Trade Deadline Market

The Dodgers are a few days away from the new and only trade deadline in baseball. In years past there was the July 31st trade deadline and the later non waiver trade deadline. During this past offseason the non-waiver trade deadline was discussed and is no more. So, any trades need to happen before or by the 31st of July. The trade deadline is crucial because most teams have to decide to buy players for a playoff push or playoff strategy or they are selling players to gain prospects for the future. This season in the national league only one team is completely out of contention the Miami Marlins, but all other teams have at least a chance at a wild card playoff position. So, to buy or sell can be difficult with only having one trade deadline instead of the two in previous years. 

The Dodgers are in a position where they are now 15 games ahead of the rest of the NL West and are not worrying about getting into the playoffs but making sure their team is ready for the playoffs. The Dodgers have the best top to bottom lineup in baseball as I have stated in past blog posts. The depth at each position is unheard of on other teams and that is a reason they are so far ahead. The big question mark for the Dodgers is their bullpen which is the weak link and needs to be addressed. A reason the Dodgers are great every year is because they have an amazing farm system and seeing that in recent years: Corey Seager(rookie of the year), Cody Bellinger(rookie of the year), Walker Buehler( 3rd in rookie of the year) and this year with Alex Verdugo, Matt Beaty, and Will Smith who recently came up and took over at catcher. The Dodgers farm system is very successful, and it currently has 4 of the top 100 players in the top 100 prospects in the major league baseball. So, this is a blessing as well as a curse because most teams use their players as leverage and ask for more than they are worth because they know teams like the Dodgers need bullpen help. These teams want these top prospects and the Dodgers are always reluctant to trade them because of their great track record with up and coming prospects. 

So, the Dodgers Specifically need a left handed reliever to bolster their bullpen. There is Will Smith and Tony Watson from the Giants that would be good fits, but the Giants are rivals and have not decided to sell unless some team wants to overpay. The top trade target is the Pirates Felipe Vasquez who has been great and would be a great shut down lefty reliever. But the pirates know that and are asking the Dodgers for two of their top 4 prospects. That is a steep asking price so it will be interesting to see what the Dodgers do in the next couple days.

I am excited to see the Dodgers as the favorites to get back to the World Series this year and hop they can get the relievers they need to be ready for the post season. The big hurdle for the Dodgers is the new one trade deadline, since most teams are still in contention and not sure if they want to sell unless they get a great offer. That just does not favor the Dodgers in this situation. I believe they will make a few deals to get the Bullpen ready and if they lose one of their top four prospects, I believe it will only be one of them. There is one goal every year and that is to get to the World Series and win it so let’s hope this is the Dodgers Year!