With the second half of the regular season now officially underway, the countdown for the trade deadline has begun.
The Dodgers had a relatively lackluster trade deadline last season compared to previous seasons, with the only two notable moves made being the acquisitions of both outfielder Alex Call and right-handed reliever Brock Stewart. The front office stood pat on trying to maintain the roster they assembled over that offseason, and their decision ultimately paid off with a second consecutive World Series title.
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With championship expectations yet again, the Dodgers might be forced to have a more traditional deadline and swing for a blockbuster move. The biggest area for concern on the team, notes Sonja Chen of MLB.com, is the starting pitching. While the rotation has mostly fared well this season, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have combined for just 42 2/3 innings while Roki Sasaki and Emmet Sheehan have seen their fair share of struggles on the mound.
This could come internally, as the Dodgers have both Snell (surgery to remove left elbow loose bodies) and Glasnow (lower back spasms) on the mend. In an ideal world, Snell will be back in the rotation by mid-August, followed by Glasnow around the end of that month. If either starter has some sort of setback, that could create a need to seek external rotation help ahead of the Trade Deadline.
The biggest fish heading into this year’s deadline is the reigning two-time American League Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers. While the southpaw missed 39 games due after undergoing surgery to remove bone chips in his left elbow, he has still been one of the most reliable arms within Detroit’s rotation when healthy.
The Dodgers will certainly be one of many buyers looking to add Skubal’s services ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline. The message from Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times’s latest column is quaint; get it done.
He’s there for the taking and, more than any other team, the asset-rich Dodgers are in the best position to take him. They have the best minor leaguers. They have the best fringe major leaguers. Give the Tigers whatever anonymous talents they desire because, as Dodgers fans have learned, nobody will be lamenting the lost kids when the big leaguers are parading down Figueroa.
Update on Shohei Ohtani’s status
Shohei Ohtani was a no-show for the All-Star Game festivities in Philadelphia, and he also missed pitching the weekend prior against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
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Ohtani’s first start of the second half was lined up for the Dodgers’ three-game set in the Bronx, but that is no longer the case, per Jack Harris of the California Post. The hope is that Ohtani will at least be in the lineup for Friday’s opener against the Yankees.
However, the team announced Thursday that the two-way star will not make a pitching start during the team’s three-game series against the Yankees in New York this weekend, an unsurprising development following the knee treatment Ohtani received over the All-Star break.
Instead, the Dodgers will go with Roki Sasaki on Friday, Emmet Sheehan on Saturday and Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.
