Dodgers Team News

MLB Analyst Doesn’t Think Dodgers Need to Add a Starting Pitcher at Trade Deadline

Starting pitching has been pretty rocky this season for the Dodgers. Despite the solid to stellar seasons of guys like Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, and Bobby Miller, the rotation ERA is an uncharacteristically high 4.40, 16th in baseball. Julio Urias hasn’t been himself this year, as his 4.39 ERA shows. Noah Syndergaard has been an absolute disaster with a 6.54 ERA. And the guys that have filled in along way haven’t been exceptional (Michael Grove 8.14 ERA, Gavin Stone 14.40 ERA).

Dustin May was really good but will miss at least two months thanks to an arm injury.



The rotation needs a little help, but the question is will it come from out of the organization via trade? That was a topic of conversation with DodgersNation.com’s Doug McKain and ESPN analyst Doug Glanville recently. For Glanville, the improvement in the rotation may ultimately come down to the Dodgers getting healthy.

“My only concern right now is trying to establish how that pitching rotation is going to play because of the injuries. If you sat down and said who’s that top three right now, you’re kind of mixing and matching a little bit and that’s not something they’re quite used to.”

“The pitching pool right now is not as deep as they’d like it to be,” Glanville said about the Dodgers potentially making a trade. “So, they’re gonna have to be in that first chair. But first if everybody’s healthy, that might be the acquisitions they need.”

Via DodgersNationTV

The other factor at play for all teams in the hunt for a playoff spot is the anticipated lack of arms expected to available on the trade market. The expanded playoffs means more teams will be in the hunt for a wild card spot. More teams in the hunt means fewer teams trading away assets and stiffer competition for players that might become available.

The Dodgers are in a better spot than most teams with the potential late season return of guys like May or Walker Buehler, who has his own personal target of September 1st for a return. Rookie Ryan Pepiot should be able to come off the IL in the next month and you’d hope the next time we see Gavin Stone goes better than the first two times. And, if the team wants to dive deeper into the minor league ranks, the entire Double-A Tulsa starting rotation is loaded with guys that can possibly help right now.

Glanville’s take echoes industry thinking. The Dodgers don’t figure to be as active on the trade market, at least for starting pitching. Where the focus could or should be for the front office is in the bullpen and on the bench. But that’s a story for another day.

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Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

2 Comments

  1. Clayton Kershaw will injure his back – in June or July and be out a month, he does this every season as he has gotten older. I’m thinking you need to comprehend the Dodger fan – faced with immense rising costs of being a Dodger fan wants something more than “well we won 101 games” because those 101 games don’t take you into the post season do they? The dodger fan wants Friedman to realize we’ve needed another starter for 2 years and he’s let people go routinely because he and his computer know best. By the way, algorithms need to change when its the playoffs

    1. Agree, Kersh is one twist away from throwing his back out again, and getting rid on f Tyler Anderson and Heaney was pretty dumb so yes we could use another starter

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