The Dodgers may not have a glaring hole on the roster, but that hasn’t stopped them from showing up in trade chatter as the Aug. 3 deadline nears.
One of the latest names tied to Los Angeles is Tigers All-Star infielder Gleyber Torres, who MLB insider Mark Feinsand of MLB.com listed as a possible fit for the Dodgers, along with the Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Guardians.
Second base is the one spot in the Dodgers’ lineup that still feels a little unsettled, which is why Torres makes sense on paper. Tommy Edman is back and producing, though, so any real pursuit of Torres would seem to depend on an injury or some other shift in the picture.
Torres has missed the last few weeks with a left oblique strain, but he is expected back soon. Even with the time missed, he has put together a strong season for Detroit, hitting .280/.395/.395 with four home runs and 18 runs batted in.
There’s also a clear reason he’d appeal to the Dodgers’ way of thinking: strike-zone control. Torres ranks in the 99th percentile in chase percentage, and Los Angeles has long emphasized discipline at the plate.
Detroit’s season has opened the door to all kinds of speculation, and a roster shake-up would not be a surprise. That has put Torres in the middle of trade talk, especially with the Tigers likely to listen on veterans.
The Dodgers have been linked to Torres before, so this isn’t exactly a brand-new rumor. It could simply be the latest chance for the two sides to line up on a deal.
And it’s not just Torres. Los Angeles has also been heavily connected to Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, which raises the possibility that the teams could work out a larger package. Both Torres and Skubal are set to become free agents after the 2026 season, so Detroit may prefer to collect assets now rather than risk losing them later.
The Dodgers certainly have the prospect capital to get involved in that kind of deal. The bigger question is whether the front office decides to push hard enough to make it happen.
In Other News...
National Verdict On Guardians Says Everything About Their Season So Far
A national midseason glance at the Guardians ended up matching the feeling around the club pretty well: the run prevention has carried them, the bullpen has been sharp, and the whole operation has stayed on track despite stretches where the offense has not looked nearly as steady. Bleacher Reports Tim Kelly handed Cleveland an A grade at the halfway point, a nod to a team that has leaned hard on pitching depth and a late-inning relief group that has helped make close games feel manageable.
The bigger question now is whether that profile can hold if the bats do not come around soon enough. Kelly pointed to Stephen Vogts impact as a major reason the Guardians have stayed competitive, but the margin for error in the division is still thin, and the club will need to find some offense before the trade deadline if it wants to keep pushing beyond simply hanging around the race. [Read more 🡒]
Austin Hedges Is Delivering The One Thing Guardians Fans Never Expected
Austin Hedges has spent most of his Guardians tenure known for the part of the job that does not show up in a box score, but this season has brought a different kind of surprise. The veteran catcher has taken real steps at the plate, pairing the defense and leadership Cleveland has always valued with an offensive stretch that has given the lineup an unexpected lift and made his recent production impossible to ignore.
In a recent win over the Rangers, Hedges added his second home run of the season and helped drive in a run earlier in the game, another sign that the bat is no longer just a bonus for the Guardians. His progress has come from steady work on his swing and approach, and while the larger story around his offense still feels like it is unfolding, the early return is enough to make Cleveland take a second look at a player it has long trusted for very different reasons. [Read more 🡒]
Two Guardians Prospects Just Put Clevelands Pipeline Back In The Spotlight
The Guardians player-development operation is getting another national showcase next month, with a pair of young talents earning spots on the American League roster for the 2024 MLB Futures Game during All-Star Week. It is the kind of recognition that tends to follow a system that keeps producing, and Clevelands farm has once again put itself in the conversation with prospects who have climbed quickly enough to draw leaguewide attention.
Ralphy Velazquez has surged this season all the way to Columbus and now sits atop MLB Pipelines first-base rankings, while Cooper Ingle has turned a strong run in the International League into a place on the big-league roster. Together, they give the Guardians more evidence that the next wave is arriving, even if the bigger question is how soon that pipeline starts feeding the major-league club in a more permanent way. [Read more 🡒]