May 29th, 2019 at 9:15 am 
by 0799291000348 Just over two months ago, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association agreed on a change that almost everyone endorsed; the elimination of the August waiver trade period. For all intents and purposes, the July 31 trade deadline is now a legit “deadline” with the Baseball Commissioner (presently Rob Manfred) empowered to veto any transaction that attempts to circumvent the spirit of the agreement.*
(Photo credit – Lynne Sladky)
The days of players like Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Justin Verlander, Josh Donaldson, Larry Walker, et al. changing teams in August are over, at least until the next MLB Collective Bargaining Agreement is negotiated in December 2021.
So how will the July 31 deadline effect the 2019 Dodgers trade plans? Barring any other significant injury(ies) (e.g. A.J. Pollock), the team will undoubtedly concentrate on improving the bull pen. As Sarah Morris pointed out in her May 23, 2019 ThinkBlue LA article, the bullpen has been the Dodgers Achilles’ heel this season. The recent news that Tony Cingrani’s rehab assignment was shutdown due to his continuing left (throwing) shoulder soreness only intensifies the issue. Notwithstanding the Dodgers win-loss record to date (36-19), the bullpen is the area of concern that must be addressed sooner than later.
The competition for quality bullpen pitchers is always fierce amongst teams competing for post-season births, but the trade dynamic has been significantly altered this season with sellers and buyers alike under more pressure to consummate deals before the deadline. The Dodgers are well positioned with its depth of minor league talent, perhaps even a player or two from the active roster, to acquire a couple of bullpen difference makers.
The Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, San Francisco Giants, and Toronto Blue Jays are already open-for-business, ready to deal now whatever talent they may have in preparation for future seasons. If the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers are not already listening to trade inquiries, it is likely that they will be in short order.
Who might the Dodgers target? Blue Jays Ken Giles? The Reds Raisel Iglesias? Pirates Felipe Vazquez (Riverio)? Rays Ryne Stanek? Royals Jake Diekman? Giants Will Smith? Mariners Brandon Brennan? There are others. So who do you want in the Dodgers bullpen, and at what cost?
* For a detailed explanation of the MLB trade period, read “Understanding the New Trade Deadline Rules” by Jeff Todd on MLB Trade Rumors.
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Bummed to hear that Cingrani’s not gonna answer the bell this season for the Dodgers, but it was a longshot at this point for him anyway. As for who the Dodgers should target for the pen at the deadline, Vasquez is NUMERO UNO on my list. Won’t come cheap, but he’s worth it considering his current age and recent track record. You also mentioned Stanek and he’d be a nice addition, but I’m not sure the Rays will part with him when they’re starting to feel like an actual contender of late (much like Oakland last year). Diekman’s also on my short list and I was actually hoping the Dodgers would snag him last season for their playoff run. He could definitely be had right now with the Royals on their way to full rebuild mode.
Other names that should be considered are: Reds’ Amir Garrett (my 2nd favorite behind Vasquez, legit under-the-radar type right there), Rangers’ Jose Leclerc (having a slow start to the season, but his stuff’s still electric and his current age is also ideal), and the Mets’ Edwin Diaz (they gotta fall out of contention first, though).
Otherwise, better off rolling with Urias, Baez, and Jansen for the time being…
Top notch points! I like Vazquez too, LH’er helps considering Ferguson’s struggles, Cingrani, and Alexander more of a middle reliever. I think the Dodgers will include Stripling in a trade for a quality reliever like Vazquez, or Iglesias — Stanek as well, but it would likely be a larger trade with both teams adding other pieces. Ken Giles has been outstanding for Toronto this season, is only 28, and under team control through 2020.
this bull pen is not going to change much, if at all. the two largest liabilities, kelly and yimi, are not going to be moved. with yimi out of options the dodgers appear unwilling to give up on him, perhaps anticipating a baez type growth spurt but only after similar years of disappointment(?) and kelly? what can be said? he’s going to have to figure it out, because he’s not going anywhere.
last night was odd; yimi came in to start the inning but didnt start his warm ups until there was less than 40 seconds on the 2 minute clock, floro only threw a handful of pitches before being called in. as for alexander, people have been noting for weeks that he is not getting his pitches down and have been alluding to a hip impingement but nothing is being done about it. the two pitches he threw last night were both well up in the zone.
side note, i hate when doc pulls a pitcher after a one and done walk. especially when the computer shows strikes called as balls because he doesn’t give a pitcher a chance to find the umpires K zone. often the follow up pitcher has the same issue and compounds our problems.
has anybody else noticed that JT has not been “JT like” at 3rd?
