Dodgers add INF Gyorko, LHP Kolarek at trade deadline
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Dodgers acquired infielder Jedd Gyorko and international signing bonus allocation from the St. Louis Cardinals for pitchers Tony Cingrani and Jeffrey Abreu at Wednesday’s trade deadline, although they failed to pull off the kind of big deals they have struck in the past.
As part of the trade, the Cardinals will send $2,938,710 to the Dodgers to offset much of the money owed Gyorko, who is due $4,193,548 of his $13 million salary this year and is guaranteed a $1 million buyout of a $13 million club option for 2021.
Gyorko adds additional depth at a time when utility players David Freese, Enriquè Hernàndez and Chris Taylor are on the injured list.
Gyorko has not played since June 7 and is on the 60-day injured list. He will travel to Los Angeles to map out a return.
“He’s getting pretty close to going out on rehab assignment,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
Gyorko has struggled offensively in the 38 games he’s been available this season, hitting .198 with two home runs and seven RBIS.
Friedman said the Dodgers worked hard up until the 1 p.m. PDT deadline to swing deals.
“I love making big moves that add more talent on top of talent we already have,” he said. “Anytime you really want something to happen and it doesn’t, the natural reaction is to be disappointed but that isn’t really productive.”
Friedman said the team targeted a small list of players as possible additions to a team that has won six straight NL West titles
and consecutive World Series appearances but remains in search of its first World Series title since 1988.
“Anytime you have a smaller list, it decreases the chances. The small list of guys we really targeted were ultimately guys that didn’t move,” he said. “We feel we have the depth to win a championship.”
Gyorko goes from one division leader in St. Louis to another in Los Angeles. The Dodgers own a 15-game lead in the NL West.
“We feel good about the talent in the house,” Friedman said. “Now we’ve got to figure out the right combination of guys and we’ve got two months.”
Gyorko has spent parts of seven seasons with San Diego and St. Louis. The 30-year-old infielder has a .246 career average with 112 homers and 351 RBIS. Over the past three seasons with the Cardinals, he’s hit .259 with 61 homers.
Cingrani is out for the season after undergoing left shoulder surgery on June 5. The 29-yearold left-hander was acquired by the Dodgers from Cincinnati at the trade deadline in July 2017 and was 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA as a reliever in 52 games for Los Angeles.
Abreu is 2-0 with a 4.66 ERA in six games (two starts) for the Arizona League Dodgers. The 19-year-old right-hander was in his second season with the Dodgers.
In another deal, the Dodgers acquired pitcher Adam Kolarek from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league outfielder Niko Hulsizer. Kolarek is expected to join the Dodgers on Thursday, when they return home to open a seven-game stand.
Kolarek was 5-4 with a 3.95 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 54 games for the Rays. The 30-year-old left-hander is a combined 6-3 with a 4.19 ERA in parts of three major league seasons. He was originally drafted by the New York Mets in 2010.
Hulsizer hit .265 with 20 homers and 67 RBIS while splitting this season between Single-a Great Lakes and High-a Rancho Cucamonga. The 22-year-old outfielder was in his second season with the Dodgers organization after being drafted last year by the franchise.