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Dodgers Undoubtedly Have Awkward Situation on Their Hands With Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling

By Thomas Carannante

Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling
Los Angeles Dodgers' Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling / Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Dodgers can thank the Red Sox for this.

Upon the initial agreement of the Mookie Betts trade with Boston, LA had planned to ship out Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling in a separate deal to free up roster spots and some money to make room for Betts and David Price, both of whom are combining to make $43 million in 2020.

But the Red Sox reneged on that deal, which meant everything had to be re-worked, negating the Dodgers' trade with the Angels that would've sent Pederson and Stripling to Orange County.

So, days after these two figured their longtime team would be shipping them 30 miles up I-5, they're now right back in Dodger blue. It's hard to imagine they're happy about that, especially since now it's likely they're dealt elsewhere if both LA teams can't renegotiate and come to an agreement.

One could call this bad business for the Dodgers.

Now what? The Dodgers have added another outfielder and another pitcher, making Pederson and Stripling essentially expendable. With Spring Training right around the corner, you simply can't have these guys arrive in Arizona still members of the roster. It'd be horrific for team chemistry.

These guys were both drafted by the Dodgers and have been with the organization since at least 2012. How do you un-burn the already incinerated bridge?

The only answer is to find another trade partner IMMEDIATELY. After all, there's bound to be interest in both of them considering that Pederson provides a valuable power bat in the outfield and Stripling has experience (and success) as a starter and reliever. They're combining to make just under $10 million, so LA's front office should be hitting the phones like mad over the next week.

It's an undesirable situation for everyone involved, but it's putting the Dodgers in a complicated bind considering they now have a surplus at the positions these guys play on top of the fact there will be obvious bitterness regarding what transpired.