The Dodgers are in a good position to make key trade deadline acquisitions without having to overpay. A piece in the Athletic by Will Sammon, Patrick Mooney and Ken Rosenthal details how the National League is in a collective holding pattern entering the final two weeks of June because so many teams are still theoretically in the playoff hunt. That may keep some teams from making deals until the last minute. While Los Angeles should be aggressive adding pieces at the deadline, they have the roster depth necessary to wait it out.
Injuries to shortstop Mookie Betts and starting pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler have put increased the already lingering urgency for LA to make a move. However, the return of Bobby Miller to the starting rotation and Clayton Kershaw's impending return should give the Dodgers some flexibility on the mound. Miguel Rojas has also acquitted himself well at shortstop while Shohei Ohtani has been good in the leadoff spot.
There's a move or two to be made that could really solidify the Dodgers as the National League's top contender for a World Series, but making such a move in the middle-to-end of June would create an overpay they won't need to make in late July when some teams fall out of playoff contention.
Another NL executive estimated that the cost of acquiring Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo, for example, would be doubled at the beginning of June as compared to a deal at the end of July. At this point, in mid-June, the premium would be 1.5 times the price compared to the deadline, multiple executives said. So if a team zeros in on Luzardo, then the Marlins will call other teams to drive up the price for those extra Luzardo starts.
How the Cubs perform over the next month-plus will influence which prospects from a top-rated farm system might go in deals, and how much additional money ownership is willing to kick in for a playoff push. Across the industry, the third wild card is a major incentive to stay in the race.
Luzardo is the example here, and certainly a player the Dodgers will have an eye on at the deadline, but this likely goes for any team that finds itself as a seller by July 30.
The Dodgers still need to see how the recoveries play out for Yamamoto and Buehler. They'll also need to see if Miller and Kershaw can provide some punch in the rotation. Betts' recovery will also be a key cog in the Dodgers' deadline moves. LA might look to add an All-Star type of player if Betts' hand looks like it isn't healing properly and could jeopardize his chances to play in the postseason.
There are still a ton of dominoes to fall before trades start rolling in. Players not available now may come available by late July, and players that cost a ton in a trade in June may be available at a more reasonable rate come deadline time. The good news for LA is they can afford to wait this out. They have to make a move, they just don't have to make it until the action really begins closer to July 30.
