Originally published by DodgerBlue.com
With one week remaining until the MLB trade deadline, starting pitching has become arguably the biggest need for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Dodgers entered the year with arguably the deepest and most talented group of starting pitchers in MLB, led by Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller. Gavin Stone, Emmet Sheehan and James Paxton. They also had reinforcements on the way in Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler and Dustin May, and Minor Leagues in the waiting, including Landon Knack and River Ryan, among others.
But since that time, Glasnow, Yamamoto and Sheehan have all ended up on the injured list, May underwent season-ending surgery, Miller and Buehler both made starts but struggled and ended up on the injured list, and Paxton was designated for assignment.
Glasnow and Kershaw are expected to reutrn over the next two days, but their group still leaves a lot to be desired with four rookies filling out the mix — Stone, Knack, Ryan and Wrobleski.
The Dodgers remain hopeful Yamamoto can return and Miller and Buehler will figure out their issues, but none of them are guaranteed, and maybe not even likely.
Because of that, the Dodgers are focused on adding an elite starting pitcher to their rotation before the July 30 trade deadline passes, general manager Brandon Gomes said via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
“(We’re) certainly looking for impact-type players,” Gomes said. “We think our team right now is really good, especially once we get back to full strength. Targeting starting pitching, but it’s going to be an impact-type arm.”
The Dodgers have been most notably connected to Garrett Crochet of the Chicago Whtie Sox and Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers. Skubal may be unlikely to move as it would take a massive haul to acquire him, and it seems Crochet is at the top of their wish list.
Other potential starters who are available and could be that impact arm the Dodgers seek are Jack Flaherty of the Detroit Tigers, Crochet’s teammate Erick Fedde, the Texas Rangers’ Nate Eovaldi and Zach Eflin of the Tampa Bay Rays.
While there are options who could help the club, one issue the Dodgers face is they are one of the many buyers in a market with few sellers, and nearly every buyer needs starting pitching.
The Dodgers have the prospects and assets to get almost any deal done, and they should be aggressive in their pursuit, but they have also shown restraint on making deals in the past when the price doesn’t meet their liking.
Still, the Dodgers have generally been aggressive in most years, acquiring players such as Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Manny Machado, Yu Darvish and Rich Hill.
Dodgers discussing blockbuster deal?
One deal that the Dodgers seem interested in getting done is a blockbuster with the White Sox that would include Crochet and center fielder Luis Robert Jr. potentially being sent with a reliever, such as Michael Kopech.
The cost would be significant, but that would fix most of the issues the team is dealing with and make them a force to be reckoned with in October.
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