Dodgers Swap Minor League Pitchers With AL West Team, DFA Recently Acquired Reliever
The Los Angeles Dodgers have made their second trade of the last week. On Thursday, the Dodgers acquired RHP Ricky Vanasco from the Texas Rangers in exchange for LHP Luis Valdez. Both pitchers were in the minor leagues for their respective teams.
Vanasco, 24, was a former 15th-round pick in the 2017 MLB Draft by the Rangers. He's worked his way up to Double-A, but struggled in two appearances this season leading to his DFA. He allowed six earned runs in just 2.1 innings this season, but overall has been solid in the minor leagues.
In 178 career minor league innings, Vanasco sports a 3.84 ERA with an impressive 236 strikeouts.
As for Valdez, the lefty was off to a decent start in his minor league career. In eight starts at Single-A this season, the 19-year-old sported a 3.12 ERA. The Dodgers elected to take their chances with Vanasco, though, and Valdez became the other piece of the puzzle.
Vanasco has been added to the Dodgers 40-man roster, meaning they needed to clear a spot for him. They did that by designating RHP Zack Burdi for assignment, who the team acquired just a week ago from the Tampa Bay Rays.
Like Vanasco, Burdi was DFA'd by his team last week, and the Dodgers decided to scoop him up. Now, Burdi will head right back to waivers, as his spot with the Dodgers was taken by Vanasco.
It'll be interesting to see how long Vanasco lasts on the Dodgers 40-man roster. He's never played higher than Double-A, and wasn't exactly thriving there this season. The Dodgers must have seen something in him in order to make this move, but there may just be another move coming that will replace Vanasco. We'll have to see what the Dodgers have up their sleeves.
