Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. New ranking of the summer movies I’ve seen this year: 1. The Odyssey; 2. Supergirl; 3. Young Washington; 4. Disclosure Day; 5. Masters of the Universe; 6. The Devil Wears Prada 2
We are less than a week away from the trade deadline (Monday at 3 p.m. PT). The Dodgers have a commanding lead in the NL West and are going to make the postseason. Their current team is good enough to win the World Series, but there’s now a big question mark over Shohei Ohtani, whose knee is preventing him from pitching.
Ohtani’s last start was July 3. And, in the category of things that make you wonder, his batting stats since then: .250/.300/.500, 16 for 64, four doubles, four homers, five walks, 17 strikeouts. Could just be a down couple of weeks, which every batter goes through. But when paired with the sore knee, it makes you think.
The Dodgers are counting on getting Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell back in August. That would give them a postseason rotation (if Ohtani can’t pitch again this year) of:
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
Snell
Glasnow
Justin Wrobleski
If Ohtani can pitch again, one of those guys drops off. But what if he can’t come back and Snell and/or Glasnow aren’t able to come back? Emmet Sheehan? Roki Sasaki? Bullpen game? Sasaki has pitched well his last couple of starts, but we’ve been down that road before.
Or do the Dodgers add a reliever? Another hitter? Stand pat?
And then add in the fact that getting someone, even someone like Tarik Skubal, guarantees nothing. The Dodgers have made big deals in the past and not won. They have made marginal deals and won it all.
What would you do? Assuming the trade is fair, which would you acquire first, a starting pitcher, reliever, batter or would you stand pat?
Click here to vote in our survey.
Maddie Lee offers her trade deadline take here.
In the meantime, here’s a look at some previous trade deadline deals by the Dodgers.
2017
—Acquired pitcher Yu Darvish from Texas for A.J. Alexy, Willie Calhoun and Brendon Davis.
—Acquired pitcher Tony Cingrani from Cincinnati for Scott Van Slyke and Hendrik Clementina.
—Acquired pitcher Tony Watson from Pittsburgh for Angel German and Oneil Cruz.
—Acquired outfielder Curtis Granderson from the New York Mets for Jacob Rhame.
Dodgers record before deadline: 74-31, .705
Record after deadline: 30-27, .526
2018
—Acquired shortstop Manny Machado from Baltimore for Rylan Bannon, Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Zach Pop and Breyvic Valera. (This trade was made July 18, but we will count it.)
—Acquired pitcher John Axford from Toronto for Corey Copping.
—Acquired second baseman Brian Dozier from Minnesota for Logan Forsythe, Luke Raley and Devin Smeltzer.
—Acquired infielder David Freese from Pittsburgh for Jesus Valdez.
Record before deadline: 59-49, .506
Record after deadline: 33-22, .600
2019
—Acquired pitcher Adam Kolarek from Tampa Bay for Niko Hulsizer.
—Acquired infielder Jedd Gyorko from St. Louis for Jeffry Abreu and Tony Cingrani.
Record before deadline: 71-39, .645
Record after deadline: 35-17, .673
2020
Nothing significant. This was the 60-game COVID season.
2021
—Acquired pitcher Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner from Washington for Gerardo Carrillo, Donovan Casey, Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz.
—Acquired outfielder Billy McKinney from the New York Mets for Carlos Rincón.
—Acquired pitcher Danny Duffy from Kansas City for Zach Willeman.
Record before deadline: 63-43, .594
Record after deadline: 43-13, .768
2022
—Acquired pitcher Chris Martin from the Chicago Cubs for infielder-outfielder Zach McKinstry.
—Acquired left fielder Joey Gallo from the New York Yankees for Clayton Beeter.
Record before deadline: 68-33, .673
Record after deadline: 43-18, .705
2023
—Acquired Kiké Hernández from Boston for Justin Hagenman and Nick Robertson.
—Acquired pitchers Joe Kelly and Lance Lynn from the Chicago White Sox for Jordan Leasure, Nick Nastrini and Trayce Thompson.
—Acquired infielder Amed Rosario from Cleveland for Noah Syndergaard.
—Acquired pitcher Ryan Yarbrough from Kansas City for Derlin Figueroa and Devin Mann.
Record before deadline: 59-45, .567
Record after deadline: 41-17, .707
2024
—Acquired pitcher Jack Flaherty from Detroit for Thayron Liranzo and Trey Sweeney.
—As part of a three-team deal, acquired infielder/outfielder Tommy Edman from St. Louis and pitcher Michael Kopech from the Chicago White Sox for Alexander Albertus, Jeral Perez and Miguel Vargas.
—Traded pitcher Ryan Yarbrough to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Kevin Kiermaier.
Record before deadline: 63-46, .578
Record after deadline: 35-18, .660
2025
Traded pitcher Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox. Received Zach Ehrhard and James Tibbs III.
Traded pitchers Paul Liñan and Eriq Swan to the Washington Nationals for outfielder Alex Call.
Traded catcher Hunter Feduccia to the Tampa Bay Rays for pitchers Adam Serwinowski and Paul Gervase and catcher Ben Rortvedt.
Traded outfielder James Outman to the Minnesota Twins for pitcher Brock Stewart.
