Los Angeles Dodgers rumors: Team still looking for pitching help
By Hayden Kane
The Los Angeles Dodgers boast a frightening top-three in their starting rotation. Clayton Kershaw is the best pitcher on the planet and Zack Greinke and Hyun-Jin Ryu are capable of shutting down their opponents on any given night.
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Even with that being the case, however, the Dodgers believe that they still need pitching help. They are worried about the status of veteran starter Josh Beckett and they still see some holes in the bullpen.
General manager Ned Colletti confirmed that the not only Dodgers are still looking to add a pitcher, but a specific pitcher at that (from the Los Angeles Times):
"“There’s another pitcher out there we’re trying to get,” Colletti said."
Please let it be Bartolo Colon, please let it be Bartolo Colon…
In actuality, it sounds like Colletti is eyeing a long reliever/spot starter in addition to help in the back of the bullpen:
"Colletti also said he would continue to search for additional back-end starters and late-inning relievers."
The Dodgers have publicly stated that they do not want to surrender any top prospects in a trade. That will keep them from making any especially splashy deals, meaning that potential trades would be more along the lines of the one just made for Roberto Hernandez.
Another option for the Dodgers would be to find a team that wants to dump a pitcher’s salary. The most famous example of that type of relief pitcher would be Jonathan Papelbon, but that type of deal is unlikely. It will be interesting to see what options the Dodgers have and how they choose to pursue them.