Trade Central: Blue Jays, Dodgers Swap Prospects With Nick Frasso, Alex De Jesus

The Blue Jays and Dodgers swapped a pair of Top 30 prospects from their own organizations, with third baseman Alex De Jesus going to Toronto and righthander Nick Frasso heading to Los Angeles. The Blue Jays also get major league righthander Mitch White, while Dominican Summer League lefthander Moises Brito joins the Dodgers.

DODGERS RECEIVE

Nick Frasso, RHP
Age: 23

Frasso is the most intriguing player here. He was a riser on the midseason Top 30 rankings for the Blue Jays, moving up to No. 13 in the system. Through two Class A levels, Frasso had an ERA of 0.74 in 36.2 innings with 57 strikeouts and 10 walks. The limited innings stem from Frasso, a fourth-round pick from Loyola Marymount in 2020, coming back from Tommy John surgery that he had in 2021 and pitching just five innings last year. At the time the Blue Jays drafted Frasso, there were a lot of promising projection indicators in place as a bouncy, athletic strike-thrower with more space to fill out his 6-foot-5 frame and potentially add more velocity to his fastball that was reaching the mid 90s and playing up because of the extension he generates out front. This year, that projection has materialized and enhanced his fastball, which now operates more regularly in the mid-to-upper 90s and has touched 100 mph, albeit in shorter bursts as the Blue Jays managed his workload. His slider is a swing-and-miss pitch and his changeup has improved as well, showing good fading action when it’s on to miss bats. Frasso has the pitch mix and control to project as a starter. Whether he can handle that workload for a full season was a question coming out of the draft (he never topped 60 innings in college, and still hasn’t in pro ball), so it’s an even bigger one now that he’s a 23-year-old coming off TJ. Even if his future is in the bullpen, Frasso has high-leverage relief potential.

Moises Brito, LHP

Age: 20

Signed out of the Dominican Republic, Brito is 6-foot-5, 215 pounds and pitching in his first professional season this year in the Dominican Summer League, where he has a 1.86 ERA in 29 innings with 32 strikeouts and one walk. Brito throws a lot of strikes, but it’s with a mid-to-upper-80s fastball, so barring a significant uptick in his stuff, he’s more of an organizational depth player.

BLUE JAYS RECEIVE

Alex De Jesus, 3B
Age: 20

De Jesus was one of the bigger international signings for the Dodgers in 2018 when he landed a $500,000 bonus out of the Dominican Republic. This year, he hit .259/.398/.483 in 37 games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga before a promotion to High-A Great Lakes, where he hit .282/.376/.421 in 50 games, with a combined 11 home runs, 60 walks (15%) and 115 strikeouts (29%) in 402 plate appearances between the two stops. That strikeout rate is on the higher side, but scouts highest on De Jesus believe he has a sound swing and tracks pitches well. De Jesus has shown the ability to drive the ball well on pitches middle-in, with better results on pitches on the outer third this year because he’s not flying open early as often, helping him drive the ball well in the air the opposite way. It’s still an aggressive approach that he will have to rein in some, but some scouts see De Jesus as a future everyday third baseman with 20-25 home run power. De Jesus has spent time at shortstop, but his range fits better at third base, with the hands and plus arm to stay there.

Mitch White, RHP
Age: 27

White has been a useful pitcher for the Dodgers, posting a 3.70 ERA in 56 innings split between starting and relief with 47 strikeouts and 19 walks. It’s low impact, inexpensive depth for a player who won’t be eligible for arbitration until 2025 and won’t be a free agent until 2028.