The Los Angeles Dodgers are a great baseball team. They should be, given their plethora of superstars and the winning culture that's oozed out of the clubhouse for a better part of the last decade. The expectation in LA is to win and while the Dodgers have done a lot of winning over the years, one World Series title in 35 years doesn’t cut it.
This season more than ever, the Dodgers are supposed to win everything. Despite having MLB's most talented roster and a seven-game lead in a division they've dominated, the Dodgers are still searching for upgrades. The July 30 MLB trade deadline serves as the make-or-break point for LA to supplement the roster.
“For us, I don’t think our mentality is different than it’s been in previous years in that we feel we have a really good team and to the extent that we can add really good players we’re going to be aggressive to do so,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said, per Bill Plunkett.
The Dodgers need pitching and aren’t scraping the bottom of the barrel for it. LA is reportedly in on virtually every big-name pitcher on the trade market, including the electrifying Garrett Crochet of the Chicago White Sox.
Sources tell Sports Illustrated that the Dodgers are “heavily in” not only on Crochet but also White Sox outfielder Luis Robert Jr. Both players are expected to be dealt in the next 12 days.
The Dodgers would undoubtedly be seen as a “winner” of the deadline if they pull off a trade that lands them Crochet and Robert. They've swung blockbuster trades for multiple All-Stars in the past. The 2021 deadline trade for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner probably rings a bell.
The haul of prospects the Dodgers or any team would have to cough up for the White Sox pair is steep. The potential impact Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. can make in 2024 and beyond might prove worthy.
Crochet, Robert heating up as trade rumors intensify
While both players had solid track records entering the 2024 season, Crochet and Robert have turned things up in recent weeks. It's only adding to their already abundant asking prices.
Crochet was among the most intriguing names to follow in spring training as he transitioned from reliever to starter. Things did not begin smoothly as the 25-year-old carried a 5.97 ERA into May. Since then, Crochet has arguably been the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Crochet has a 1.62 ERA across his last 13 starts, averaging nearly eight strikeouts per outing while walking 14 total batters. Nine of those starts were quality starts with five of Crochet's six wins coming in that span.
The flame-throwing left-hander leads the majors with 150 strikeouts. His Baseball Savant page is filled with red numbers. He's an analytics nerd's dream and might be the perfect piece to add to the Dodgers rotation.
Injuries have hurt Robert's ability to flourish in the big leagues. He finally eclipsed 100 games last season, his fourth in the MLB, but missed two full months with a hip flexor strain this season.
A slow start paved the way for a hot stretch before the All-Star break. His resurgence started the last week of June, but in 12 July games, Robert has a .900 OPS and is hitting .318. He's recorded a hit, RBI or scored a run in 18 of his last 20 games.
Robert has flashed all five tools throughout his five-year career but hasn’t been able to put all of them together and reach his full potential. Putting on a Dodgers uniform could change that and they could use a boost in the outfield. Sticking Robert's elite glove in center field is one thing, but adding another potential 30-home run bat to LA's lineup seems unfair.
Dodgers preparing trade package
It probably makes more sense for the White Sox to deal Garrett Crochet and Luis Robert Jr. separately rather than as a duo. It'd be hard to blame Chicago if it said yes to a five or six-prospect proposal though, one that could help jump-start its rebuild.
The White Sox already reportedly declined a trade proposal from the Dodgers for Crochet. LA surely didn’t begin negotiations with their best offer though and sound intent on upping the ante to acquire the Cy Young Award candidate.
The Dodgers have long had a formidable farm system and consistently fall in the top 10 in MLB Pipeline's team rankings. They entered the 2024 season with the eighth-ranked prospect pool, although LA carries only two top 100 names following a midseason update.
The Dodgers have dug into their minor league rosters more often than they'd like this year. LA currently has 12 pitchers on the injured list and used 31 players on the mound in the first half. While they expect internal reinforcements over the next month, the Dodgers not only need healthy arms but reliable ones.
Garrett Crochet's workload needs to be managed in his first season as a starter. If the Dodgers acquire him, they'll likely want to have options to give Crochet a few extra days rest here and there to keep him fresh for October. If all are healthy, the Dodgers could roll out a playoff rotation of Crochet, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Clayton Kershaw.
Andrew Friedman has worked his magic on blockbuster trades but has had more prospect capital to deal with than he does this year. Still, the Dodgers have a multitude of young players with high upside that have already gotten a taste of the bigs or soon will.
The Dodgers are probably focused on Crochet, but bringing Robert with him would be nothing to scoff at. LA probably wouldn’t mind adding another prospect to the fold if it guarantees both White Sox players. The next two weeks will be fascinating to watch.
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