he Los Angeles Dodgers took all of two weeks to soak in the glory of their second straight World Series victory. As of Sunday, the first back-to-back champions in 25 years have already started making deals with an eye toward sustaining their success into the future.
The Dodgers made a trade with the Seattle Mariners that flew well under the MLB radar, coming as it did on the same day that Seattle made the first major splash of the offseason by agreeing to terms with free agent first baseman Josh Naylor.
The 28-year-old Naylor belted nine home runs in 191 at-bats for the Mariners after heading north from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline, in exchange for a pair of pitching prospects.
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Now, the Mariners have parted with another pitching prospect, in a trade with the Dodgers this time, and received one in return in a deal that the Seattle club announced on social media Sunday.
In the trade, the Dodgers say goodbye to 25-year-old lefty Robinson Ortiz, who has been pitching for the Los Angeles organization since 2017, but in a minor league career marred by injury setbacks and the 2020 pandemic year minor league shutdown, the Dominican Republic native never saw a Major League mound.
The trade came 11 days after the Dodgers added Ortiz to their 40-man roster, protecting him from being snapped up by another team in the Rule 5 draft. Now, they have cut ties with Ortiz after all, but by trading him, the Dodgers get a prospect in return.
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Had Ortiz been claimed in the Rule 5 draft, Los Angeles would have received no compensation.
“Ortiz certainly hadn’t been on anyone’s radar previously,” wrote Katrina Stebbins of Dodgers Way. “He shot up from High-A to Triple-A this season and posted a 2.73 ERA in 59 1/3 innings across all three levels.”
To say that Ortiz was on no one’s radar may be a slight overstatement. While it is true that Ortiz was a largely overlooked international signing in 2017, receiving a modest $60,000 bonus at the time, and taking a full year after he became eligible for a pro contract to connect with a team that wanted to sign him, the young southpaw advanced steadily through the Dodgers’ ranks.
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Despite not being invited to the Dodgers alternate training site in 2020, he was raked the No. 25 prospect on the Los Angeles system by the start of 2021, according to Dodgers Daily. Unfortunately, he suffered a forearm strain that caused him to miss all but four games in 2021, and the entire 2022 season.
When he returned, however, he made it to the Dodgers Triple-A level by 2025.
In return, the Mariners sent 22-year-old righty Tyler Gough, Seattle’s ninth-round draft pick in 2022, to Los Angeles. Gough signed for a $275,000 bonus out of JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California, passing up a recruitment by Oregon State.
He was rated as the Seattle No. 25 prospect by Fangraphs this year, though Gough has not yet pitched above the Single-A level.
“His stuff is good, and he has the repertoire to be developed as a starter to see if his control improves,” wrote Fangraphs talent evaluator Eric Longenhagen of the then-Mariners prospect. “Gough’s fastball has big riding life, his changeup has plus sinking action, and his slider flashes big two-planed length.”
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