Brandon Beachy Signing Doesn’t Mean Anyone Will Be Traded

The Dodger’s signing of right hander Brandon Beachy left some people scratching their heads wondering if there may be future changes coming to the Dodger rotation. The Dodgers announced the signing of Beachy on Saturday morning. The 2.75 million dollar deal has a club option year for 2016 that could be valued between 3 and 6 million dollars. Beachy is not expected to return until after the all-star break at the earliest, as he is still recovering from his second Tommy john surgery.

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Chris Cotillo of mlbdailydish speculates that the Beachy signing may lead to future trades or moves regarding the starting staff. Coltillo goes onto speculate that if Beachy is healthy enough to contribute, that it could lead to a trade of Zack Greinke, or even Hyun-jin Ryu in the not so distant future. I just wanted to calm people down so they understand that Cotillo is just speculating on other speculations. I seriously doubt the Dodgers are going to trade Greinke. I’ll go on record right now and claim that there is no way on god’s green Earth that the Dodgers will trade Ryu.

The reason the Dodgers picked up Beachy is because they took a flier on him. Beachy was a very talented young pitcher before he succumbed to Tommy John surgery, not once, but twice. Beachy had his first operation in 2012, with the second surgery coming early last year.

Stacie and Adrian both have waxed philosophical on how difficult it is to overcome two Tommy John surgeries. While it has happened before, providing examples of such players include former Dodgers Brian Wilson, and Chris Capuano, normally the pitcher is never the same as he was before the surgeries.

In Beachy’s case, we have no idea if he’ll even be able to contribute, let alone return to form. Beachy. Even if Beachy does return this season at some point, that doesn’t mean the Dodgers are going to deal anyone.

That’s what taking a flier on a player is all about. Risk. It’s well worth the risk as Stacie and Adrian have pointed out. Beachy has been talented enough to where throwing 2.75 million at him is worth the risk. If he is able to contribute at all then that is great. If not, then all you have lost is a couple of million. For the Dodgers that is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

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It can also be seen as a move to bolster the pitching depth. Maybe Brett Anderson or Brandon McCarthy get hurt around midseason and Beachy can step in and provide insurance. They could even put Beachy in the bullpen utilizing him as a long man. Either way it doesn’t necessarily mean that Greinke is going anywhere.

Greinke has already stated that he won’t make a decision on whether or not to opt out of his contract until after the season is over. I find it hard to believe that the Dodgers would just give up on him and trade him before he at least makes a decision.

The Dodger’s foundation for success is their front of their starting rotation. Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, and Hyun-jin Ryu can be considered as one of the best top three in all of Baseball. If somebody gets hurt then Beachy might be called upon to fill in, whatever that capacity might be.

This is all about taking a risk on a pitcher who was pretty good before he got hurt. Sometimes the risk can be well worth the possible rewards. That doesn’t mean anybody is getting moved.