Cody Snavely
The July 30th trade deadline is less than six weeks away, and with the massive injuries to Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, many fans are wondering what the team’s next step will be while two key players are out.
You’d have to be living under a rock not to see the outcry on social media for the Dodgers to go “all in” this deadline, and that was before the two injuries took place. However, now fans are wondering if there is urgency for the Dodgers to be active in the trade market, which is what Dodgers General Manager Brandon Gomes was asked by the media prior to Monday’s game against the Colorado Rockies.
I actually don’t think it meaningfully changes anything at this point; With the expectation that those guys are gonna be back for the postseason.
Brandon Gomes on if the Dodgers deadline plans have changed in the wake of Betts & Yamamoto’s injury
There is a lot to take away from this small quote. On the one hand, it is typical baseball executive jargon where Brandon Gomes will not give his hand despite the fans and media knowing the Dodgers clearly need either a starting pitcher or a middle infielder.
However, with the way the National League and the National West have played out this season, the Dodgers do not have an immediate urgency to trade for a player to help replace the lost production. Yet, the potential consequences of not addressing the shortstop issue could be detrimental to their performance in the long run.
Currently, the Dodgers have an eight-and-a-half-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants and are one of five teams with a record over .500. Despite losing Betts and Yamamoto, and they have multiple MVPs and a full starting rotation that can fill their void internally.
Whether Betts returns or not, the Dodgers NEED a shortstop, and fans and the media have realized that the Betts experiment is not going to work, especially in October.
I wrote last week why the Dodgers needed to reevaluate the shortstop position. Despite the great offensive production from Betts in the first two months of the season, it has dipped mightily along with his defense, where Betts ranks among the worst defenders.
However, Betts’ recent comments have cemented my opinion on the mental and physical toll this has had on him.
Obviously, I’ll be watching the boys, cheering them on; But other than that, it’s just kind of rest, maybe use it as a mental break. Be ready to go whenever it heals up.
Betts on his hand injury during postgame
On the pitching side, Yamamoto’s loss is huge in October, as the Dodgers could be without their $325 million arm for game two or three of the National League Division Series.
Despite Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ reassurances that the strained rotator cuff is not believed to be a season-ending injury, the reality is that such injuries do not heal overnight. Even the team’s medical professionals cannot fully understand the extent of the injury until they operate.
It’s important to understand that a ‘strain’ is just a euphemism for a tear. If the injury and the associated pain persist, Yamamoto could be sidelined for more than just a few months, potentially impacting the team’s performance in the long run.
The Dodgers, while not in the situation they were in in 2021, fighting for the NL West with the San Diego Padres and Giants, need to take the same approach they did that trade deadline, which saw them pull off a massive trade for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, solving two problems with one trade.
During that season, Dodgers starting shortstop Corey Seager missed sixty-five games with a fractured hand, which is a similar situation the club is in now with the Betts injury. Also, that season, the Dodgers not only lost Clayton Kershaw to injury that summer but had the Trevor Bauer incident take place, which saw the need for more depth.
While Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman gets a lot of heat, he has pulled off some massive trades when they were desperately needed. However, he will have to get creative during this year’s deadline.
Have you subscribed to the Bleed Los Podcast YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows & promotions, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
Hopefully they continue do be aggressive like this past . Go with the World Series Champion or bust and do whatever it takes to get better! Get another ace and a shut down closer and shortstop. Lets go Dodgers!!!