In the time leading up to the non-waiver trade deadline the Los Angeles Dodgers were said to be in search of a starting pitcher, reliever, and outfielder. The club addressed each of their needs with three trades.
Their first trade was a five-player deal with the Oakland Athletics that sent Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to Los Angeles. It was the Dodgers’ marquee trade of the day. Their second was to acquire Jesse Chavez from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Mike Bolsinger.
Los Angeles concluded their day by sneaking in a deal for Josh Fields just before the 1 p.m. PT deadline. Of the newcomers to the organization, only Hill has yet to make his Dodgers debut. Though it appears that will take place on Sunday.
Reddick started the series opener against the Colorado Rockies, which was a game that Chavez entered in the sixth. He walked two batters and allowed two runs on three hits in one inning of relief.
While Chavez was exclusively used out of the bullpen by the Blue Jays, general manager Farhan Zaidi said the Dodgers may use the right-hander in a swing role, per Jon Weisman of Dodger Insider:
“I think we view him as a swingman, and obviously another guy that I know from my time in Oakland, and actually did a good bit of starting for us there. What is valuable about him is he’s got a rubber arm, he can come in and pitch two, three, four innings at a time. On the flip side … if you need him to make a spot start, he can do that. That kind of guy is really valuable, and we’ve certainly gone through stretches this year where having that type of guy would have helped our pen stay fresh. So his versatility in that role is going to be a big benefit to us. We expect him to start in the pen, but he has the ability to swing over if we need it.”
Chavez went 1-2 with a 4.57 ERA, 4.80 FIP and 1.28 WHIP in 39 games with Toronto. He was 8-8 with a 3.45 ERA over 32 games (21 starts) for Oakland in 2014. He primarily was a starter for the Athletics the following season and went 7-15 with 4.18 ERA in 30 games (26 starts).
Ross Stripling previously held a similar role with the Dodgers as he began this season as the fifth starter, but has been used out of the bullpen since being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City on July 23.
Stripling figures to receive some consideration to start Saturday as Bud Norris is battling a back strain that is likely to force him to the disabled list.
