Dodgers increasingly likely to target pitching help at deadline

The Dodgers were off tonight, a chance for a reset after a disastrous series that saw them swept by their archrivals. The Giants pulled past Los Angeles in the process, knocking L.A. to third place in the NL West and to the final spot in the Wild Card picture.

That rather pedestrian place in the standings and a solid but not exceptional 39-33 record represents unfamiliar territory for the Dodgers. Los Angeles has won the division in nine of the past ten years and has placed in the top two every season since 2011. There’s obviously time to turn things around, but team executives acknowledged the pitching staff hasn’t been up to par.

The Dodgers have a 4.66 team ERA that ranked 25th in MLB entering play Monday. The rotation is middle-of-the-pack with a 4.38 mark, but the bullpen is one of only two in the majors (the A’s being the other) allowing more than five earned runs per nine innings.

“We have not pitched well. There’s really no sugar-coating it,” pitching coach Mark Prior told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). Both Prior and president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman expressed confidence in the staff to bounce back. Still, the front office leader acknowledged to Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic that the mounting struggles could impact the team’s trade deadline priorities.

“In spring training, I did not expect that in July we would aggressively be looking for pitching,” Friedman told Ardaya. “With the injuries and where we are, I think that focus has shifted. There’s no question that (pursuing pitching) is more likely than it was in March.”

Of course, there’s still plenty of time for teams’ focuses to change. Six weeks remain before the August 1 deadline. Notable trade activity tends not to take place until a few weeks into July. Friedman conceded the market isn’t likely to accelerate for a while yet.

By mid-July, the Dodgers should at least have a little more clarity on the status of the rotation. Julio Urías has been sidelined for a month with a hamstring strain. Skipper Dave Roberts said over the weekend he’s likely to be back around the beginning of July. Rookies Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan are each trying to cement themselves in the starting five. Miller has a 2.83 ERA with a 24.6% strikeout rate through five starts; Sheehan threw six no-hit innings in his MLB debut over the weekend. Those are impressive numbers but they’re each very early in their careers.

Noah Syndergaard signed a $13M free agent deal to add veteran stability for a rotation that was likely to welcome young arms like Miller, Sheehan and Gavin Stone throughout the year. Syndergaard has instead been rocked for a 7.16 ERA in 12 starts and is on the IL with blister issues. Ryan Pepiot has yet to make his season debut after a Spring Training oblique strain.

The starting pitching trade market has yet to really come into focus. With the White Sox and Cardinals underwhelming, impending free agents Lucas Giolito, Jordan Montgomery and Jack Flaherty could become available. Neither Chicago nor St. Louis is ready to punt on the season at this point, however. That’s also true of the Cubs with Marcus Stroman, who has a $21M player option for next year.

The Tigers could listen to offers on Eduardo Rodriguez, but his ability to opt out of the final three years and $49M on his contract at season’s end makes him a complicated trade candidate. Apparent sellers like the Royals, A’s, Rockies and Nationals don’t have much in the way of productive veteran starters to market.

There are some clearer trade candidates on the bullpen front. Kansas City is all but assured to deal Aroldis Chapman and seems likely to entertain offers on Scott Barlow. Controllable relievers on the Tigers and Nationals (i.e. Hunter Harvey, Alex Lange, Jason Foley and Kyle Finnegan) have already drawn some attention. Colorado could deal veteran lefty Brad Hand amidst a resurgent season. The White Sox can market rentals Reynaldo López and Keynan Middleton.

Even with Daniel Hudson expected back at the end of the month, the Dodgers seem certain to eventually add late-inning help. Evan Phillips has been lights-out, while Brusdar Graterol is getting a ton of grounders to offset a middling strikeout rate. Caleb Ferguson has been a quietly strong option from the left side. The rest of the relief corps has generally struggled to prevent runs aside from Shelby Miller, whose 2.40 ERA will be hard to maintain unless he gets his 15% walk rate in check.