We can all marvel at the regular season spectacle that is Shohei Ohtani's first year in Hollywood, but the truth is that for the Los Angeles Dodgers, nothing matters at all until October. Fifteen years of excellence has led to only one championship and when all you're after is trophies, you have to jump at every opportunity to improve your roster.
That's why even in spite of their billion-dollar offseason, the Dodgers can be expected to stay hyperactive on the trade market this summer, and with good reason. The bottom half of their order has struggled all year, they haven't been as rock-solid in the bullpen as they might like and they lack overall team speed.
In other words, the Dodgers have a great roster on paper, but it can still be more well-rounded. Having star power is great, but LA can look for some role players and spark plugs between now and July that might just make the difference between World Series glory and another embarrassing early exit.
Acquire Rays OF Randy Arozarena
This would be too perfect on too many levels. It was rumored Randy Arozarena might be included in the deal that sent Tyler Glasnow to the Dodgers in the offseason before L.A. eventually settled on Manuel Margot, who didn't even stay through Spring Training. Meanwhile, the Dodgers are struggling in the outfield, they love veteran reclamation projects and Arozarena thrives in October, a reputation he earned during the 2020 season that featured a Dodgers-Rays World Series.
Make no mistake, this is now a reclamation project. Arozarena has been unrecognizable from the player he has historically been in 2024. He's bottom-five in OPS, bottom-10 in strikeouts, and can't hit off-speed pitches to save his life. But he's also a change-of-scenery candidate if there ever was one and going from the anonymity of Tropicana Field to the spotlights of Dodger Stadium would be the ultimate fresh start. If there's any player you trust not to shy away from the big stage, it's Arozarena.
Meanwhile, the Rays have already had success in trading for Dodgers prospects Ryan Pepiot and Jonny DeLuca and could likely be convinced to pass up on the final two years of Arozarena for the chance to take a crack at some of the top farmhands in the Dodgers' system. Nick Frasso and River Ryan are right-handed arms that could be in the big leagues by this summer, while Diego Cartaya would address the Rays' need at catcher. All three are among L.A.'s top seven prospects and could easily be on the table in this deal.
Acquire Red Sox RP Kenley Jansen
Again, we're doing the most Dodgers things possible and a reunion with an old friend is always near the top of the Dodgers' to-do list. Kenley Jansen is already the Dodgers' all-time saves leader and it's well-documented that he's jaded by the Red Sox' failure to treat the 2024 season with urgency. He's itching to play postseason baseball and if there's any place he can be certain to get the opportunity, it's with the team that has won 11 of the last 12 NL West division titles.
And you wouldn't know it from the reactions of Red Sox fans to his presence on the mound, but Jansen is having a pretty Jansen-like year. He's got a 3.06 ERA to pair with a 2.40 FIP and has converted nine of 10 save opportunities, even if he's made some of them more anxiety-inducing than Bostonians might have preferred. He's arrived at the age where he could show up on any given day and throw 89 mph and 96 in the same inning, but that's all part of the fun!
From Boston's perspective, the best move is to eat as much of Jansen's $16 million contract as possible. They probably aren't getting the biggest-name prospects in return anyway since Jansen is a rental, but allowing the Dodgers to save on payroll might well up the value of the prospect package. Pitchers Payton Martin and Ronan Kopp, the Dodgers' ninth and 16th-ranked prospects, might be some of the names in consideration.
Acquire Mets OF Harrison Bader
While perhaps not the flashiest addition, players like Harrison Bader power championship runs every season. The Dodgers wouldn't be asking him to do much with the bat and in every other facet of the game, he's an elite ballplayer. Whether it's as a late-innings defensive replacement, pinch-runner, or spot starter against a lefty pitcher, it's easy to envision Bader coming up with a signature postseason moment in Chavez Ravine.
And let's not scoff at Bader's bat, which has netted him a 104 OPS+ so far this season. Plus, he's historically been much better against left-handed pitching and it's been the inverse so far this season, with his OPS nearly 170 points higher against righties. If he figures out lefties again, his bat could tick even further upward. And with five outs above average in center field, Bader is once again among the best fielders in the game. That, more than anything, is what the Dodgers crave in the wake of James Outman's demotion.
With the way the Mets' season has been going, they might as well skip right ahead to being sellers. And while choosing whether or not to trade Pete Alonso is a huge conundrum, letting go of rentals like Bader and J.D. Martinez is as obvious as can be. Start the asking price at No. 8 prospect Thayron Liranzo and see what L.A. says. And a player like Bader is sure to have a number of suitors so that certainly helps in negotiations.
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