The Dodgers are once again being tied to a big-name arm as the trade deadline creeps closer, but the latest buzz points to a different kind of swing than the Tarik Skubal chatter that has followed them for weeks.
Los Angeles has been linked to the Detroit Tigers ace because the club could use another starter for October, especially with Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell both on the injured list. Glasnow has been working back from a back injury since early May, and there is still no clear timetable for the 32-year-old’s return. Snell, meanwhile, is recovering from a surgical procedure in his left elbow and is not expected back until after the All-Star break, with a return more likely after the trade deadline.
That uncertainty leaves the Dodgers in a familiar spot: talented enough to dream big, but not necessarily eager to pay the kind of premium Skubal would command. According to Jack Harris and Dylan Hernandez of the California Post, Los Angeles may be more inclined to target Sonny Gray of the Boston Red Sox instead.
Gray has been one of the better starters in baseball this season, going 10-1 with a 2.61 ERA. He would also come at a much lower acquisition cost than Skubal, in part because of the contract situation attached to him. His deal includes a $30 million mutual option for next year and a $10 million buyout.
As Harris and Hernandez put it, "That added cost would force the Red Sox to ask for less in return since just getting his deal off the books would count as a victory for them," and "As far as the free-spending Dodgers are concerned, it’s just money."
That part is hard to argue with. The Dodgers’ total payroll, including taxes, is over $590 million for the 2026 season. The question is less about finances than health, because the rotation picture could look a lot different if Glasnow and Snell are ready in time for October.
If both return, they would join Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani in what might be the best playoff starting rotation in baseball. But Los Angeles may not want to build its postseason plans around two pitchers with injury histories.
That’s where Gray becomes such an interesting fit. He’s in the middle of one of the best seasons of his 12-year career, and he could give the Dodgers another reliable starter without forcing them into the kind of massive trade package Skubal would require.
There’s also another layer to the fit: if the Dodgers end up with more starters than they need, Gray could slide into the bullpen and give them a multi-inning weapon they’d be very comfortable using.
For a team chasing a third straight World Series title, that kind of flexibility may matter just as much as the headline-grabbing names.
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Blake Snell Just Gave Dodgers Fans A Reason To Believe Again
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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 🡒]
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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 🡒]