The Los Angeles Dodgers lost two out of three games over the weekend to the New York Mets after their offense and pitching failed to take advantage of an ailing Mets' ball club. Trade rumors indicate the quest for starting pitching remains.
Despite a good performance from Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers failed to give the left-hander run support in Friday's 2-1 loss. Then on Sunday, fellow starter Mike Bolsinger surrendered four earned runs on nine hits and two walks in five innings in the team's 8-0 loss.
Zack Greinke has been the team's best starter this season and his performance further suggests he'll be opting out of his contract after 2015 (his start on Saturday gave the Dodgers a win). The team has been exploring trades to fortify their rotation for quite some time now, but the efforts are expected to increase with the deadline looming.
"The Dodgers' search for pitching may only intensify with the news that Carlos Frias has been placed on the 15-day DL with lower back tightness," writes Mark Polishuk of MLBTradeRumors.com. "Los Angeles already dipped into its starter depth by installing Frias and Mike Bolsinger into the rotation in place of Hyun-jin Ryu and Brandon McCarthy, so all eyes will be on the Dodgers this month to see if they can land another big arm before the trade deadline."
Here are some more specifics regarding their potential endeavors:
"When it comes to starting pitching, the Dodgers principal goal is to add depth," FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal said over the weekend. "Brett Anderson hasn't thrown 100 innings in a season since 2010 and Mike Bolsinger and Carlos Frias fit better as replacement options than fourth and fifth starters.
"In a perfect world, the Dodgers would get a top-of-the-rotation type, like Johnny Cueto, but even a mid-rotation starter would help a great deal. As it stands, the Dodgers are one injury away from a perilous situation. Don't be surprised if they add multiple starters."
Los Angeles did a great job in the draft addressing starting pitching needs, but that's not going to help them this year. In fact, we're not even sure if it's going to help them at all (as of right now).
"The Dodgers still have a lot of work to do in the draft, having yet to sign Vanderbilt starters Walker Buehler (pick No. 24 overall) and Phillip Pfeifer (pick No. 101), Louisville starter Kyle Funkhouser (No. 35), and Virginia closer Josh Sborz (No. 74)," adds Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. "It won't be easy to sign them all, as they aren't under-slot types, for the most part."
President of baseball operations and general manager Farhan Zaidi have plenty of options between now and the trade deadline (and in the offseason too). They've further shown their need for starting pitching after going over their international bonus slot on the first day of the signing period when they gave right-hander Yadier Alvarez a $16 million signing bonus.
They've also been scouting Reds' right-hander Johnny Cueto for a while and they could still chase Cole Hamels, Jordan Zimmermann (who is said to be atop their trade wish list), David Price (if he's made available), Scott Kazmir (who has past history with Friedman), Jeff Samardzija, Doug Fister, Aaron Harang, Ian Kennedy, Mike Leake, and others.
Adding more than one of these arms would be tough, but it wouldn't be impossible. With the exception of Hamels, everyone else is an impending free agent, which decreases their value since they'd only be a rental for a few months. The Dodgers have plentiful resources and excessive cash to acquire top arms and possibly strike deals with them, so it'll be interesting to see what the team goes after within the next month.
Friedman and Zaidi have a lot to work with, so don't be surprised if they pull off a couple of blockbusters like they did in the offseason.
