With the trade deadline one week away, the Dodgers are staring at a familiar kind of pressure point - only this time the conversation sounds a lot more like subtraction than addition. August 3 is the date circled on the calendar, and with more teams still alive in the playoff race, the Dodgers are expected to lean toward selling rather than buying.
That doesn’t mean they’ll sit out the deadline entirely. They’re still expected to be involved if a major name hits the market, Tarik Skubal included. But the bigger storyline around the club may be which current players could be moved to help restock the farm system.
Two names that have come up are Eric Lauer and Alex Call, according to Katie Woo at The Athletic. Lauer arrived in a mid-May trade when Tyler Glasnow went on the IL, and he’s done exactly what the Dodgers needed from him: soak up innings.
The club hasn’t lost a game he has started. Keeping him around for depth would make sense, but the Dodgers could also choose to flip him for prospects, much like they did with Dustin May last season.
Call’s situation feels a little different. With both Hernández’s back from the IL, his role looks more crowded, and the fit is less clean. Another left-handed bat makes him easier to move, especially if the Dodgers are trying to add to their farm system.
Meanwhile, Shohei Ohtani’s lack of pitching is not expected to change the front office’s approach at the deadline. Dave Roberts said the team is taking its cues from Ohtani and the training staff, and Ohtani remains in the lineup.
“From his words, the hitting, the running, as he has done the last couple nights, doesn’t affect him,” Roberts said. “I can only go by what he and the training staff are telling me. So, unless I hear otherwise, that hitting compromises his health, then I’m going to keep putting him in the lineup.”
On the injury front, the Dodgers are getting closer to some reinforcements. Edwin Díaz is slated to return on Wednesday, while Kiké Hernández is expected back on Tuesday.
Blake Snell is set for his third rehab start on Wednesday with Triple-A Oklahoma City, and that outing is expected to be around 60 pitches. The team would like to get him up to 75 before activating him, though the schedule may push them to bring him back sooner since they don’t have another off day until August 6.
Tyler Glasnow also took another step Friday, facing live hitters. He’s expected to make one rehab start before rejoining the rotation.
In Other News...
Dodgers Suddenly Have A Justin Wrobleski Problem They Didn't Want
Justin Wrobleski keeps giving the Dodgers reasons to keep leaning on him, even as they try to be careful with his arm. The left-hander worked deep into a start against the Phillies, limiting them to one run and five hits while pushing his season record to 11-2, another reminder that he has become far more than a spot solution in a year when Los Angeles expected to manage him carefully.
The problem now is the kind every contender would like to have, but not always in September. Wrobleski has already piled up 106.2 innings over 17 games and is on track to blow past his previous career high, which puts the Dodgers in the familiar tension between protecting a young pitcher and needing every useful out they can get. He says he trusts the organization to handle the workload, and his comfort with that plan only adds to the question of how long they can keep threading the needle. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Got A New Deadline Clue At Catcher
The Tigers made a roster move Thursday that could ripple beyond Detroit, activating Javier Baez from the 60-day injured list and clearing space by designating catcher Jake Rogers for assignment. Rogers has built his reputation on defense, but his role has been reduced this season, and his availability comes at a time when clubs around the league are sorting through catching needs before the trade deadline.
For the Dodgers, the timing is notable because they have been navigating depth concerns behind the plate with Will Smith sidelined. Rogers is now one of the names to watch as teams look for help at catcher, and his market could be active quickly with several clubs in the same hunt. The next step will be whether Los Angeles decides to stay in that conversation as the deadline picture sharpens. [Read more 🡒]