MLBTR began its team-by-team search at the trade deadline in the Bronx and now it’s heading to Hollywood. The Dodgers are the clear winningest club right now. They are coming off two consecutive World Series victories and are looking to become just the fifth three-peat in MLB history and the first since the Yankees from 1998 to 2000. That being said, they don’t always take the jugular last time.
Record: 52-29 (100% playoff chance, via FanGraphs)
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Despite all of their recent success, the Dodgers often don’t win the deadline. President of baseball Andrew Friedman said he doesn’t like paying the prices that come with outlandish bidding, especially for relievers. Although the Dodgers have captured the last two titles, their most recent championship followed a very quiet finish. Indeed they traded Dustin May to the Red Sox for prospects, which is a bargain move. Their biggest additions were complementary pieces like relievers Brock Stewartforeign player Alex Call and the hunter Ben Rortvedt.
They were very aggressive in 2024, however, too Jack Flaherty, Tommy Edman, Michael Kopech, Amed Rosario again Kevin Kiermaieralthough they also traded James Paxton to the Red Sox for a prospect, the same move in the May trade.
For now, the pitching staff looks like it could use some improvement, though that’s not unusual for the Dodgers. The club is usually willing to sign injury-prone players and be patient while they recover in the summer. Generally speaking, they’re fine with a guy who missed big chunks of the regular season if he’s healthy in October, because that’s what matters most to the Dodgers. They’re not really worried about missing the playoffs, so the regular season games don’t matter as much.
Currently, there are 11 arms on the club’s injured list, including the likes of Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell, Edwin Díaz, Blake Treinen again Evan Phillips. However, each of those guys is expected to return in the second half.
For now, the Dodgers have it Shohei Ohtani again Yoshinobu Yamamoto ahead of the turn but things get worse after that. Eric Lauer has a club-leading 2.54 ERA but a 5.22 FIP and 4.98 SIERA. Justin Wrobleski has a 2.71 ERA but a 3.62 FIP and 4.63 SIERA. Both Lauer and Wrobleski have benefited from great luck in terms of batting average in balls in play and strikeout rate. Emmett Sheehan again Roki Sasaki each have ERAs near 5.00.
Improving that team may be the goal, in theory, but bringing back Snell and Glasnow could be the face of the internal rotation. If the Dodgers expect to have a playoff rotation of Yamamoto, Ohtani, Snell and Glasnow, they won’t feel compelled to make big additions there. Likewise, the bullpen looks like it could use some work right now but the Dodgers likely feel that the return of Diaz, Treinen and Phillips will negate the need to give up on outfield additions. Once the rotation is healthy, they can indirectly help the bullpen if someone like Sasaki is moved to a relief role.
There are plenty of weapons to point to but they might surprise you with a modest addition. Could anyone have predicted that Stewart would be their only acquisition last year? It is also best not to remove anything from the table. These are the Dodgers, after all. They could do something big if they really wanted to. For example, while their playoff rotation already looks good on paper, why not make a run for it Tarik Skubal? If they really want a three-peat, they can put their foot on the gas. They can add to their already strong bullpen by acquiring Aroldis Chapman.
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