Amidst an injury-riddled season, the Los Angeles Dodgers have again dipped into their organizational depth to help their starting pitching, who have failed to eat up innings.
In the offseason, the Dodgers handed out two big contracts to Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, bringing in James Paxton as an innings option. Paxton has since been traded, and Yamamoto hasn’t pitched since June 15 due to a strained right rotator cuff.
A name that stood out throughout the winter was Blake Snell, who remained unsigned into March, until the San Francisco Giants signed him to a two-year deal. Represented by Scott Boras, teams didn’t offer a long-term deal that fit their liking.
But it was recently reported that the Dodgers made a late push to sign Snell, offering a competitive contract to the veteran starter, per Juan Toribio of MLB.com:
In fact, after months of absolutely no traction, the Dodgers were prepared to give Snell more money than he got for the Giants, sources tell MLB.com, but they just ran out of time as the left-hander signed a two-year, $62 million deal with San Francisco.
Snell has missed time this season with a pair of injuries, but has since return to form that won him the National League Cy Young Award.
Over his last three starts, Snell owns a 1.00 ERA, 3.03 FIP and a 0.61 WHIP. The 31-year-old is rumored to be a trade candidate for teams around Major League Baseball.
If he is traded to a contender, the return would be for a mix of prospects and some cash exchanged between teams to offset the salary that includes a player option for next season.
Will Dodgers trade for Blake Snell?
With only days remaining until the MLB trade deadline on July 30 at 3 p.m. PT, the Dodgers could still look outside of the organization to remedy their depth issues with starting pitching.
Walker Buehler isn’t looking as if he’ll have much in the tank, Clayton Kershaw has more to prove, but was very encouraging, Bobby Miller is making his way back, and Yamamoto is preparing to ramp up his throwing.
Chicago White Sox lefty Garrett Crochet is out there, but has some odd contractual and usage concerns, while Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal might be too much to acquire. That leaves the Tigers’ Jack Flaherty, Erick Fedde of the White Sox, or Toronto Blue Jays’ Yusei Kikuchi.
Given the Dodgers’ interest in Snell during free agency, it’s also possible they make an effort to pursue him at the deadline now.
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