Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES — With a week and a half to go until the trade deadline, Dodger fans are starting to face the nagging realization that they might not have enough bullets left in the chamber to repeat as champions. Certainly, all talk of this being the “best team of all time” is off the table. Right now, we’re just hoping we can win the division. With that in mind, let’s look at three things Andrew Friedman needs to do to get this team back to the promised land.
1. A top-drawer starter
With the injury to Dustin May and the idiocy of Trevor Bauer, the once-deep starting rotation is looking a little thin. Maybe Dave Roberts can get some length out of David Price. Maybe he can try to push Jimmy Nelson a little harder. Maybe he can get something out of prospect Josiah Gray. But other than that, there isn’t much in house to help at this point. There are some possibilities that might come available as teams drop out of the race. Max Scherzer seems like a pipe dream at this point. I just don’t see it happening. More likely might be the Twins’ Jose Berrios, who has top-of-the-rotation stuff, but is inconsistent. Another possibility might be Kyle Hendricks now that the Cubs have fallen off the map. The Rangers’ Kyle Gibson or the Royals’ Danny Duffy might be good and cheap options at filling the hole in the rotation.
2. One high-end reliever
With all the arms that have shuffled in and out of the bullpen this year, it’s been hard to have a consistent approach to get from a starter to Treinen and Jansen on the back end. Corey Knebel might solve that problem, but who knows what to expect once he comes off the IL. Brusdar Graterol is just not performing that well in Oklahoma City, so he won’t be somebody we can trust in high leverage situations. If the Dodgers went all-in on Craig Kimbrel, that would be interesting, but I’m not sure that is the piece this team needs right now. Maybe somebody like Tyler Anderson or Richard Rodriguez of the Pirates might fit the bill a bit better.
3. Another Chris Taylor
Given the uncertainty in the pitching staff, a position player is not a real priority this year. However, it would be nice to have one player more like CT3 who could play multiple positions and still come up with quality at-bats. I like McKinstry, but I’m not sure he’s going to be the guy who we can count on at crunch time. Maybe former MVP Kris Bryant or the Pirates All-Star Adam Frazier might do a better job at filling a hole. Frazier could slide in at second and with Seager back, Taylor could be more of an all-purpose guy, filling holes in the line-up as needed. I’m not sure we’re going to want Gavin Lux as the everyday starter in the playoffs.
The ball’s in your court, Andrew
The Dodgers front office has proven that they are not shy about working the phones at trade deadline time. This year, perhaps more than ever, the Dodgers’ hopes depend on some solid reinforcements.
