Montas, Peraza dealt in three-way trade

The Year of the Prospect seems like it's leading to the Offseason of the Prospect Trade.

Top-100 prospects Frankie Montas (from the White Sox to the Dodgers) and Jose Peraza (from the Dodgers to the Reds) are part of a three-team, seven-player deal that also sent Todd Frazier to the White Sox on Wednesday, according to reports. Second baseman Micah Johnson and outfielder Trayce Thompson are headed with Montas from the Chicago system to Los Angeles with outfielder Scott Schebler and second baseman/outfielder Brandon Dixon also going to Cincinnati. Frazier, a two-time All-Star with the Reds, is the only player joining the White Sox. Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports first broke the news about a potential White Sox-Dodgers trade involving Montas while Jon Heyman of CBS Sports added Frazier's involvement and the complete list of names involved.

Reds receive IF Jose Peraza, OF Scott Schebler and minor league IF Brandon Dixon. White Sox receive third baseman Todd Frazier. (2/2)

- Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) December 16, 2015

From a prospect standpoint, the Dodgers' haul here is the most intriguing.

The right-handed-throwing Montas, MLB.com's No. 54 prospect, is known for his special fastball, which touched 101 in a short stint at this year's Futures Game, but he has also developed average offerings with his slider and changeup. Montas posted a 2.97 ERA and 1.22 WHIP with 108 strikeouts and 48 walks in 112 innings as a starter at Double-A Birmingham in 2015 and made seven appearances (two starts) in the Majors, where he gave up eight earned runs while fanning 20 and walking nine in 15 frames. Because of that fastball and his career 3.8 BB/9 rate in the Minors, some scouts believe that his likely big league destination is the bullpen.

If the Dodgers agree, the 22-year-old could help the Major League club immediately come spring, giving Los Angeles the fireballing reliever it missed out on when the Aroldis Chapman deal fell through. There's also the potential that the Dodgers use Montas to help create a package that could entice another team to deal an established Major League starting pitcher -- the Marlins' Jose Fernandez is the big name rumored to be on the trade market..

Johnson (previously No. 5 in White Sox system) and Thompson (No. 14), who also made their Major League debuts in 2015, were also among the White Sox's top 30 prospects at the time of the trade. Johnson, who is two years removed from an 84-steal season in 2013, had a .576 OPS in 36 Major League games but produced a .315/.375/.466 line with 28 steals in 78 games at Triple-A Charlotte. He should provide the Dodgers with some second-base depth behind utilitymen Enrique Hernandez and Justin Turner.

As things stand, Thompson won't crack an already crowded Los Angeles outfield of Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, Joc Pederson, Scott Van Slyke and Carl Crawford, but he is coming off a season in which he beat expectations by hitting .295/.363/.533 with five homers, three triples and eight doubles in 44 games in the Majors. The 24-year-old right-handed hitter has a career line of .241/.319/.429 in the Minors.

The Reds' return package is more underwhelming. 

As MLB.com's No. 24 overall prospect, Peraza is the highest-ranked prospect included among the six dealt in Wednesday's trade. Cincinnati will be his third organization in the last five months after he was also dealt from the Braves in a megadeal with the Dodgers at this year's trade deadline.

The 21-year-old right-handed hitter slashed .293/.316/.378 with four homers, eight triples, 13 doubles and 33 steals in 118 games between Triple-A Gwinnett and Oklahoma City last season and went 4-for-22 (.182) with three steals in seven games with the Dodgers. As those numbers would indicate, Peraza has the potential to hit for a good average and can swipe plenty of bases (not to mention a few extra hits) with his 75-grade speed. As a contact-reliant slap hitter, however, he's unlikely to produce a high on-base or slugging percentage at any level. The Venezuela native played mostly second base last season, with some center field and shortstop mixed in, but now that he's no longer blocked by Andrelton Simmons or Corey Seager, one has to wonder if the Reds will offer him a chance to move back to his original position at shortstop, where he played until 2014.

The Dodgers' No. 13 prospect at the time of the trade, Schebler hit .241/.322/.410 with 13 homers and 15 steals in 121 games at Triple-A in 2015 and went 9-for-36 (.250) with three homers in 19 games with the Dodgers. His power and speed are both considered a tick above average, but MLB.com gave him below-average grades for both his arm (35) and field (45) tools. He has experience at all three spots in the outfield. 

Dixon was the only prospect traded in Wednesday's deal who was not ranked among his club's top 30 by MLB.com. The 23-year-old second baseman/outfielder was a third-round pick by the Dodgers in 2013 out of the University of Arizona and hit .263/.303/.443 with 19 homers and 26 steals in 128 games at Double-A Tulsa and Class A Advanced Rancho Cucamonga. He struggled at the higher affiliate, where he hit just .244 with a .647 OPS. The right-handed hitter did put together a solid Arizona Fall League season this autumn, batting .295/.318/.508 with three homers in 16 games for Glendale.

From a Major League standpoint, Frazier is obviously the headliner. The 29-year-old slugger was an All-Star for the second straight season in 2015 and hit .255/.309/.498 with a career-best 35 homers in 157 games for Cincinnati. According to FanGraphs, Frazier has been worth 9.1 fWAR over the past two seasons, tied for tops among National League third baseman with Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals. He is due $7.5 million for next season and has will have one more year of arbitration eligibilty left before becoming a free agent following the 2017 season.