This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio’s Dodgers Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it recurrently in your inbox.
LOS ANGELES — During the last couple of weeks, there was quite a lot of hypothesis and anticipation on what the Dodgers would or wouldn’t do earlier than Tuesday’s Commerce Deadline.
Listed below are three ideas on the strikes and the place issues stand transferring ahead:
Is there sufficient top-end beginning pitching now?
The Dodgers didn’t conceal it. They repeatedly mentioned they wanted so as to add an “impact-type” starter earlier than the Deadline. Los Angeles was capable of land Flaherty from the Tigers proper on the buzzer.
Flaherty has by no means been a workers ace in his profession, however the right-hander is having a profession season and was unquestionably the perfect starter moved on the Deadline with Garrett Crochet, Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell staying with their respective groups.
Including Flaherty will probably be an enormous increase. Pairing him with Tyler Glasnow and Gavin Stone will give the Dodgers some much-needed respiratory room within the rotation. However will or not it’s sufficient for a beginning rotation that has been underwhelming for a few month now?
Bobby Miller additionally hasn’t been good. Yoshinobu Yamamoto is throwing a bullpen, however given the long-term funding on the Japanese right-hander, even the slightest setback can finish his season.
On the flip facet, rookies River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski have given the staff a breath of contemporary air. Ryan will make his third begin in opposition to the A’s on Sunday and is slowly making a case for a everlasting spot within the rotation even when different gamers get wholesome. Optioning Wrobleski was a troublesome choice for Los Angeles, however the left-hander needs to be again in some unspecified time in the future this season.
With Flaherty and another pitchers coming back from accidents, the Dodgers can have quite a lot of choices within the beginning rotation. There are some questions, however the subsequent two months will probably be used to seek out these solutions.
Depth items ought to slot in completely
In an ideal world, the Dodgers would’ve traded for a star to insert into the lineup and run the baseball model of the Monstars once more. However in a market the place no high place gamers moved, the membership did the following neatest thing: Los Angeles upgraded nearly each place on the bench.
Edman is a participant the Dodgers have appreciated for years. His versatility is precisely what president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman loves. Although Edman hasn’t performed in any respect this season after present process proper wrist surgical procedure and struggling an ankle damage throughout his rehab, the utilityman will probably be again in a pair weeks and he’s beneath staff management subsequent season.
When he makes his return, Edman will play heart discipline and may also play nearly all over the place else on the diamond.
As for Rosario and Kiermaier, each give the Dodgers significantly better platoon choices and pinch-hitting choices off the bench. James Outman struggled mightily in each stints on the large league degree and Kiermaier will exchange him on the roster. Kiké Hernández, Nick Ahmed and Cavan Biggio have additionally struggled to hit persistently and having Rosario offers them some extra safety.
Not each transfer on the Deadline needs to be flashy. These didn’t actually exist this yr. However the Dodgers graded out nicely with their different strikes.
What else might they’ve completed?
As you’ll count on, there are quite a lot of discussions that occur heading into the Commerce Deadline. In spite of everything, it’s the final time a staff can considerably enhance its roster.
The Dodgers, like many groups, checked in on Crochet and Skubal. On the place participant facet, the membership confirmed curiosity in Tommy Pham, who went to the Cardinals in the identical three-way commerce that despatched Edman and Kopech to Los Angeles. Randy Arozarena was additionally an choice earlier than he obtained traded to Seattle. The studies of the Dodgers’ curiosity in Isaac Paredes have been exaggerated, in accordance with a supply.
Left-hander Tanner Scott was one other bullpen arm the Dodgers coveted and made a major provide to land the nearer from the Marlins. Miami, nonetheless, determined ultimately to take San Diego’s package deal. The Marlins had some familiarity with the Padres’ system after scouting it extensively within the Luis Arraez commerce earlier this season.
