The Los Angeles Dodgers already won the 2026 MLB trade deadline with the acquisition of Tarik Skubal, who was the best player on the market and arguably the best starting pitcher in baseball.
It was a move the Dodgers didn’t need to make, but they felt it was too good an opportunity to pass up. Prior to acquiring Skubal, the Dodgers maintained a stance they would be involved if a star player became available, but also that they had no serious needs to address.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the Dodgers were in Skubal-or-bust mode as they viewed the market given their current roster, which means the official deadline on Monday, Aug. 3, may be quieter than usual for L.A.
But the Dodgers could still make a few marginal moves, which could include trading Alex Call and Eric Lauer off their MLB roster, adding catching depth, or moving one of their outfield prospects for an infield or pitcher prospect.
“Yeah, we’re still having a number of conversations on a number of different fronts,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said.
“Again, for us, we’re always trying to balance and keep one eye on the present and one eye on the future. Just kind of balancing all that, so a lot of different conversations on a number of different fronts. How likely is tough to say, but we’ll continue to work through.”
As for improving their MLB roster, the Dodgers seem to be done in that regard. There is no realistic path to upgrading the offense, given the players currently on the team; they already have a deep bullpen with numerous high-leverage options, and they have assembled arguably the greatest rotation in MLB history, which will force some of their starters into the bullpen.
“Less likely,” Friedman said of adding another potential upgrade for their roster. “I think coming into this deadline, again, our mindset was we’re going to be really aggressive for one player. If that player doesn’t get moved, if that player goes somewhere else, it’s a different mindset.
“So never say never, but fortunately, we don’t have that acute need where we have to do something or our team is in real danger.”
Even with no more roster upgrades, the Dodgers are already the heavy favorites to win the World Series. There is also a strong argument that this is the most talented team they’ve ever assembled, making the bar to upgrade incredibly high.
Dodgers postseason roster outlook
Assuming everyone is healthy, the Dodgers’ roster in October will leave some talented players on the Taxi squad and force the club into making difficult decisions. Even if they deal with a few injuries, the club has the depth and talent to sustain them.
Although it seems a trade for Call and Lauer are trending as likely, they will be included on the roster for now.
The projection includes 11 position players and 12 pitchers as locks, leaving three open spots to pick from the depth and taxi squad options. Teams carry a combination of 12 to 14 position players and 12 to 14 pitchers for a combination that adds up to 26 (13 pitchers and 13 hitters, 12 pitchers and 14 hitters or 14 pitchers and 12 hitters).
For the final roster spots, Alek Thomas was added on in this projection as a defensive replacement and pinch-runner, similar to the role Justin Dean filled in 2025 and Hyeseong Kim in 2024. Call remains on the team in this projection, but an extra catcher to free up Dalton Rushing as a hitter or Ryan Ward as a left-handed bat makes more sense.
Jack Dreyer gets the final bullpen spot to be the fourth lefty, but these final three spots remain fluid and could change easily.
This roster gives the Dodgers 12 position players, 13 pitchers, and one Shohei Ohtani filling in as both options, meaning they essentially have 13 position players and 14 pitchers.
Projected position player roster locks: 11
C: Will Smith
1B: Freddie Freeman
2B: Tommy Edman
3B: Max Muncy
SS: Mookie Betts
LF: Teoscar Hernández
CF: Andy Pages
DH: Shohei Ohtani
Bench: Dalton Rushing, Miguel Rojas, Kiké Hernández
Final roster spots (2): Alek Thomas, Alex Call
Taxi Squad/Depth: Eliezer Alfonzo, Alex Freeland, Ryan Ward
Projected pitching staff roster locks: 12
Starters: Tarik Skubal, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Ohtani (counts as position player), Tyler Glasnow (bullpen?)
Right-handed relievers: Edwin Diaz, Evan Phillips, Brock Stewart, Edgardo Henriquez, Roki Sasaki
Left-handed relievers: Tanner Scott, Alex Vesia, Justin Wrobleski
Final roster spots (1): Jack Dreyer
Taxi Squad/Depth: Emmet Sheehan, Will Klein, Blake Treinen, Eric Lauer, Ben Casparius, Kyle Hurt, Seth Halvorsen
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