The Dodgers in recent years have been avid participants at the trade deadline. This year, with the front office insistent on wanting to keep the roster constructed over the offseason, it was a relatively quiet deadline for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers addressed their two main issues— the bullpen and outfield— by bringing back Brock Stewart in a deal with the Minnesota Twins and improved their outfield depth by trading for Washington Nationals outfielder Alex Call. As a result, James Outman was dealt to Minnesota in return, while the struggling Dustin May will now look to salvage his season with the Boston Red Sox.
Here are some reactions from around the baseball world to the Dodgers trade deadline moves.
The addition of Brock Stewart not only gives the Dodgers a high end relief option against right-handed hitting, but brings home the return of pitcher that spent parts of his first four seasons with the team.
Stewart spoke with David Vassegh of KLAC AM 570 during the Dodgers home series against the Twins about his journey from MLB castoff into becoming a star reliever and now the Dodgers’ newest bullpen addition.
“It was Covid summer, and I had a barbecue over at our house with some friends. A friend of a friend came over, and her boyfriend’s name was named Ben Brewster. Ben Brewster is the co-founder of Tread Athletics… I got to working with them, and sure enough it definitely paid off.”
Brock Stewart this season so far: 2.38 ERA with 41 strikeouts in 34 innings.
.@THEREAL_DV spoke with the newest Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart on the last Dodgers home-stand! pic.twitter.com/F1Ldwe1p1n
— AM 570 LA Sports (@AM570LASports) August 1, 2025
With injuries to both Kiké Hernández and Hyeseong Kim paired with the poor offensive display from Michael Conforto and (now former Dodger) James Outman, the Dodgers were in the market for an upgrade to their outfield, and they did so by bringing in Alex Call.
The addition of Call doesn’t necessarily force Michael Conforto into a platoon role, as Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times notes, but the move will allow Call to receive playing time in center field while moving Andy Pages to the corner spots.
It was either going to be a permanent move to the bullpen or a way out for Dustin May, and the Dodgers decided on the latter so May could continue his career as a starting pitcher, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“While we felt like he could have been a contributor out of the bullpen and an impact-type piece,” Gomes said, “trying to understand the mindset and his desire to continue to start, we took that into consideration. And if there was a deal that we felt like made sense, we were going to be open to do it.”
The Dodgers displayed interest in acquiring Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, but the return haul came with a hefty price that the Dodgers were unwilling to pay, notes Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.