The Los Angeles Dodgers announced earlier in the week that Hector Olivera and the team finalized their six-year, $62.5 million pact, which means the Cuban infielder could reach the MLB soon. With a dearth of starting pitchers, will the club look to move a couple of other infielders to upgrade the rotation?
Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com says Olivera's timetable to hit the majors could be around three-to-four weeks. So, potentially, within a month, the Dodgers will have Olivera, Juan Uribe, Alex Guerrero and Justin Turner all capable of playing third base. These players could be used at other positions, but as of right now Don Mattingly's roster doesn't have much more room for mixing and matching.
Following Brandon McCarthy's Tommy John surgery and Hyun-jin Ryu's decision to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, the Dodgers have lost significant depth in their starting rotation and will need to address it, assuming the organization does not trust Carlos Frias and Mike Bolsinger to be reliable long-term options.
"Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman's preference is to work in the shadows, but he is making little effort to conceal the team's approach to this July's trade season: The Dodgers will turn over every leaf for a starting pitcher," writes Saxon.
Even though the Dodgers have one of the best pitching staffs in the MLB (their cumulative ERA ranks fourth and their starter's ERA ranks sixth), the club is probably concerned about its longevity for 2015 and beyond. McCarthy won't be back until at least mid-2016; it's unknown how long Ryu's recovery will take; Brandon Beachy's effectiveness once he returns from Tommy John surgery in the near future is unclear; Brett Anderson's injury history is nothing to be confident about; and there's a possibility Zack Greinke opts out of his contract following the season.
As a result, the rotation needs to be addressed and the obvious way to do that is to dig into their plethora of third base options, specifically Guerrero and Uribe because they likely have the most trade value.
"It's just not the most efficient allocation of resources, which is why Friedman and his team figure to dangle at least one or two of those players -- Guerrero will probably draw the most interest and Uribe is probably the most palatable to move -- as part of the push to land a starting pitcher," Saxon adds.
However, the Dodgers might be limited in terms of the caliber of starting pitching they can get in return for either of these players. Guerrero has a clause in his contract that allows him to opt out at the end of the season if he's traded to another club and Uribe will become a free agent after 2015, so both of these options are pretty much rentals.
Perhaps they could include some prospects in a deal to get an established starter that can make an immediate impact. Sources previously mentioned they expect the Dodgers to go after Cincinnati Reds starter Johnny Cueto.
At this point, anything can happen, but look for Friedman to clear up that logjam at third to add assets to the rotation before the trade deadline.
