The Los Angeles Dodgers were extremely active at the trade deadline in pursuit of their third straight World Series championship. They completed four deals, highlighted by the blockbuster addition of Tarik Skubal.
Unlike last season, the Dodgers made an all-in move to really put them over the top in pursuit of cementing their dynasty.
“I couldn’t he happier with what we’ve done and didn’t do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on SportsNet LA. “Obviously there were a lot of conversations that were happening. For a team that is as talented and depthy as we are, to add something that we felt could move the needle and not subtract from our big league club, pretty special. We’ve got enough youth, enough experience.
“Certainly the starting pitching and how we could look at the ‘pen and how that shapes up, there’s a lot of options.”
In a surprising turn of events, the asking price for Skubal was not nearly as high as a player of his caliber could potentially command.
There are likely several reasons for that, including his rental status, left elbow surgery earlier this season and the surprising lack of a bidding war among contending teams.
Those favorable terms made it easy for L.A. to move forward without a second thought. It extended to their other moves, as Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes feels confident in the value added to the roster without losing a lot of prospects or players from the active roster.
“This is an incredibly talented team and what we feel is the best team in baseball,” he began. “So there aren’t that many impact moves that you can make for needle movers, like we’ve talked about. Obviously, adding Skubal is about as big of a mover as you can have.
“Then with Rushing hitting the IL and Will being down, just adding the catching depth to make sure we’re well-rounded and go into August, September and hopefully a deep run in October with a ton of really good options and depth to get us there along the way as well.”
Of the four trades, Skubal’s acquisition was the only one that demanded a significant prospect package. The Dodgers gave up their Nos. 5, 7 and 17 ranked prospects in the trade and retained the rest of their top 30.
Dodgers trade deadline recap
The Dodgers acquired Ben Rortvedt from the New York Mets in exchange for Chayce McDermott, bringing last year’s fan favorite backup catcher back into the fold.
They also reunited with Hunter Feduccia by trading Jack Suwinski and international bonus pool money to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Finally, left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic was procured from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Minor League pitcher Carlos Duran.
Trading for Rortvedt and Feduccia is all the more significant with news of Rushing having a slightly torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his right elbow. The Dodgers are hopeful he will return at some point this season but for now is going to be shut down from throwing.
Make sure to follow Dodger Blue on Instagram! It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