Your crystal ball may be much better than mine, but I look for Dodgers bull pen to be upgraded before August. I think there is better than 50/50 chance that Jansen will opt out of his contract after this season and become a free agent, so adding a pitcher with closer experience would be good for team now, and future. I think Yimi could be included in a trade package.
dont forget we still have Chargois, may, gonsolin, santana and white in our system so help may be a phone call away. everybody is going to have the occasional poor outing but it’s sure hard to watch when several of them do it on the same day. dont expect the FO to go after that big name because they rarely do. how many of us were excited when we landed watson, congrani, morrow, madson, or axford? they tend to go after the under, or off, the radar guy that they think they can fix or improve. sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.
Correct, there are some intriguing arms in the minors, but none with late inning ML experience. With Jansen’s uneven performance over the last twelve months, plus no clear-cut setup man, or backup closer, I think the Dodgers will acquire a more experienced, late-inning pitcher. Gonsolin has been on the IL for several weeks, Chargois and Santana did not impress this season, and as good as Dustin May appears to be, I don’t think the Dodgers will trust late inning assignments to an untried, young rookie. One possibility, Dodgers move Maeda to the bull pen in August
look, i hope you’re correct but experience trumps emotion. dont forget that they gave high pressure innings to an untried kid (urias) against washington and they gave game 163 to WB. last nite yimi and alexander were clean while petey and the kid got slapped around. what i see a lot, and its been talked about a bit, is the pitching staff not agreeing with the pitch selection. obviously KJ has been more vocal about it. we sit behind the plate and see them shaking off the calls. i think there needs to be a sit down with the nerds and the pen. either the pen has to buy in to the research or the nerds have to buy into pitcher confidence. clearly we have an issue.
I noticed something off about Alexander too regarding his inability to get his power sinker over his last few outings. If it is indeed a hip problem, then shame on the Dodgers for not noticing it in time. I thought that was the very reason the IL was created in the first place, lol! Another thing I didn’t like about Roberts’ bullpen management last night: WHERE WAS URIAS!?!?!? Game deadlocked going into the 7th with Hill done for the night, THAT was the guy I was expecting Roberts to roll with right then and there! Career low-leverage arms like Garcia and Floro are not gonna cut it in that situation, whereas Urias (who was well-rested and capable of going more than an inning if need be) CLEARLY has the eye of the tiger and would almost certainly kept the Dodgers in it long enough for them to possibly pull out a win.
That said, STILL need to go bullpen shopping at the deadline. Like I said before, Vasquez should be their No. 1 target. You’re not just getting a proven high-leverage arm for the postseason push, but a likely successor to Jansen in that closer role beyond this year…
Manuel, Robert’s mis management of the BP is part of the issue, but these BP meltdowns have been going on for quite awhile this year. It simply appears that Dodgers are using these same BP arms over and over expecting better results and those results just may not get any better until actual up grading of the BP has begun. Consider this I posted on another blog:
Folks, if you recall back at the end of the 1993 season when Jody Reed spent that year as the Dodger 2dn baseman and Jose Offerman was the SS, Jody left the team after that and in that year, Offerman showed he was truly lacking defensively and Reed had a hard time with him as a DP partner. At that year’s end he told Fred Claire and FO that Dodgers WILL NOT win with the SS they have. Spring forward to this year, 2019, and I, along with most here I believe will agree that the Dodgers WILL NOT win (go deep into PS and get to WS) with the BP this team now has. Case closed!
Upper level management NEED to be replaced if they don’t improve bullpen. That has been the problem for years owners need to do something we fans deserve better. Have been a fan all my life 61 years