The Dodgers are heading toward the trade deadline with a familiar kind of leverage: they’re good enough to stay patient, but banged up enough to keep everyone guessing.
Los Angeles has not looked like a team with obvious holes, yet the injuries have piled up on key names. Starters Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow are both dealing with issues, with Snell out because of his elbow and Glasnow sidelined by back trouble.
Catcher Will Smith has also been out for more than a month. Even so, the Dodgers have been signaling that the preferred move is to get their own players healthy rather than rush into a deal.
That’s where Andrew Friedman’s latest comments matter. The Dodgers president of baseball operations made it clear that the club’s deadline approach will depend heavily on how the injured players are progressing as July unfolds.
“So obviously we’ll know a lot more as we get deeper into July about our guys that are coming back,” Friedman said to the California Post. “We’re able to approach this July with a very opportunistic mindset because at least the way it’s tracking, we don’t feel like we’ll have an acute need.”
The timeline works in Los Angeles’ favor. Both Snell and Glasnow are expected back in the second half, and the deadline doesn’t arrive until Aug. 3, which gives the Dodgers more time to see where those recoveries stand. Smith is also expected to return at some point this season, though the team could still consider catcher help if that situation drags on.
Friedman also made the organization’s bigger philosophy plain: the Dodgers do not want to get trapped paying inflated prices just because the calendar says July.
“What we have said for years now is that our goal in July is to not be in a position where we feel forced to buy,” Friedman said. “Prices are 200% normal prices outside of the deadline.”
That stance has shown up before, and it appears to be holding again. Los Angeles has been connected to a number of big names, including Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers, but there’s no sign the Dodgers are eager to empty the tank for a splashy addition.
If they do make a move, it sounds more likely to be the kind that smooths out the edges of the roster or adds to the farm system rather than a headline-grabber. That may not thrill fans hoping for fireworks, but it fits the way the Dodgers have been operating.
And despite the injuries, they’re still sitting as the best team in baseball. If the stars come back on schedule, the path to a three-peat gets a lot cleaner.
In Other News...
Blake Snell Just Gave Dodgers Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Blake Snells recovery has moved into a more encouraging phase for the Dodgers, with the left-hander saying he feels the best he has in two years after elbow surgery and has no pain in his arm. Snell has already been facing live hitters as he works his way back from the procedure, and the next step in his return should be a rehab assignment before he tries to rejoin the starting rotation.
For a team that has had to manage plenty of pitching uncertainty, any sign that Snell is trending toward a mid-August return matters. His surgery used a NanoNeedle procedure to remove loose bodies from his elbow, and while the final stretch of the comeback still has to play out, the early signs are at least giving Dodgers fans a reason to think the rotation could get a meaningful boost soon. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Trade Proposal Puts Orioles In A Tough Spot With Lefty
The Dodgers are still weighing ways to add pitching before the trade deadline, and one idea on the table would send them after a left-hander who has quietly rebuilt his value over the summer. Baltimores Trevor Rogers has looked much sharper in recent weeks, which is exactly the kind of rebound that can make a front office pause and ask whether the market price is about to rise.
For Los Angeles, the question is less about whether Rogers can help and more about how much prospect capital it should be willing to part with to get him. Jackson Ferris remains one of the organizations more intriguing young arms, while Ryan Ward has also put himself on the radar as a depth bat, so any deal built around those two would force the Dodgers to decide how aggressively they want to chase immediate rotation help. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Still Have One Lineup Problem That Could Haunt October
The Dodgers have spent much of the season trying to solve a lineup question that sits just behind Shohei Ohtani, where production has been uneven enough to keep drawing manager Dave Roberts back to the topic. The No. 2 spot is supposed to be a bridge between Ohtani and the rest of the order, but the team has rotated several accomplished hitters through it without finding much consistency, leaving a small but persistent hole in a lineup built to overwhelm opponents.
Roberts has acknowledged there may be a mental side to the job, with hitters feeling the weight of batting directly behind Ohtani, though he stopped short of saying he knows that for certain. The Dodgers are still weighing options for later in the season, including a possible look at Will Smith when he returns from injury, and the answer could matter more in October than it has in the regular season if this one spot continues to lag. [Read more 🡒]