Dodgers looking at backup plan for Juan Soto ahead of trade deadline

The Los Angeles Dodgers are setting up a backup plan if they can’t trade for Juan Soto with their eyes on Cubs All-Star Ian Happ.

Juan Soto is the biggest fish on the market with the trade deadline coming up on Tuesday. The Dodgers are reportedly in on him, but so are the Padres and Cardinals.

Only one team can snag him from the Nationals, so second options have to be considered.

The Dodgers may have their backup plan in sight.

Dodgers looking at backup plan for Juan Soto ahead of MLB trade deadline

According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Los Angeles has “looked at Ian Happ, though as with the Padres that seems like a backup plan to Soto.”

Happ was an All-Star for the first time this season as a left fielder. He’s batted .279/.360/.436 with an OPS of .796 while hitting nine home runs, driving in 46 runs and stealing six bases. His defense has been steady while his offense has been on the rise.

The left fielder has been the subject of numerous trade rumors with the Cubs coming into the deadline as sellers once again.

Soto looks like a superstar but the cost and difficulty of getting him is also off the charts. If the Nationals aren’t willing to sell, or a team like the Padres or Cardinals put up a better offer, the Dodgers could do a lot worse than adding Happ.

That’s not to say Happ is the target if LA can’t add Soto to their stacked lineup. The Dodgers appear to be spinning several plates at several positions as they look to strengthen their World Series pursuit.

It should be a busy Tuesday for the boys in blue.