The Dodgers’ trade deadline approach is holding steady, even with a rotation and catching situation that has taken on some real wear and tear.
Los Angeles keeps rolling toward another NL West title and a 14th straight postseason trip, but the roster isn’t exactly pristine. Shohei Ohtani has been shut down from pitching indefinitely because of left knee trouble, and Will Smith is still working back from an inflamed disc in his neck. Even so, those injuries are not expected to push the Dodgers into a different kind of deadline shopping spree, according to Katie Woo of The Athletic.
Multiple team sources familiar with the Dodgers’ thinking say neither injury is likely to change the club’s deadline strategy much at all.
That stance makes a little more sense when you look at the pitching picture. Right now, the Dodgers are operating without Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani in the rotation.
Snell started a rehab assignment over the weekend, while Glasnow is still restricted to fastballs only in bullpen work. Ohtani could throw off the mound this weekend, which would be the first step in figuring out when he might be ready to resume his two-way role.
He has not pitched since July 3.
The Dodgers had originally lined Ohtani up to face the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 10, then scratched him because of lingering irritation in his left knee. They later penciled him in for the series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies before changing course again.
Smith’s situation has been going on even longer. He has been out since the first week of June after what was first described as neck stiffness. Dalton Rushing has handled the starting catching duties in Smith’s absence and can cover that role, but the Dodgers do have a thin spot behind him at backup catcher.
That’s where the deadline conversation gets a little more interesting. The Dodgers can afford patience with the rotation because there is still time for Snell, Glasnow and Ohtani to return, and the depth behind them is considered good enough to get by for now.
Passing on a backup catcher, though, could carry more risk. Smith does have time to come back this season, but disc issues can be unpredictable, and that makes it harder to bank on him staying healthy all the way through October.
For now, though, the Dodgers seem more inclined to use the deadline to add to a farm system that has high-end talent but still needs more depth across multiple positions.
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What makes the conversation more interesting now is the way Betts has started to frame the back end of his career. He is under contract through 2031, but he has also made it clear he wants to finish on his own terms, which adds a little more weight to every season left in Dodger blue. For a player who has spent so much of his career winning and setting the standard, the next chapter is starting to feel like it will be written on his schedule, not anyone elses. [Read more 🡒]