On Monday afternoon, the Dodgers made a low-key trade with the Blue Jays, sending cash to Toronto in exchange for recently DFA'ed outfielder Steward Berroa.
Berroa made his MLB debut last season with the Blue Jays after spending seven years lingering the minors. He failed to impress much before 2024; despite steadily impressive OBPs, he's far from a power hitter and had never slugged over .399. His calling card was his speed, as he stole 47 bases in both 2022 and 2023. Before he was promoted the majors, he'd picked things up at the plate in Triple-A, batting ..295 with a .831 OPS.
He was called up in June and spent the rest of the year going up and down between the majors and minors. He averaged .189 with a .549 OPS over 28 games and clearly failed to make an impression (although he did steal six bases), so he started 2025 in Triple-A while remaining on the 40-man roster.
Last Wednesday, the Jays needed that roster spot cleared to make room for a new bullpen arm as former first-round pick Dillon Tate wasn't working out. Former Dodgers' prospect (No. 23 in the their pipeline in 2019) Braydon Fischer was called up to replace him, and Berroa was DFA'ed to get him off of the 40-man. Instead of letting him clear waivers, the Dodgers picked him up.
Dodgers make a cash trade with Blue Jays for outfielder Steward Berroa after Braydon Fischer's call-up
Fischer was a fourth-round draft pick for the Dodgers in 2018 and landed in their top 30 following a nice 22 innings in Rookie ball that same year (2.05 ERA), but he missed all of 2019 with injury and never reappeared at the top of the pipeline. The Dodgers dealt him to the Blue Jays last year in exchange for Cavan Biggio, who had a totally unremarkable stint in LA before he was released in August.
At the time of his call-up, Fischer had pitched 11 1/3 innings in Triple-A for a 2.38 ERA. He made his MLB debut on Sunday, closing out a 9-1 blowout against the Mariners and giving up just one hit.
Berroa could maybe surface in the majors if James Outman continues to slump (he's 1-15), but Dodgers prospects Dalton Rushing or Ryan Ward would probably take precedence if Teoscar Hernández stays out longer than expected and Outman isn't cutting it. Still, the Dodgers could try to recover whatever got into Berroa in the minors last year, and his speed could be an asset.
