The Los Angeles Dodgers usually control the Major League Baseball trade deadline. Will they set the market for starting pitching this season?
Coming off a World Series championship, the Dodgers thought they had a chance to form a baseball dynasty. They're still among the favorites for a repeat title, but they've dealt with far more injuries than even the most pessimistic projections could have foreseen.
With Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, and Tony Gonsolin all added to the injured list since the start of the season, the Dodgers just need innings. They've still got as much high-end talent as anyone, but they'd do well to find a bulk arm to help them through the second half.
Will the St. Louis Cardinals sell at the deadline? If so, one baseball insider believes the Dodgers could find the reliable innings-eater they need.
National baseball reporter Jake Mintz of Yahoo Sports recently named Cardinals right-hander Erick Fedde, who is in the final season of a two-year, $15 million contract, as a top trade candidate for the Dodgers this summer.
"The Dodgers currently have one and a half reliable playoff starters: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Dustin May when the wind is right. Their pitching infirmary currently has 16 patients if you include the still rehabbing pitching version of Shohei Ohtani," Mintz wrote.
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"This injury barrage is even worse than the one L.A. overcame last season to win the World Series. Right now, they need to acquire at least one playoff starter, maybe two, depending on how much faith they have in Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell's recovery timeline."
Fedde, 32, owns a 3.54 ERA in 15 starts this season. He's only struck out 55 batters in 84 innings, but opposing batters are slugging just .350 against him. Soft contact plays, even against the best hitters in the world.
If the Cardinals trade anyone, it will be Fedde. He's a rental on a cheap contract and should net a decent prospect haul. And the Dodgers typically have good odds of getting their man when they set their mind to it.
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