Dave Roberts isn’t sounding like a manager desperate for a splash at the trade deadline.
That alone makes his latest comments notable, because the Dodgers are staring at an Aug. 3 deadline while carrying an MLB-best record and run differential, and the expectation around the league has been that they could still chase a major addition as they push for a third straight World Series title. But Roberts offered a different read on where his club stands.
“I could almost argue that we’re sellers more than buyers,” Roberts told The California Post. “Personally, I don’t see any glaring needs. ... I really don’t.”
It’s a striking line for a team that looks loaded on paper, but also one dealing with enough injury uncertainty to keep the front office busy. Will Smith is out, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are working back, and Shohei Ohtani has been indefinitely removed from the starting rotation. That combination has left some obvious pressure points, even if the Dodgers have typically preferred smaller deadline moves over a blockbuster trade that costs top prospects.
At catcher, Dalton Rushing has held his own in Smith’s absence, at least offensively. Roberts made it clear the Dodgers believe Smith will be ready for the postseason after being placed on the 60-day injured list Tuesday. If he isn’t, Roberts said the club feels “good with Dalton.”
The rotation picture is more complicated, but there’s optimism there too. Snell and Glasnow are making serious progress and should be back in time to matter in October, which could reduce the urgency to swing for a frontline arm such as Detroit’s Tarik Skubal. Ohtani remains a separate question.
Roberts framed those impending returns as the kind of help that can function like deadline reinforcements.
“You talk about all the guys that we’re going to have coming back in the next few weeks, those are huge trade-deadline acquisitions,” Roberts said.
Even so, the Dodgers still have to make a call, and the clock is ticking. Roberts stressed that the team is balancing what it knows now against what it might learn over the next stretch, especially with health never guaranteed.
“There are certainties and there are uncertainties, and you have to make a bet,” Roberts said. “I do know that the deadline is Aug.
- So we have time to get as much information, you see what you got at that point in time, and then you have to make a decision.”
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Dodgers Face A Surprising Deadline Test As Injuries Keep Mounting
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Will Smiths absence has naturally raised the question of whether Los Angeles will chase catching help, especially with Dalton Rushing now in the lineup, but there does not appear to be a rush to force that move. The bigger picture remains the same: the Dodgers believe their farm system has enough top-end talent to matter, even if the overall depth still needs work at several spots, and they seem willing to let that guide the deadline rather than react to every injury scare. [Read more 🡒]