Dodgers Blockbuster Trade Proposal Lands Paul Skenes for Godfather Offer

As the trade deadline approaches, the Los Angeles Dodgers are a team that many around the baseball world know have blockbuster potential.

Especially when a young star pitcher is the topic of conversation, LA is unpredictable in the sense that there is no way of knowing if they will unload the farm for top talent, strike a deal for a veteran rental to carry them to October, or maybe even remain stagnant and focus on the current team.

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ESPN insider David Schoenfield drew up what a potential mega-deal would look like if the Dodgers pushed all their chips to the middle of the table in order to acquire Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.

LA would include catcher Dalton Rushing, right-hander Emmet Sheehan, and three top-5 prospects in their system: outfielder Josue De Paula (No. 27 overall), infielder Alex Freeland (No. 42 overall), and southpaw Jackson Ferris (No. 69 overall).

This kind of deal is certainly something that the Pirates couldn't refuse, but the Dodgers would have to be extremely cautious if this deal were ever sent to Pittsburgh. Skenes, however, might be one of the few players in baseball that a deal like this would at least begin to make sense.

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Skenes leads MLB in bWAR (4.8) and has the lowest ERA in baseball among qualified starting pitchers at 2.01 across 121 innings of work. His ERA+ of 213 grades him 113 percent higher than league average as the Fullerton, CA native is just 23 years old and has an increasingly bright future.

As for the Dodgers, Rushing spent last season as the highest-ranked prospect in the organization and was called up to take over as the team's backup backstop in the middle of May. Sheehan is a 25-year-old right-hander coming off of Tommy John who currently has a 2.00 ERA across two big league starts this season, and is expected to stay in the rotation at least for one more start.

These two up-and-coming players plus the trio of highly-ranked prospects is certainly quite the loss, but a talent like Skenes won't come around often. Especially with the pitching woes of the Dodgers this season, the right-hander from Pittsburgh wouldn't just be an incredible asset this season, but there is no telling how much higher his ceiling would get for years to come.

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