Few things can derail the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are chugging right along at the top of the National League West. But the starting pitching injuries are something to monitor.
Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow have both hit the injured list since the season began, while Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw still haven't thrown a pitch in the regular season.
It says a lot that the Dodgers still have one of the strongest rotations in the league without those names, but it's also not foolproof. Behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has been absolutely spectacular, there are plenty of question marks.
One insider believes the Dodgers should erase those question marks by making a bold play for perhaps the top starting pitcher who might be available at this year's trade deadline.
On Monday, FanSided's Robert Murray urged the Dodgers to go "all-in" on trading for Pablo López of the Minnesota Twins, while naming the Chicago Cubs as the other major threat to make a play for the 2023 All-Star.
"The Dodgers’ fit (is) obvious," Murray wrote. "They love star players. They have learned in recent years that you can never have enough starting pitching."
"Injuries happen over the course of a 162-game season — and that has been the case with Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell both being on the Injured List despite the team sitting atop the NL West at 23-11."
The 29-year-old López is a proven workhorse and despite a brief hamstring injury this season, he's been excellent in 2025. With a 2.25 ERA, 26 strikeouts and only four walks through five starts, he's establishing his trade value in a big way.
López's four-year, $73.5 million contract runs through 2027, so he also wouldn't just be a rental for LA. But that means whatever price they'd have to pay to get him would be a bit more significant than they paid for Jack Flaherty, a rental, last season.
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