Cody Snavely
Happy Monday! The Los Angeles Dodgers have completed their first full week of games since the start of the second half of the 2024 Major League Baseball regular season, which included the conclusion of their seven-game home stand and a three-game set with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park.
Since the start of the second half, the Dodgers have won seven of their ten games, which is a stark contrast to how the team limped into the all-star break, losing five of their last six games on the road.
At Chavez Ravine, the Dodgers hosted the red-hot Boston Red Sox and National League West rival San Francisco Giants, losing only one game and taking both series. However, the team would visit an Astros team that has had the third-best record in baseball since June 1st and would drop two of the three games played.
The team enters Monday with an off day as they travel back to the West Coast for a short two-game series against the San Diego Padres. This is the second-to-last series of the regular season until the two clubs meet again in late September.
However, with the trade deadline the following day, the Dodgers and their front office, led by President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman and General Manager Brandon Gomes, hope to fill the holes currently surrounding the roster before they begin that two-game set in San Diego as the deadline ends 3:00 PM PT.
Week recap (7/22/2024-7/28/2024)
Giants Recap: After a three-game weekend series sweep of the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers turned their attention to their National League West rival San Francisco Giants for a four-game series to close out their seven-game home stand.
The Dodgers rotation would get a massive boost this series with the activation of right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow off the 15-day injured list and veteran left-handed pitcher Clayton Kershaw off the 60-day injured list.
The series would be all Dodgers minus one game, as the Blue Crew would take three out of four games. River Ryan led the charge in game one, making his Major League debut; Landon Knack pitched five innings of one-run ball in game two, and Clayton Kershaw pitched four innings and collected six strikeouts on the day.
- Game One: 3-2, W
- Game Two: 5-2, W
- Game Three: 8-3, L
- Game Four: 6-4, W
Astros Recap:
The Dodgers were riding high on their way to Houston, winning six of their first seven games since the all-star break, but upon traveling to Houston to face an Astros team that still leaves a sour taste in a few player’s mouths despite being seven years removed from the 2017 World Series and the cheating scandal that was brought to light years later.
Dodgers right-handed pitcher Gavin Stone was tasked with kicking off the series on Apple TV but could not keep the Astros bats at bay and would surrender four runs, a trend that has followed the young righty this month for three of his four starts in July.
Rookie left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski would dominate an Astros lineup for most of the second game until trouble arose in the sixth inning. With only one out left, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts would take out the youngster and opt for Evan Phillips. This move would backfire right away, as all inherited runners would score, and the Dodgers bullpen, which has been overworked all season, would cough up the lead and drop a winnable game two.
In game three, fellow rookie starter River Ryan, making his second career start, faced the same dilemma. In a Déjà vu moment, Roberts again took his starter out despite having two outs in the sixth inning, sending him to the bullpen, where they could nearly give up the game again.
Thankfully, despite not having Freddie Freeman and Will Smith today, the Dodgers offense would drop six runs, securing a game-three win as they head back out west to San Diego before the 2024 trade.
- Game One: 5-0, L
- Game Two: 7-6, L
- Game Three: 6-2, W
Injury Notes
With the 2024 Major League Baseball season in the second half, the Dodgers expect numerous players to return from the injured list in the coming weeks.
Just this past week, the Dodgers got a massive boost in their starting rotation with the return of right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow and lefty Clayton Kershaw, who each started a game during the four-game set against the Giants.
However, they still expect some more reinforcements to hopefully return at some point this season in right-handed pitchers Bobby Miller and Walker Buehler, who each made a start in Triple-A OKC this past week with mixed results.
Starting off with Walker Buehler, the righty has been on the 15-day injured list since June due to hip discomfort, but in reality, it was a way for the Dodgers and Buehler to work through mechanics while not hurting the team.
Over the past month, Buehler has been in Florida at a private complex working through things rather than one-on-one with the Dodgers staff. The righty rejoined the team this past week and threw his first rehab assignment since being placed on the injured list. He went four innings, allowing eight hits, two walks, and three strikeouts while allowing four runs.
Bobby Miller did not fare better in his second Triple-A outing. The righty struggled with command, issuing three walks while allowing six runs (four earned) in three 1/3 innings on ninety-two pitches.
Right-handed relief pitcher Brusdar Graterol has also made a few appearances in the minor leagues for his rehab assignment, including pitching back-to-back days this past week.
So far, in six innings, Graterol has allowed two hits and one unearned run while striking out six batters and hitting upward to 99mph in his most recent outing on July 27th. If all goes well over the next few days, Graterol will rejoin the team in the coming days.
