CINCINNATI — What’s the opposite of a splash?
Because that’s how the Dodgers started their trade deadline activity late Wednesday night.
On the eve of MLB’s annual trade deadline (which is Thursday at 3 p.m. PDT), the Dodgers were the tertiary party in a three-team trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Tampa Bay Rays.
While the biggest piece in the deal — starting pitcher Zack Littell — went from Tampa Bay to Cincinnati, the Dodgers were included in a swap of some lesser-name players.
Minor league catcher Hunter Feduccia, a longtime Dodgers farmhand having a nice season with triple-A Oklahoma City, was sent to Tampa Bay.
In return, the Dodgers received pitching prospect Adam Serwinowski from the Reds, as well as reliever Paul Gervase and catcher Ben Rortvedt from the Rays, according to multiple people with knowledge of the situation not authorized to speak publicly.
Serwinowski is the most intriguing name the Dodgers acquired. A 21-year-old left-hander who was ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Reds’ farm system by MLB Pipeline, the former 15th-round draft pick has been a favorite of Dodgers’ evaluators for a while, according to another person with knowledge of the team’s thinking.
While Serwinowski has a 4.84 ERA in high-A this season, the Dodgers are excited by his potential and add him to a farm system that is lacking the depth of impact pitching prospects it usually touts.
Gervase is a 25-year-old reliever who debuted in the majors this year with the Rays, posting a 4.26 ERA in five outings this year.
Rortvedt is a 27-year-old journeyman catcher who will help provide organizational depth in Feduccia’s absence, alongside current triple-A backstops Chris Okey and Chuckie Robinson.
For a team that has been linked to some of the bigger names on this year’s trade market, it was far from the blockbuster many fans have been waiting on.
Granted, the Dodgers are still expected to be active on Thursday.
Their need for a reliever remains, even though they remained idle on Wednesday as other top options, from Jhoan Durán to Ryan Helsley to Tyler Rogers, were dealt elsewhere.
The club is still hoping to add another hitter to their lineup too, with an upgrade in the outfield (especially defensively) seen as a priority, according to a person with knowledge of the club’s thinking.
Whether the Dodgers can land the impact additions they seek, in what has been a seller’s market defined by high acquisition costs to this point, remains to be seen.
But at least they won’t go into deadline day without having made any deals, with Wednesday night’s late-night transaction expected to be the first of several moves they make ahead of Thursday’s trade cutoff.
