A few weeks ago, the Los Angeles Dodgers told their fans that they were unlikely to make any major moves before the end of the trade deadline because the team had the best record in baseball and was more interested in keeping and developing their young prospects than they were in trading for reinforcements. If you want to bet on the Dodgers, check out the top betting odds for Dodgers games.
At the time the Dodgers made the statement about keeping their young talent, the team was cruising through the season and wasn’t dealing with any major injury.
On Sunday, that all changed as Clayton Kershaw, the team’s ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball, suffered a back injury that forced him out of the game after two innings.
On Monday, the team confirmed they would be without Kershaw for 4-6 weeks, which means he should be back right before the playoffs begin. However, not having Kershaw in the pitching rotation leaves a big void, and could cost them the best record in the league.
Now that the Dodgers know where they stand with Kershaw’s injury, the question they have to answer is should they trade for Yu Darvish or another one of the available pitchers that can help fill the void?
Even without Kershaw, the Dodgers shouldn’t have any problem winning the NL West since they already have a 12.5 game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks , who sit in second place. However, with the Washington Nationals playing well, their chances of finishing with the best record in the National League is at risk.
Another thing the Dodgers have to worry about is if they decide to wait on Kershaw is the fact that he suffered a back injury, which are very tricky, and there are no guarantees he will pitch as well as he was when he got injured.
In the past, Kershaw has pitched on three or four days rest during the playoffs, which is normally tasking for a healthy pitcher. With him coming back from injury, it will be difficult for the team to put him in that situation again, which is why their best bet at the moment is to trade for Darvish or another starter that can come in and fill the role.
By trading for Darvish, the Dodgers not only have an ace that can help them maintain their current pace, they also have an insurance policy in case Kershaw doesn’t return from the disabled list on time.
Darvish has been in the majors for five years, but he also has a lot of experience. With the Texas Rangers, he isn’t getting a lot of run support so his win/loss record looks average. But with a team like the Dodgers, Darvish will likely return to his old form because there won’t be any pressure on him to bail the team out.
Darvish also has some playoff experience, which will come in handy for the Dodgers. With Darvish on the team, the Dodgers also won’t require Kershaw to pitch on three day’s rest, which should give him more time to recuperate and because he will be pitching on his regular schedule.
With a healthy Kershaw and Darvish on the team, the Dodgers shouldn’t have any problem getting to the World Series.
Question boils down to who can they get? Darvish got hammered last night. Gray is on about 6 teams radar. Verlander has a full no-trade although he would most likely waive it to come to LA. I have not seen that Cole is available. So right now the market is pretty thin. There was a story on Dodger Blue that said Friedman was targeting a starter now more than a reliever. But who knows what is fact and what is fiction. They have 2 starters in the bull pen, and in reality, Stewart was not all that bad last night. He was done in by his defense. Had Grandal just went for the out at first, the next hitter flew to left and that would have been the 3rd out. But no, he tried to get the lead runner and his throw was way off line. Then Forsythe misses a easy ground ball, and boom, 5 runs, all unearned. The way Santana was pitching at that point, it looked like a sure loss. But they chipped away and finally broke through. There were heroes all down the lineup and off the bench, and they are still playing with only 3 bench guys. All 3 pinch hitters got hits. That does not happen often. The best hitter in the NL gets his first hit of the night to win it. Yep, something truly magical. Now a sweep of the Giants would be the perfect ending to this home stand before they head out on a long road trip. Only 8 home games in August.
Well today the Nationals went back to back to back to back……4 homers in a row and they hit 5 in the inning! Harper, Goodwin, Difo, Zimmerman, and then Rendon. They have hit 8 in the game over all. Harper and Zimmerman have 2 each, and Lobaton hit the other. WOW!
They’re talented. I think they’re going to be tough in the playoffs. If they stabilize the bullpen I’d be worried to go up against them as a Dodger fan.
Dodgers top 30 prospects have changed. Now it is 1. Buehler 2. Verdugo 3. Alvarez 4. Calhoun 5. Kendall 6. Diaz 7. White. 8 K. Ruiz 9. W. Smith 10. B. Stewart 11. Lux 12. Sheffield 13. Heredia 14. Santana 15. Estevez 16. Oaks 17. May 18. Alexy 19. Rios 20. Peters 21. Jackson 22. O. Cruz 23. Abdullah 24. Marinan 25. Ferguson 26. Brito 27. Cooper 28. Davis 29. Rincon 30. Farmer.
A couple of farm notes. Verdugo at .328. 28 extra base hits. Farmer, Freeman Muncy and Calhoun also over .300. Rios has raised his average to .294. Cunningham is at .284, but that includes his average from before the trade to LA. Broussard got the win at OKC and continues to impress. Rios HR #4 and Dickson #22. Buehler impressive in 2nd AAA start. Ramos still over .400 at Tulsa. Brant Whiting, a catcher at .364 there. Meises hitting .337 at Rancho and K. Ruiz a solid .356. Zach Hartman impressive down there too. ERA is 1.29. At Ogden, Heredia at .405. Paz at .365. Clementina .356 and Adkison .373. Urena got his 2nd save and his ERA is 1.08.
What are Verdugo’s splits against lefties? With the the question mark over Thompson’s lack of hitting, I’d be inclined to just wait for a Verdugo call up and see how he does in spot relief in left. Not sure why you need to trade for a bat in left. Forsythe is getting pretty locked in at second and CT is playing competent left.
I just looked it up Patch. Verdugo is hitting .282 against lefty’s and .342 against RH. He has only hit .239 in July, but is heating up again.
The author wrote:
With a healthy Kershaw and Darvish on the team, the Dodgers shouldn’t have any problem getting to the World Series.
Wrong. Just ask the 2011 Phillies and their rotation of Hamels, Oswalt, Halladay and Cliff Lee.
the 2001 Mariners won 116 games with .716 winning percentage and lost in the ALCS to the Yankees 4-1.
The Dodgers with their current winning percentage are projected to win 113. There are never guarantees in the postseason. The Dodgers went into the playoffs rolling in 2013. Hanley’s broken rib, Puig’s stage fright and Kershaw’s meltdown ousted them.
Timmon’s posts might be blustery and verbose, but he usually says something edgy and entertaining. This sounds like something written for the AP. ….pretty boilerplate. I don’t always agree with Scott, but he has something to say.
Why did they bring up Farmer? Who is he replacing? Remember he can also play infield, like Barnes. Grandal injured or involved in trade? Forsythe involved in trade?
Farmer being showcased? The Dodgers today are all questions, answers are unsure…
Probably because the kid can hit, and he is more versatile than Verdugo at this point. He plays catcher. 2B and SS. You know how FAZ loves multipositional guys. And the OF they have called up before have not performed at all.
Here is another reason, he is hitting .313 vs lefty’s and .318 vs RH. He is hitting .316 with 6 homers and 29 ribbies he also has 13 doubles and a triple. He was hitting .339 at AA when called up with 3 homers and 18 ribbies and 7 doubles. He is a hitter and they can use one off the bench since they have been playing with a short bench since Monday.