Dodgers Rumors: Dodgers to Focus on Bullpen at Deadline, Per Rosenthal
Per MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Dodgers are expected to address their bullpen at the trade deadline
LOS ANGELES, CA— As of Thursday, July 17th, there are just fourteen days until the annual Major League Baseball trade deadline, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are expected to be quite active.
However, depending on who you ask, the question on everyone’s mind is what area the Dodgers should address. Well, according to one MLB insider, we now have some clarity.
As the Dodgers approach the deadline, the team is expected to pursue bullpen help, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
After investing a combined $107 million in free-agent relievers Tanner Scott, Blake Treinen and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers are expected to pursue bullpen help, according to sources briefed on the team’s plans.
As Rosenthal suggests, the Dodgers’ reasons for circling help in the bullpen are due to a multitude of reasons.
Right-handed pitcher Evan Phillips, an anchor to the Dodgers’ bullpen in seasons past, is now out for the remainder of the 2025 season and beyond after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Veteran Blake Treinen, who began a minor league rehab assignment earlier this month, is nearly three months removed from a forearm strain.
Michael Kopech’s “minor” knee injury turned into a significant knee surgery that’ll sideline the flamethrower until the final weeks of the season.
Then you have Brusdar Graterol, who underwent right shoulder surgery in the offseason after helping the Dodgers secure a World Series victory with no firm timetable on his potential return.
Of the players that are currently healthy, no one has been a bigger disappointment this season than 2024 National League All-Star closer Tanner Scott.
Scott, 30, inked a massive 4-year, $72 million deal with Los Angeles during the winter, but has yet to showcase he’s worthy of that money, leading the league with seven blown saves and an ERA north of four.
Overall, the Dodgers’ bullpen has been an overworked unit, throwing a combined 427.0 innings, forty more than the next closest team, the Chicago White Sox, in the American League.
While that number is skewed due to the Dodgers opting to use bulk inning relief arms with openers starting games, or two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani only going three innings at most in his “rehab” starts, the number is still alarming.
So far, the Dodgers have been linked with a variety of names in the relief pitching market, such as Griffin Jax and Jhoan Durán of the Minnesota Twins or Pete Fairbanks of the Tampa Bay Rays. Still, with so many teams mathematically in contention, it’s unclear who will be moved.
Regardless of who is available, the Dodgers have the resources to make any move. The team has a top-five farm system and multiple players on the 26-man roster who could be expandable, such as right-hander Dustin May, whose roster status is unclear when other starters, like Blake Snell, return.
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