Fellow relief pitcher Ryan Brasier is also closing in on a rehab assignment and could rejoin the Dodgers bullpen in August if his rehab assignment goes well. Brasier has been out since May with a calf injury that was thought could be season-ending.
Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is also progressing well in his recovery from a fractured left hand on June 16th. He has begun fielding groundballs and hitting the ball off a tee. The next step would be live at-bats and a rehab assignment, and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is hopeful that Betts will return sooner rather than later.
The Dodgers lost two position players this past week, Chris Taylor and Miguel Rojas, who each were placed on the 10-day injured list.
Rojas was removed from last Sunday’s game against the Boston Red Sox with forearm discomfort, which was later revealed to be a right flexor strain. The veteran shortstop will shut down throwing for a few days.
Taylor got the first hit for the Dodgers during Wednesday’s game off Giants left-handed starter Robbie Ray, but while rounding first on his way to a double, he pulled something in his groin, which forced him to leave the game.
In the wake of both injuries, the Dodgers signed free agent shortstop Nick Ahmed, who was DFA’d by the San Francisco Giants at the beginning of August.
Right-handed pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has been on the injured list since June due to a strained rotator cuff, began a throwing program this past week. According to Dave Roberts, Yamamoto will throw his first bullpen session since landing on the injured list on Aug. 2 while the team is in Oakland. Over the next month, the Dodgers are optimistic Yamamoto won’t have any setbacks, which should allow him to return at some point this season. Yamamoto said his “goal” is to be ready to help the Dodgers down the stretch.
Lastly, Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy, who has been on the injured list since mid-May, has been taking ground balls and running around the bases. However, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the third baseman’s rehab has been “stagnant,” and there’s still no real timetable for his return.
With two months left in the season, Roberts wasn’t ready to say Muncy was going to be forced to miss most, if not all, of the remainder of the regular season but added that the calendar is starting to play against Muncy.
Trade Rumors
The 2024 Major League Baseball trade deadline is less than forty-eight hours away, and with the Dodgers having off on Monday, they have a full day to focus on the trade market.
Plenty of players that the Dodgers were linked to are already off the board, such as Randy Arozarena, who was traded by the Tampa Bay Rays to the Seattle Mariners. Isaac Paredes, who, according to Bob Nightingale, was heavily linked in a “bidding war” between the Dodgers and Yankees, was instead shipped from the Rays to the Chicago Cubs along with closer Carlos Estévez of the Angels but was ultimately dealt to the National League-best Philadelphia Phillies.
The frustration is mounting for Dodgers fans, as the fear of the Dodgers doing nothing this deadline is growing more real by the second. However, there are still names on the board and names they have been linked to that are still available.
The first name on the board is left-handed starting pitcher Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox. Over the last two months, Crochet has been linked to plenty of teams, but none more so than the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite Crochet’s camp’s recent comments stating that the lefty would not pitch in the postseason unless given a contract extension, the Dodgers remained heavily involved, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.
The Dodgers, who could use center field help, could try to build a package with Luis Robert Jr. It seems like it will be Crochet or nothing with the White Sox.
It was reported yesterday by Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic that the Dodgers were also heavily interested in St. Louis Cardinals utilityman Tommy Edman.
Edman has been on the 60-day injured list the entire 2024 season after undergoing wrist surgery this offseason. However, his appeal to the Dodgers is quite obvious as the switch-hitting utility man. His versatility is something the Dodgers have coveted in the Andrew Friedman era, and he is under team control through the end of the 2025 season.
*The Los Angeles Dodgers have quired Tommy Edman is a three-team trade with the St.Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox*
Bob Nightengale also reports that the Los Angeles Dodgers are interested in Nico Hoerner of the Chicago Cubs and Luis Rengifo of the Los Angeles Angels.
The Cubs recently acquired Isaac Paredes, which could open up the possibility of moving Nico Hoerner, who is under team control for the next two seasons and has experience playing shortstop before Dansby Swanson joined the fray.
Through 97 games, the 27-year-old is hitting .251/.328/.324 with 20 doubles, one triple, four home runs, and 31 RBI in 418 plate appearances and has always been a stellar defender, ranking in the 97th percentile in OAA.
Rengifo is currently hitting .304/.347/.426 with 13 doubles, one triple, six home runs, and 29 RBI in 74 games. As stated in a previous article, this would not be the first time the Dodgers have been interested in the utilityman; in 2020, they nearly acquired him via trade that offseason.
According to Jon Morosi, the Dodgers have also checked in on Yusei Kikuchi and have been involved in negotiations with the Detroit Tigers for Tarik Skubal over the last month.
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