When the 2023 season started, fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers were underwhelmed with who made up the team. Now after the trade deadline, they also might feel underwhelmed about the moves that were, and more importantly, were not made.
If the Dodgers were still at full strength and not incredibly bitten by the injury bug, the Dodgers would not need to make a big splash at the trade deadline. But the team was very much in need of staring pitching.
A lot of extenuating circumstances went into this trade deadline. There were few very good starting pitchers on the market, and teams knew that the Dodgers were in the position to perhaps overpay a little.
For their part, the Dodgers Front Office reportedly did their best. They were in on all of the big names, from Lucas Giolito to Justin Verlander to Eduardo Rodriguez.
The Angels jumped early, and got Giolito. It was down to the Houston Astros and L.A. for Verlander, and he used to his no trade clause to go to Houston. Rodriguez used his same clause to stay closer to family and stay in Detroit.
The issue is that the Tigers apparently did not discuss with, or know that, Rodriguez had the Dodgers on his no-trade list because of geographical reasons. A deal was in place at 4:50 pm for a trade, and then taken to Eduardo. Perhaps if they had known ahead of time, the Dodgers could have pivoted to someone else more quickly.
Regardless, the Dodgers did acquire a pitcher right at the end. Announced after the deadline, the Dodgers acquired left hander Ryan Yarbrough for minor leaguers Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa.
The 31 year old has made 14 appearances with the Kansas City Royals this season, amassing a 4-5 record with a 4.24 ERA and 29 strikeouts. Where he fits into the Dodgers rotation remains to be seen.
The one thing the Dodgers did do before the deadline was trade a bunch of recently DFA’d players for cash considerations. Phil Bickford and Adam Kolarek were sent to the New York Mets; Justin Bruihl went to the Colorado Rockies; and Eddys Leonard went to the Detroit Tigers.
So now, we sit and wait to see how the revamped team performs down the stretch and hopefully through the playoffs. It starts Tuesday night for the starting rotation when Lance Lynn makes his Dodgers debut.
We will go into further depth about the team in future weeks, but for now the team feels a little underwhelming for a first place team. Let’s hope they catch fire and surprise us.