Record before deadline: 63-46, .578
Record after deadline: 30-23, .566
See, last year, the most important acquisition was getting Rortvedt, and no one was exactly extolling his virtues when they got him. I remember when the Dodgers acquired Darvish, it seemed to guarantee the World Series title. And when they got Scherzer, that seemed like a slam dunk for the title. But you never know what’s going to happen.
And are there any trades up there that make you say, “Wow, that was a terrible deal?” No. Andrew Friedman has a great track record on trades, so, it will be interesting to see what the Dodgers do.
The postseason
Here’s a look at the NL. Remember, the three division winners plus the next three teams with the best record make the postseason. The two division winners with the best record get a first-round bye.
Division leaders
1. Dodgers, 67-39
2. Milwaukee, 66-40, 1 GB
3. Atlanta, 62-44, 5 GB
Wild-card standings
1. Chicago, 60-46
2. Philadelphia, 57-50
3. Pittsburgh, 55-52
4. Arizona, 55-52
5. Washington, 54-53, 1 GB
6. St. Louis, 53-53, 1.5 GB
7. San Diego, 53-53, 1.5 GB
8. Miami, 53-54, 2 GB
9. Cincinnati, 49-55, 4.5 GB
These names seem familiar
How notable players who were with the Dodgers the last couple of seasons are doing with their new teams (through Sunday). Click on the player’s name to be taken to their full stats page:
Anthony Banda, Twins: 2-0, 4.46 ERA, 2 saves, 34.1 IP, 31 hits, 15 walks, 33 K’s, 97 ERA+, out for the season
Cody Bellinger, Yankees: .259/.350/.420, 434 PA’s, 21 doubles, 3 triples, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, 113 OPS+, on the IL
Walker Buehler, Padres: 6-5, 5.12 ERA, 100 IP, 99 hits, 42 walks, 91 K’s, 80 ERA+
Mike Busch, Cubs: .247/.368/.405, 468 PA’s, 18 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homers, 56 RBIs, 117 OPS+
Michael Conforto, Cubs: .237/.326/.481, 178 PA’s, 11 doubles, 9 homers, 24 RBIs, 122 OPS+
Justin Dean, Cubs: .286/.444/.571, 9 PA’s, 1 triple, 3 RBIs, 1829 OPS+
Caleb Ferguson, Reds: 1-0, 3.86 ERA, 1 save, 21 IP, 23 hits, 10 walks, 20 K’s, 115 ERA+
Jack Flaherty, Tigers: 3-8, 4.59 ERA, 86.1 IP, 80 hits, 42 walks, 102 K’s, 93 ERA+, on the IL
Kenley Jansen, Tigers: 2-4, 3.90 ERA, 12 saves, 27.2 IP, 17 hits, 17 walks, 31 K’s, 111 ERA+
Craig Kimbrel, Rays: 0-2, 4.35 ERA, 31 IP, 26 hits, 12 walks, 29 K’s, 99 ERA+
Gavin Lux, Rays: on the IL
Dustin May, Cardinals: 5-7, 4.59 ERA, 104 IP, 104 hits, 33 walks, 103 K’s, 87 ERA+
Zach McKinstry, Tigers: .200/.277/.298, 277 PA’s, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 20 RBIs, 61 OPS+
James Outman, Tigers: .161/.219/.295, 160 PA’s, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 16 RBIs, 42 OPS+
Joc Pederson, Rangers: .251/.341/.491, 318 PA’s, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 17 homers, 36 RBIs, 140 OPS+
Luke Raley, Mariners: .230/.284/.447, 280 PA’s, 9 doubles, 1 triple, 15 homers, 39 RBIs, 107 OPS+
Ben Rortvedt, Mets: in the minors
Corey Seager, Rangers: .182/.292/.374, 219 PA’s, 6 doubles, 10 homers, 25 RBIs, 94 OPS+, on the IL
Justin Turner, Tijuana (Mexican League): .292/.394/.472, 254 PA’s, 21 doubles, 6 homers, 28 RBIs
Trea Turner, Phillies: .244/.295/.391, 455 PA’s, 18 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 41 RBIs, 82 OPS+
Miguel Vargas, White Sox: .242/.348/.484, 449 PA’s, 24 doubles, 1 triple, 22 homers, 63 RBIs, 131 OPS+
Kirby Yates, Angels: 0-5, 3.65 ERA, 3 saves, 24.2 IP, 16 hits, 11 walks, 30 K’s, 114 ERA+
Up next
Tuesday: Seattle (Luis Castillo, 3-9, 4.85 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Wednesday: Seattle (Emerson Hancock, 6-4, 3.16 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Thursday: Seattle (Bryce Miller, 4-5, 2.75) at Dodgers (TBD), 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
All times Pacific
*-left-handed
In case you missed it
Tarik Skubal blockbuster deal likely isn’t part of Dodgers’ trade-deadline plans
Swanson: Hall of Famer Joe Torre passionate about going to bat for kids at risk of family violence
Huntington Beach’s Jeff Kent credits his parents for helping fuel his Hall of Fame career
Shohei Ohtani suffers setback in his plans to return to Dodgers’ rotation
Jeff Kent starting to feel like a Hall of Famer this weekend
Miguel Rojas on decision to visit Capitol Hill, White House: ‘I’m representing the Dodgers’
Dodgers Debate: The White House and the trade deadline
Lopez: 5 reasons the Dodgers should not go back to the White House again next year
And finally
Vin Scully narrates a wacky play at Candlestick Park. Watch and listen here.
Until next time …
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.