Today, the Dodgers made some moves. Caleb Ferguson was traded to Yankees, per Jon Heyman. LHP Matt Gage was the return to the Dodgers along with RHP Christian Zazueta Jr. The other move is re-signing Free-agent reliever Ryan Brasier in agreement with Dodgers on two-year, $9M contract, per Ken Rosenthal. Chance to reach $13M total through incentives. So why did the Dodgers make these moves and who is Gage and Zazueta?
First off, let's start with why was Ferguson traded. No bad reason really, he's a solid reliever but the Dodgers got 2 solid pitchers in return for him. Ferguson has been in the MLB with the Dodgers since 2018. Right now the Dodgers are pretty stacked so trading away one of their bullpen pieces to get 2 solid prospects is a good move to improve their farm. Matt Gage had already seen MLB time but no where as near as much as Ferguson. Gage is also not a proven MLB player just yet too so it's not a total loss if he doesn't play too much. While if Ferguson doesn't get much playing time, it won't be really fair to him and a waste to not use Ferguson's talent. So the best move was to trade him away to improve their farm and get a guy (Gage) who can be a great reliever within the next few years. It sucks to see Ferguson go and he has been great for the Dodgers but it's just business. And as we know by now, we can trust Andrew Friedman's plan.
Who is Matt Gage? Gage, 30, was drafted in the 10th round of the 2014 MLB Draft by the San Francisco Giants. He made his MLB Debut on June 6, 2022, with the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams he played for was Toronto Blue Jays (2022), Houston Astros (2023), and New York Yankees (2024 but never played for them). Since Gage has MLB time already he will be added to the 40-man roster but he has one option year remaining which means he can be sent down to the Minors. Gage made appearances in five games for the Astros during the 2023 season. His MLB debut took place in 2022 with the Toronto Blue Jays, following eight seasons in the Minors, including stints in the Mexican and independent leagues.
During his five games last season, Gage allowed two earned runs across 6 2/3 innings while striking out eight batters. Not bad but too small of data to say how good of a pitcher he is. The New York Yankees claimed him off waivers on January 29. Throughout his Major League career, he has maintained an impressive 1.83 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP in 16 appearances. Again it's nice but not too much data.
In Triple-A, Gage has a career ERA of 5.13 over 137 appearances, although he improved significantly in the last two seasons with a 3.39 ERA. That's encouraging. So Matt Gage can definitely be a nice peice to the bullpen for the Dodgers at some point.
Who is Christian Zazueta Jr? Unlike Gage, Zazueta does not have any MLB playing time just yet and probably won't anytime soon. Zazueta is only 19 from Mexico and has played in the Yankees Minor League system since 2022. Zazueta showcased his talent by participating in 12 games for the Dominican Summer League Yankees during the previous season, all of which he started. Over the course of these outings, he allowed 19 earned runs in 52 innings while impressively striking out 50 batters. His record for the season was 3–2, boasting a remarkable 3.29 ERA, and holding opposing batters to a .211 batting average.
Hailing from Navajoa, Sonora, Mexico, Zazueta spent a total of two seasons with the DSL Yankees, achieving a record of 3–5 along with a 4.54 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 73 1/3. It's too early to say what kind of player Zazueta will be, but the fact that the Dodgers got a solid prospect in the trade, made this a good trade. It's not easy getting solid prospects.
Lastly, as we now know, the Dodgers re-signed Ryan Brasier. Brasier absolutely killed it with the Dodgers last season having a 0.70 ERA over 39 appearances. This was a no-brainer to bring him back. Brasier struggled before coming to the Dodgers, but the Dodgers know how to fix him. Since Brasier and Gage will be added to the 40-man roster and only Ferguson left it, they will need to DFA someone to make room. However, if they wait until Feb. 8 to officially sign Brasier, they’ll be able to clear spots by placing Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin and Nick Frasso on the 60-day IL.
Dodgers updated bullpen options after today's moves:
Evan Phillips
Brusdar Graterol
Ryan Brasier
Joe Kelly
Alex Vesia (L)
Ryan Yarbrough (L)
Blake Treinen
J.P. Feyereisen
Michael Grove
Kyle Hurt
Gus Varland
Matt Gage
That's a nice bullpen. So at the end of the day, Dodgers got 3 new pitchers and gave away 1. Great moves.
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