The Los Angeles Dodgers are always on the lookout for ways to bolster their roster, and it seems they might be eyeing a familiar face from the New York Mets. Ben Rortvedt, a backup catcher with prior experience in Dodger blue, is rumored to be on their radar to fill the gap left by the departure of Will Smith.
Rortvedt's previous stint with the Dodgers, where he played 18 games in a backup role, makes him a known quantity for the team. His familiarity with the Dodgers' pitching staff and clubhouse could make him an appealing option. Meanwhile, the Mets, who haven't found much use for Rortvedt, might be open to the idea of a trade.
For the Mets, any potential deal involving Rortvedt should aim for more than just a cash exchange. Ideally, they'd want something tangible in return, like international bonus slot money or a player who could contribute down the line. Cash alone isn't a strategy they should pursue, even in minor transactions like this.
Rortvedt's journey to the Mets came via a waiver claim, and his contract doesn't include any clauses that complicate a potential move. While he's not a standout in the majors, with a career batting average of .190, he's shown some improvement with a .220/.304/.410 line in Triple-A this year. The Dodgers would likely value him more for his defensive capabilities and experience than his bat.
The Mets aren't under any roster pressure since Rortvedt isn't on their 40-man roster, giving them the flexibility to negotiate a favorable return. They might aim for a deal reminiscent of the 2023 trade involving Dominic Leone and Jeremiah Jackson, where they managed to extract value from a seemingly minor transaction.
While Rortvedt isn't likely to spark a bidding war, the Mets could still find a way to turn this into a beneficial move with some savvy scouting. Just as the trade of Josh Walker in 2024 started to pay dividends, perhaps a similar story could unfold with Rortvedt in the future. After all, the Dodgers are a team known for surprising trades, like the infamous swap of Yordan Alvarez for Josh Fields.
In Other News...
Mets Make Another Desperate Upside Bet As Deadline Pressure Builds
With the trade deadline closing in, the Mets have added another name to the organizational mix, signing Christopher Morel to a minor-league deal and sending him to Triple-A Syracuse. It is the sort of low-cost move clubs make when they are trying to keep as many paths open as possible, especially for a player whose tools have long made evaluators dream a little bigger than the risk profile might suggest.
Morel brings real power upside, with 42 homers in his first 220 career games and a 26-homer season in 2023, but the swing-and-miss issues are just as much a part of the package. He struck out 38.4% of the time with the Marlins this year and carries a 30.7% career strikeout rate, so the Mets are betting on raw impact more than reliability as they look for any extra edge before the deadline arrives. [Read more 🡒]
This Forgotten 1986 Mets Trade Has One Of The Strangest Twists
The 1986 Mets made plenty of headline-grabbing moves on their way to a championship, but some of the quieter deals have become strange footnotes in hindsight. One of them came on June 30, when New York sent Ed Lynch to the Cubs and got Dave Liddell and Dave Lenderman back, a swap that barely registered at the time but still sits inside the teams most memorable season.
Lynch had appeared in just one game for the Mets that year before moving on, yet he is still counted as part of that World Series club. The return ended up carrying its own odd wrinkle a few years later, when Liddell surfaced again in Mets history in a way few would have predicted, leaving this old trade as one of those roster moves that feels more like a trivia question than a transaction. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Suddenly Have A Tough Outfield Call They Cant Ignore
Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing have given the Mets something they badly needed in a season full of uneven stretches: two rookies who look like they belong. Benge has been one of the more productive first-year hitters in the majors, while Ewing has paired steady offense with reliable defense in the outfield, giving New York a pair of young players who have handled the jump to big league pitching and the everyday grind without looking overwhelmed.
The timing, though, is what makes this such a tricky development for the Mets. Benge settled in after an early adjustment period and has been consistently productive since, while Ewing has kept stacking useful at-bats and innings in the field, but the organization is also moving toward a point where there may not be enough room to keep both rookies in the mix every day. For a club trying to sort out its future while still chasing results now, that kind of decision is becoming harder to postpone. [Read more 🡒]