Rosenthal: Dodgers interested in Youkilis

MLB on FOX reporter and FOXSports.com senior baseball writer Ken Rosenthal was a guest of the Dennis & Callahan Show on Tuesday morning. Rosenthal was asked about recent trade rumors surrounding Kevin Youkilis. Rosenthal had a report over the weekend that the Pirates have inquired about Youkilis, who is hitting .224 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 36 games this season.

"There are some complications here, as you guys know," Rosnethal said. "First, it's a declining performance. He's not really hitting since coming back, about .233, I believe. And he's slowed down at third base, better at first at this point. His body breaks down, all that, plus he's owed about $8 million for the rest of this year plus the $1 million buyout. It's not conducive to making a trade, all of these factors. The other issue is what do you get back? That's what people always want to know, and that is part of the problem. You're not going to get what people maybe think you should get for Kevin Youkilis because of all the reasons I just stated. … Maybe they will need to package him with [Ryan] Kalish or a prospect to get the value they want back. Of course they want starting pitching, and you're not trading Kevin Youkilis for prospects. And I don't know if you're trading him straight up for Matt Garza, because the Cubs can do better than that."

Rosenthal believes the Sox will eventually deal Youkilis, but isn't sure when or how the deal will get done.

"My understanding right now, the Red Sox are trying to win games and not so much worry about this while knowing that it's going to be an issue," Rosenthal said. "Now the Dodgers clearly have interest, they just signed [Andre] Ethier to an extension late last night and they are the kind of team that would be a good fit. One, because they have positional needs. They could play Youkilis at first base or even third. And they are a team, while they don't have a lot of prospects to offer, they could swallow the money. And ultimately that might be what this comes to. I would expect it's inevitable that he gets traded, but at the same time if you asked me how it's going to get done I have not the faintest idea."

To hear the interview, click on the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page. For more Red Sox news visit weei.com/redsox.