Los Angeles Dodgers

Source: Dodgers Acquire Slugger Joey Gallo From Yankees

The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired left-handed slugger Joey Gallo from the New York Yankees, a source told NBC LA on Tuesday.

New York Yankees v Baltimore Orioles
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The Los Angeles Dodgers did not get Juan Soto.

However, they did acquire another left-handed slugger instead.

A source confirmed to NBC LA on Tuesday that the Dodgers were in agreement with the New York Yankees on acquiring outfielder Joey Gallo in exchange for right-handed pitching prospect Clayton Beeter. The deal is pending a physical for both players.

Beeter is currently ranked as the team's No. 15 prospect and has a 5.75 ERA in 16 starts and 18 appearances with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers this season.

Similar to another left-handed home run hitter on the Dodgers in Max Muncy, Gallo has struggled this season with the Yankees.

The former two-time All-Star is batting .159 with 12 homers. Muncy is batting .162 with 10 homers.

Jeff Passan of ESPN was one of the first to report that the Dodgers had acquired Gallo.

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Entering the Tuesday Trade Deadline, the Dodgers were reportedly among three teams in discussions with the Washington Nationals for Soto. Early Tuesday morning, it was announced that Soto had been acquired by the rival Padres in exchange for a haul of prospects.

With the Dodgers not getting Soto, president of baseball operations, Andrew Friedman, pivoted to other options. On Monday, the team traded away LHP Garrett Cleavinger to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league outfielder German Tapia. The move opened up a spot on the 40-man roster.

Gallo, was seen as a player that the Yankees would be interested in trading after they acquired another left-handed bat from the Royals in Andew Benitendi over the weekend. Both parties appeared happy to move on from the situation after Hallo was acquired by the Yankees this time last year at the Trade Deadline.

Gallo, 28, is a left-handed power hitter with a high swing-and miss rate. He led all of MLB in strikeouts last season and has struck out 106 times already this season. In 140 games with the Yankees, he struck out 194 times. He is among the bottom one percent in the league in strikeout rate.

The Dodgers already have a handful of players with similar numbers. Cody Bellinger is currently ranked 9th in the National League with 106 strikeouts and Chris Taylor, currently on the IL with a foot fracture, is ranked 13th.

Muncy doesn't strike out as much as Gallo, but has also seen a similar drop in slugging percentage and exit velocity. It's possible the Dodgers believe under the right tutelage that Gallo can become the two-time All-Star he was with the Texas Rangers prior to the 2021 Trade Deadline. Before joining the Yankees last year, Gallo was an All-Star with the Rangers, belting 25 home runs and posting an OPS of .869.

Gallo could also be used as a left-handed pinch-hitter off the bench for the Dodgers. Chris Taylor is close to returning from his foot injury, and the team has been deploying Trayce Thompson, Jake Lamb, and James Outman in left field over the last month while Taylor has been out.

In the interim, the Dodgers will likely use a platoon of Thompson and Gallo in left field while Taylor is on a rehab assignment, making Lamb and Outman the odd men out.

Gallo is a free-agent at the end of the season.

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