Mariners: 3 Under the Radar Trades We Could See This Offseason

The Los Angeles Dodgers seem to always have an embarrassment of riches among their position players, and their current roster is no exception. Matt Beaty, who has served as the Dodgers’ secondary utility man (behind Chris Taylor) for the past couple of seasons, is without a solid position in Los Angeles, but could merit a decent trade return to help L.A. maintain their relative dominance in the National League.

The 28-year-old Beaty has distributed his major league appearances nearly evenly between left field, first base, and third base, and has a career .262/.333/.425 slash line as a left-handed hitter. As noted, Seattle loves defensive versatility, and a player with Beaty’s postseason experience who could pinch-hit against bullpen righties would be valuable on the Mariners.

With Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly hitting free agency, the Dodgers are in need of another leverage arm in their bullpen. Drew Steckenrider was one of the best relievers in Seattle’s top-notch bullpen in 2021, and his two remaining years of club control would be attractive for L.A. as they aim to retool their second-ranked bullpen in the National League.

Beaty reminds me a bit of Abraham Toro and Ty France, two players the Mariners acquired from outstanding teams who had above-average offensive skills, but were blocked by All-Stars on their current team. If given more opportunities in Seattle, Beaty could blossom into an everyday player with four years of remaining club control.