With just over a week until the July 31 trade deadline, the Los Angeles Dodgers will continue exploring all avenues in their quest to upgrade the roster for another deep postseason run.
Looking to bolster an inconsistent bullpen, the club has been linked to some of the top relievers available, including Pittsburgh Pirates closer Felipe Vazquez, Cleveland Indians left-hander Brad Hand and San Francisco Giants southpaw Will Smith.
While some of those names may be more realistic to acquire than others, the Dodgers have since expanded their search for bullpen help to include other arms such as Detroit Tigers closer Shane Greene and Kansas City Royals left-hander Jake Diekman.
While the expectation is that L.A. will fortify their relief corps one way or another, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman reiterated that he will only complete a trade if it doesn’t come at the expense of the organization’s future, as seen on SportsNet LA:
“We all feel so much pressure at this time of year to do something, and it’s why a lot of times teams make bad deals, is because that emotional tug. It’s tough. Again, we’re going to be aggressive. We’re just not going to be stupid. It’s one of those things that if we feel like it is ripping out too much of our future of what we’re looking to sustain with this championship-level team, then it’s just something we’re not going to do. We’ll wear it, take it on, be honest about it and go through it.”
With plenty of uncertainty surrounding the July 31 trade deadline, Friedman noted that the Dodgers are preparing for all possibilities in the event they miss out on some of their top targets.
Since taking over as Dodgers president of baseball operations after the 2014 season, Friedman has been one of the more aggressive executives in all of baseball — particularly during the month of July.
In 2015, Friedman acquired Alex Wood from the Atlanta Braves as part of a three-team, 12-player deal with the Miami Marlins just prior to the non-waiver trade deadline. The following year, he traded for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick from the Oakland Athletics for a trio of prospects.
In 2017 — the first of two consecutive World Series appearances for the Dodgers — Friedman acquired the league’s most-coveted starting pitcher in Yu Darvish. Despite his struggles in the Fall Classic, the right-hander shined in other big spots, particularly against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series.
Friedman orchestrated another blockbuster last summer with the acquisition of Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles — yielding five players from the farm system to do so. He filled a major void at shortstop left by Corey Seager undergoing season-ending Tommy John surgery and helped the Dodgers advance to the World Series for a second straight year.
