T-minus four days until the trade deadline, and of course all of the conversation is revolving around who Tarik Skubal would be traded to, if he is, and will it be the Dodgers. The conversation has ramped up with Shohei Ohtani revealing that he is dealing with a biceps issue.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic says that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Dodgers “bully their way” into getting Skubal, as they often do with big name players.
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Is it really bullying if you simply have a better package to send to the team that is offering up their player to be traded or is it just sour grapes, as usual? As he also likens the Kyle Tucker to just another “flavor of the month”, it leads one to assume that it is the latter.
Of course, the Dodgers are one of the very few teams who could weather an injury to a superstar like Ohtani and still be in World Series contention. And they also have the luxury of being able to keep their intentions close to the vest before the trade deadline, and after.
Max Ralph on Dodgers.com covers thoughts of how the current state of Ohtani’s body impacts the team now and in the foreseeable future.
“The knee is getting better and the goal is to get to the 100% mark,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton. “But I do have to focus on the hitting side, the position-player side of things. … It is still July, so I think the conversation [about pitching] will be a little different if we’re in August or September.”
One of the biggest additions to the team would be the return of Will Smith to the backstop and lineup. There was good news on Tuesday, when manager Dave Roberts announced that Smith was finally pain free and resuming some baseball activities.
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Joaquin Ruiz covers that and other injury updates here.
Edwin Diaz, one of the other flavors of the month the Dodgers acquired in the off season, made his return to the team on Wednesday evening, which also coincided with his bobblehead night.
“I want to help this team to win,” Díaz said. “I’ve been on the sideline for a long time. Just can’t wait to get back.”
Diaz made seven appearances with the team before his injury, posting a not so great 10.50 ERA. It was not the start that neither he nor the team envisioned.
“There were some games I felt great, and there were some games I was trying to battle with the soreness and everything,” Díaz said. “At some point, I understood I needed to get everything done and check my arm, check my body, and if I have something, go and remove it.”
Diaz returns to help a bullpen that has struggled a bit as of late. Jack Harris of the California Post covers more details of Diaz’s return and the recent bullpen woes here.
