The Diamondbacks’ division rival in Los Angeles is seeking a high-impact arm to bolster their starting rotation at the deadline, according to this report from Fabian Ardaya from The Athletic.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“(We’re) certainly looking for impact-type players,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes told Ardaya. “We think our team right now is really good, especially once we get back to full strength. Targeting starting pitching, but it’s going to be an impact-type arm.”
While the Dodgers are in excellent shape to win their 12th National League West division title in the last 13 years, their starting rotation is a major concern for their ability to advance in the postseason. In each of the past two seasons, they’ve been beaten by a division opponent in the National League Division Series, with Arizona sweeping them out of the postseason last year.
The Dodgers have been linked to two possible left-handers, the Tigers’ Tarik Skubal and the White Sox’s Garrett Crochet. The Tigers have shown no willingness to move Skubal unless they get a godfather offer for one of the top pitchers in the game. The White Sox have shown a willingness to move Crochet, who is controllable through the 2026 season.
ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez reported on June 20 that the Crochet is at the top of the Dodgers’ wishlist at the deadline. This comes on the heels of a Bob Nightengale report that Los Angeles’ offer to the White Sox was quickly rejected. Nightengale noted, “The White Sox have informed teams they are seeking young prospects with enormous upside.”
It makes sense for the Dodgers to target the left-hander, who leads all qualified starting pitchers with a 35.2% strikeout rate. Crochet averages 97 MPH on his fastball aggressively in the zone, with a cutter and a sweeper to attack the glove side of the plate, and a changeup to the arm-side. He’s still relatively untested as a starter, previously used as a reliever while batting elbow issues, but he has looked good in his first year back in the rotation.
Injuries have had a major impact on the Dodgers’ rotation. They just got back Clayton Kershaw, who was recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, and Tyler Glasnow, who spent a short time on the injured list with a back issue. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, their prized free agent signing, has been out since June 15 with a right triceps strain but is hoping to be back before the postseason. They’ve had to rely a lot on youngsters Landon Knack and Gavin Stone this season. With the rotation healthier, they’ve designated left-hander James Paxton for assignment and plan to trade him.
Los Angeles is not the only NL West team in pursuit of the Chicago left-hander’s services. The San Diego Padres’ interest in the left-hander has been known since June 4, when Dennis Lin and Ken Rosenthal on The Athletic both collaborated on that report.
With the deadline coming up in less than a week, it will be interesting to see which pitchers get moved at the trade deadline. Should the Dodgers be able to land a controllable arm with top-of-the-rotation upside, that makes the Diamondbacks’ chances of getting into the postseason even harder with four games left to play against Los Angeles on August 29-September 1. Arizona currently leads the season series 5-4.
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Michael McDermott covers the Arizona Diamondbacks, Arizona Cardinals, and more for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on X via @MichaelMcDMLB
