The Dodgers are getting interest in outfielder Alex Call, per Fabian Ardaya and Katie Woo of The Athletic. The Rangers and Phillies are among the teams who have inquired on the righty-swinging outfielder. Philadelphia’s interest dates all the way back to last deadline. Call, then with the Nationals, went to the Dodgers in exchange for minor league righties Eriq Swan and Sean Paul Linan.
The 31-year-old Call is batting .246/.355/.314 on the season. He’s a lifetime .243/.343/.364 hitter in 1146 big league plate appearances between the Guardians, Nats and Dodgers. That pedestrian line masks his primary selling point, however. Call is an absolute nuisance for left-handed pitchers, slashing .326/.418/.457 against them in 2026 and .278/.358/.432 dating back to the 2023 season. He’s earning just $1.6MM this season in his first year of arbitration as a Super Two player. He’s under club control for three additional seasons, all the way through 2029.
Los Angeles, of course, isn’t a seller at this year’s deadline, but they’ve still been listening on some veterans who might be squeezed off their eventual playoff roster — namely Call and southpaw Eric Lauer. Call has had a limited role on the Dodgers’ roster throughout the season with Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman and Enrique Hernandez all missing time at various points. All three are now healthy following the latter’s reinstatement from the IL on Wednesday. Call hasn’t seen a plate appearance in the past five days and has only come to the plate seven times since the All-Star break. Playing time for him figures to be hard to come by moving forward.
The Rangers are looking for a righty to help in the outfield given center fielder Evan Carter‘s longstanding struggles against southpaws. Call is capable of playing all three outfield positions and has better-than-average marks at all three. He’d be a sensible fit for a Texas team that is searching for upgrades but reportedly has very little in the way of payroll flexibility from ownership at this summer’s deadline. The Rangers’ other trade so far saw them acquire a pair of low-cost players: righty Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe of the Angels. Silseth isn’t yet arbitration-eligible. O’Hoppe is earning $2.625MM.
The Phillies aren’t facing those same financial constraints, but they’re a luxury tax payor who’s currently in the top tier of penalization. They’ll pay not only the remaining salary of any players they acquire but also a 110% tax. Call’s modest salary would naturally appeal to them, and there’s of course a roster need for this type of player as well.
At the moment, Philadelphia is rolling out an all left-handed outfield including Brandon Marsh, Justin Crawford and Gabriel Rincones Jr. They’re using utilityman Edmundo Sosa and journeymen Derek Hill and Bryan De La Cruz as righty options off the bench following season-ending injuries to Adolis Garcia and Johan Rojas. Sosa is having the worst season of his career, however, and Hill has been better against fellow righties than he has against southpaws. De La Cruz has big numbers in a tiny sample of 16 plate appearances, but from 2023-25 he posted a combined .243/.285/.390 batting line. He has decent career numbers versus lefties but that’s due almost entirely to huge production during his rookie season back in 2021. De La Cruz hasn’t had an above-average season versus southpaws since (excluding this year’s minuscule sample).
