RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Will the back-to-back champs from Los Angeles make the biggest trade deadline splash of all?
That's the central question, as the Dodgers are perceived by some within the game as the favorites to land Tigers lefty ace and two-time defending American League Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal before Monday's deadline, ESPN reports.
"I think our mindset is always, and we've talked about this, there just aren't that many star-level players in the game," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told reporters on Wednesday. "Any time one is available, we're always going to participate in those conversations. We've shown to be very aggressive in the past."
It's not yet a given that the Tigers, who remain on the fringes of contention despite a sub-.500 record, will trade Skubal, a pending free agent. However, signs are pointing to such a deal, and the Dodgers are well positioned -- in terms of need, tradable resources, and front-office aggressiveness -- to pry Skubal from Detroit and keep him from their fellow World Series contenders in Milwaukee, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, and perhaps others.
Dave Roberts' squad right now has the best record in baseball -- albeit narrowly, just ahead of the Brewers -- and the largest division lead in baseball. That said, they have concerns looking ahead to their efforts to secure a first-round bye and make another run to the title. Specifically, they have injury problems in the rotation. Shohei Ohtani is presently limited to DH duty because of knee and bicep issues, and it's not certain when he'll be able to return to the mound. Tyler Glasnow , meanwhile, has been sidelined since early May with back spasms. While he may be able to begin a minor-league rehab assignment soon, a pitcher with Glasnow's injury history carries no guarantees.
Elsewhere, Blake Snell has made only one start this season. He underwent surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow back in May. He's on rehab assignment presently, but, like Glasnow, Snell has a substantial injury history that can't be ignored. The Dodgers also have no idea when Gavin Stone will be able to pitch again as he continues a very halting recovery from a spring shoulder injury. Yes, the Dodgers still have an ace in Yoshinobu Yamamoto , but they'd love another front-end force for the playoffs. That very much describes Skubal.
Typically, teams enjoying a long run of success at the highest level aren't blessed with strong farm systems thanks to trades and lower draft picks and so forth. The Dodgers (and Brewers, for that matter) are an exception. The Dodgers at present boast elite or near-elite prospects like outfielders Josue De Paula , Mike Sirota , Eduardo Quintero , Zyhir Hope, and Charles Davalan ; infielder Emil Morales ; and right-handers Christian Zazueta and River Ryan , among others. There's high-end talent and there's depth.
No, the Dodgers aren't likely to part with a talent like De Paula in exchange for a "rental" -- even one as good as Skubal -- but there are plenty of other impact names farther down the list that could headline a return package. On another level, the Dodgers, thanks to all their veteran additions over the years, don't have sufficient runway for all these incoming prospects. One sure way to clear that up is to swing a trade for, oh, perhaps the best pitcher in baseball. As you can tell above, dealing from those reserves of outfielders seems like an obvious path for the Dodgers to take in their talks with Tigers decision-maker Scott Harris.
It's hardly breaking news that the Dodgers under lead executive Andrew Friedman and the Guggenheim Partners ownership group are, it seems, forever in foot-on-gas mode. That's as it should be for a team with championship aspirations, and the Dodgers' list of conspicuous external additions over the years is of marathon length. To put a finer point on it, have a look at how the composition of L.A.'s current 40-player roster breaks down:
Yes, just 11 players have been wholly developed and then deployed from within. Obviously, this is not an indictment of the Dodgers' player-development capacities -- they're one of the best at such matters. Rather, it's that they're aggressive in all top-line markets and in terms of running high payrolls, and that means so many farmhands are dealt away or blocked, all in the name of winning and then winning some more. While the Dodgers this season do have a bit stronger homegrown strain than in recent years, what with the contributions of Andy Pages , Dalton Rushing , Justin Wrobleski and (to a lesser extent) Emmet Sheehan , they're still powered by stars that Friedman has gone and gotten from elsewhere. Why stop now with the incredibly elusive three-peat hanging in the balance?
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