The Los Angeles Dodgers bolstered their roster for the stretch run by acquiring Kiké Hernández, Amed Rosario, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly and Ryan Yarbrough at the MLB trade deadline.
Starting pitching was a focus of the Dodgers, as evidenced by the additions of Lynn and Yarbrough. L.A. completed a deal for Lynn one week before the August 1 deadline and brought in Lynn with just a few hours remaining before the 3 p.m. PT buzzer.
Prior to trading for Yarbrough, the Dodgers were linked to some of the biggest starting pitchers on the market, including Justin Verlander, Eduardo Rodriguez, Mitch Keller and Dylan Cease.
Verlander was the only pitcher of the group who was moved as the New York Mets traded him to the Houston Astros. That was the future Hall of Famer’s preferred destination, and Verlander waived his full no-trade clause to facilitate a deal.
After it became apparent that Verlander was focused on returning to Houston, the Dodgers pivoted to completing a deal for Rodriguez, only for the left-hander to invoke his limited no-trade clause and remain with the Detroit Tigers.
“No,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman answered when asked if the team was reluctant to pay the cost for a top starting pitcher at the trade deadline.
“I mean, one we lined up on. One we didn’t, because his preference was to go to one team where he did go. We knew that one was going to be tough unless that team wasn’t in.”
As the Dodgers zeroed in on adding a front-line starter to their rotation, they reportedly wanted a pitcher with team control beyond the 2023 season.
“I think the first thing is always evaluating the pitcher you might be acquiring, and how that fits in, what the chances are they’re starting a playoff game or are someone who will pitch meaningful innings in October, and then work back from that,” Friedman said of how the Dodgers evaluated potential targets at the trade deadline.
“So just buckets and kind of different groupings in terms of how they fit us, and how they fit us in August and September, how they fit us in October, which gets to our aggressiveness.”
Eduardo Rodriguez: Blocking trade ‘nothing against Dodgers’
In his first public comments since choosing to stay with the Tigers, Rodriguez clarified that his decision to veto the trade stemmed from wanting to remain closer to his family in Miami, and not being adverse to joining the Dodgers.
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