Given their lucrative payroll, deep farm system and desire to win now, the Los Angeles Dodgers are certainly expected to make a deal to upgrade their roster prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Furthering this notion has been the reoccurring theme of injuries plaguing the team’s rotation depth which has seen seven pitchers spend time on the disabled list at some point this season.
The latest blow came on Tuesday when ace Clayton Kershaw had a setback of sorts in his recovery from a mild disc herniation following a 60-pitch simulated game on Saturday.
It was considered possible that Kershaw would return to the rotation before the team’s current nine-game road trip concluded. Instead, when he’ll manage to fully recover from the back injury is uncertain.
In addition to the halt in Kershaw’s recovery, Hyun-Jin Ryu was placed on the 15-day disabled list after experiencing discomfort in his left elbow. In Ryu’s lone start of the year against the San Diego Padres he allowed six runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings.
Then on Wednesday, the Dodgers announced Alex Wood is undergoing an arthroscopic procedure on his throwing elbow that calls for an estimated eight-week recovery. With a pitching staff repeatedly falling victim to injuries, the Dodgers are pursuing a significant trade, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:
#Dodgers are "Big Game Hunting,'' says a rival exec. They're looking for impact moves, not incremental upgrades.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 20, 2016
Translation: #Dodgers might be motivated to pursue Chris Archer, even though he's struggled. Odorizzi, Smyly-type deals … not so much.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 20, 2016
That falls in line with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman’s previous claim that the club would pursue ‘elite-level players’ at this year’s deadline. It also corroborates with ESPN’s Pedro Gomez reporting on Tuesday night’s SportsCenter that those in baseball expect the Dodgers to “absolutely jump” to bolster their rotation in light of recent injuries.
Gomez mentioned Rich Hill and Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics as potential trade targets, as well as San Diego’s Andrew Cashner. It was previously reported Los Angeles had interest in Gray and Hill, with the latter an inexpensive option who is in the midst of a breakout season.
The Dodgers have also been tied to Atlanta’s Julio Teheran and more recently was said to have inquired on Arizona’s Shelby Miller. Friedman has yet to make a significant midseason trade since taking the helm of the Dodgers’ front office.
