
“In all my years of playing baseball, I played just one inning in the outfield before this year,” Rushing told The Oklahoman’s Gracie Rawlings before his first game with OKC. “This has been a quick turnaround and a little bit of an adjustment, but that is just kind of the lifestyle.”
Despite the position change, Rushing has continued his hot streak at the plate. An impressive feat given he is now facing a higher level of pitching in Triple-A.
“The move has been really good,” Rushing said. “When I got here, they told me that the move to the outfield would not only better myself, but also the teams I will play for in the future. I have done my growth at the plate, so now my mindset is to go out there and help the team where I can right now.”
Photo Credit: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
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