Dodgers Reportedly Targeting Two Areas in Trades, But What Will it Cost?

J.P. Hoornstra | Jul 16, 2024

Jul 22, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw (22) greets starting pitcher Walker Buehler (21) after being relieved against the San Francisco Giants during the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Dodgers' front office has focused its trade deadline pursuits on two top priorities. According to Ken Rosenthal, reporting on FS1, the Dodgers are looking at a starting pitcher and an outfielder, "maybe to hit seventh in their lineup."

More interesting than the what is the why.

Rosenthal reported that the Dodgers "need someone who can stabilize them a little bit, give them some innings, give them more certainty."

Certainty has been the antithesis of what the Dodgers have been able to expect from their starting pitchers this season. Of the five who began the season in the rotation, only veteran left-hander James Paxton and rookie right-hander Gavin Stone remain. Opening Day starter Tyler Glasnow is expected to return this weekend from the lower back stiffness that sent him to the injured list.

The Dodgers are also counting on successful returns from Yoshinobu Yamamoto (rotator cuff) and Clayton Kershaw (shoulder). While neither of them will be traded between now and July 30, that leaves a wide group of starting pitchers who could seemingly be on the trade block.

Bobby Miller was recently optioned to the minor leagues to essentially diagnose and solve the issues that have led to his 8.07 ERA through seven starts this year. Walker Buehler is technically on the injured list after getting hit by a comebacker, but the focus of his time off is getting right after a similarly brutal start to the season.

Meanwhile, right-handers Emmet Sheehan (elbow), Dustin May (esophagus) and Tony Gonsolin (elbow) are going to be on the rehab/recovery path until 2025. The Dodgers are also set to welcome Shohei Ohtani to their rotation next year once he's cleared to pitch.

That leaves eight starters currently unable to pitch who are under team control for next season, as long as Kershaw exercises his 2025 contract option. Short-term, they can't stabilize the rotation. Long-term, there isn't room for all of them in a five-man rotation.

In the meantime, the group includes some of the most likely non-prospects in the Dodgers organization who will be moved at the trade deadline. May, Gonsolin, Sheehan and possibly Miller would make fine additions to a team willing to wait until next year to put them in their rotation.