The Los Angeles Dodgers hold a commanding lead in the National League West standings and are well on their way to a 12th consecutive postseason berth, but their roster has multiple questions.
Injuries to Yoshinobu Yamamoto (right rotator cuff strain) and Walker Buehler (right hip inflammation), plus Clayton Kershaw’s setback has the outlook for the starting rotation in some flux, and bottom of the Dodgers lineup has been saddled by inconsistency.
There also is the possibility of the Dodgers trading for a shortstop in order to take the burden off Mookie Betts and allow him to move back to second base, which was the team’s original plan heading into the season.
Meanwhile, as the Chicago White Sox reside as one of the worst teams in baseball, they could again be sellers at the MLB trade deadline and have placed added emphasis on scouting the Dodgers along with other teams, per Ken Rosenthal, Patrick Mooney and Katie Woo of The Athletic:
The White Sox in recent weeks have assigned top scouts to focus on the Padres’, Dodgers’ and Mariners’ farm systems, according to sources briefed on the scouts’ movements. All three of those clubs have shown interest in multiple White Sox players, but are far from the only ones engaged with Chicago on potential trades.
The White Sox found themselves at the center of the trade deadline last year as well, which most notably resulted in sending Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo López to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for prospects Ky Bush and Edgar Quero.
Giolito continued to struggle with the Angels and shockingly was placed on waivers. The Cleveland Guardians claimed and Giolito went on to sign with the Boston Red Sox during the offseason.
The Dodgers later aligned with the White Sox on a trade to acquire Lance Lynn and Joe Kelly. Lynn filled a need in the rotation but had an unceremonious ending to his Dodgers career, while Kelly was re-signed but only made 15 appearances before landing on the 15-day injured list in early May.
Dodgers trade with White Sox?
Overlapping with the Dodgers completing a series against the White Sox this week came a report of their interest in Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr.
Both have high upside and are under team control for multiple years, which would make a trade for one of Crochet or Robert Jr., much less both, challenging. Particularly when factoring in other interested teams as well. The San Diego Padres have been mentioned as a potential suitor for Crochet.
Paul DeJong and Tommy Pham are believed to be White Sox trade candidates as well.
The 2024 MLB trade deadline is 3 p.m. PT on Tuesday, July 30.
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