Dodgers Trade for Scott Alexander in 3-Team Deal with Royals, White Sox

The Los Angeles Dodgers have reportedly acquired reliever Scott Alexander in a three-team deal that will send pitcher Trevor Oaks to the Kansas City Royals and reliever Luis Avilan to the Chicago White Sox, according to Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

The deal will also send Joakim Soria to the White Sox, per Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star, and Jake Peter to the Dodgers, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. Infielder Erick Mejia will also be heading to the Royals, per Jon Morosi of MLB.com.

Rosenthal added more context on the trade from the Dodgers' perspective, noting, "Alexander, a left-hander, will replace free agent Tony Watson in Dodgers’ bullpen. Comes with five years of control."

Alexander, 28, appeared in 58 games for the Royals last season, going 5-4 with a 2.48 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 69 innings. As Rosenthal wrote, "Alexander’s 73.3 percent groundball rate last season was second only to Zach Britton’s 74.3 percent among qualifying major-league relievers."

Peter, meanwhile, is a "former 7th round pick out of Creighton" who hit .282 "over four minor-league seasons," according to Crasnick. Morosi added that "Peter could replace Charlie Culberson on depth chart as an infield-first super utility player. Peter, as with Culberson, is described as having very good makeup."

As for the relievers Chicago received in the deal, Soria went 4-3 in 59 appearances and 56 innings, striking out 64 with a 3.70 ERA and 1.23 WHIP. Avilan made 63 appearances for the Dodgers last season, going 2-3 with 52 strikeouts, a 2.93 ERA and 1.39 WHIP in 61 appearances (46 innings).

Finally, in Mejia, the Royals are getting a player who hit .278 with eight home runs, 41 RBI and 28 stolen bases for three different minor league teams in 2017. Oaks was considered the No. 14 player in L.A.'s farm system, per MLB.com. In 2017, he went 4-3 in total, striking out 81 hitters in 91.2 innings with a 3.83 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.

As Rosenthal noted, however, the deal had clear financial implications for Kansas City. As he tweeted, the "Royals began day with payroll at about $120 million. Want to get down to $100 million to $105 million, but presumably would make exception of some kind for [Eric] Hosmer. Soria, heading to White Sox, is first reduction—he is owed $9 million this season with a $1 million buyout on his 2019 option."