Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays face the trade deadline with urgent needs to boost their playoff chances.
- The Dodgers could address bullpen instability and infield depth with rentals from Boston, but risks remain with aging pitchers.
- The Rays, known for frugality, might need to break from routine and pursue a key bat to compete in the AL East this season.
Typically, the lead-up to the trade deadline is among the most exciting periods of any given MLB season.
Once you remember that the Los Angeles Dodgers still have holes to fill, that enthusiasm might understandably just slightly diminish.
The Dodgers and their $300 million-plus budget are widely expected to be active this deadline, as are the penny-pinching Tampa Bay Rays. Shohei Ohtani and the Dodgers already have a commanding eight-game NL West lead, while the Rays would be the AL’s top Wild Card seed if the postseason began tomorrow.
Ahead of this week’s series in Chavez Ravine, let’s look at how both clubs can upgrade this summer.
For this list, I’ve identified trade candidates for each team that would constitute a “blockbuster” move.
As always, we only list players who could realistically be on the move within the coming weeks. Slo, no, the Dodgers will not be adding Bobby Witt Jr. ...
… At least, we assume they won’t. Anything is feasible when the Dodgers are involved.
Dodgers must target: Aroldis Chapman and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Boston Red Sox
The rich get richer, especially with MLB in potentially its final pre-salary cap season. Might as well spend the money when finances aren’t an issue.
Chapman continues proving that last year’s historic season wasn’t a fluke, and he’s expected to be among the marquee relievers available this deadline. We’ve previously suggested the Dodgers are a perfect fit for Kiner-Falefa, the reliable utility man capable of playing across the infield.
For as loaded as the Dodgers are, the lack of ninth-inning stability gives me pause. Edwin Díaz is slowly working his way back from an elbow injury, with the Dodgers projecting that he’ll start throwing bullpen sessions soon. But “32-year-old” and “elbow injury” sometimes translates to “grave danger.”
Both Chapman and Kiner-Falefa are rentals, and neither has a no-trade clause. A bullpen featuring Chapman, Tanner Scott, and a healthy Díaz could be bad news for the rest of the National League.
Rays must target: Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs
The Cubs trading Happ wouldn’t necessarily mean that they’re sellers. He’s a pending free agent on a team hovering around .500, and it behooves the Cubs to at least consider maximizing Happ’s value before he potentially leaves this winter.
We typically don’t see the Rays make these kinds of moves, so this would be completely uncharacteristic. The Rays are the type of team that would do Tommy John surgery on a living room couch just to save a nickel.
But if the Rays are serious about keeping up with the Yankees and finally winning an AL East title, it’s time to break from routine. Enough of the penny pinching and hoping that an overreliance on analytics and luck is enough to make a legitimate playoff run.
No one is asking the Rays to give Happ a contract averaging $30 million per year come the offseason. If you’re Tampa Bay’s baseball office, you need to be thinking solely about now. Take the risk and run wild with it.
Otherwise, I don’t want to hear how a salary floor would be bad for baseball. Every title contender should look at the market each July and ask themselves how they can upgrade. We’ve said it before: all is forgiven and accepted if the end result is a championship.
What trades do you believe the Dodgers and Rays should make this offseason? Let us know in the comments.
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