When you have your health you have everything.

Catchy phrase for marketers of health care products, prescription drugs, trainers, gyms, etc.

Or, in the case of the 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers, that phrase could be prophetically spot-on.

Think about it for a few minutes. Three weeks from today, August 2, 2022, is the trade deadline for this year’s Major League Baseball season. Rumors of deals have been floating through the blogosphere for weeks. Which teams will be sellers? Which teams will be buyers? What players might be available as rentals for teams on the cusp of the postseason tournament?

Do the Dodgers need a top of rotation starting pitcher? What about another closer for the bullpen? Another hitter for the bench?

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“He who has health, has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.” – Arabian proverb

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Does that not sum up the Dodgers trade deadline conundrum for 2022?

Consider the players currently on the Injured List (IL) who the Dodgers expect (hope?) to have for the dog days of summer and/or postseason:

• Starting pitchers: Right handers Walker Buehler and Dustin May; left hander Andrew Heaney
• Relievers: Right handers Tommy Kahnle and Blake Treinen; left handers Danny Duffy and Victor Gonzalez
• Position players: Lefty hitter Edwin Rios (1B, 3B, LF, DH) and righty Chris Taylor (outfield)

Return of those players to full health is the equivalent of three or four blockbuster trades without sacrificing even one of the team’s top prospects.

However, only the Dodgers know the health status and prognosis of their players on the IL. Expecting all to return 100% healthy may be wishful thinking, and there is always the possibility of other injuries.

Will the Dodgers play ‘Let’s Make a Deal’ before the 6:00 PM (ET), August 2 deadline?

Odds are good that Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman will at least tweak the current roster – and if the right deal presents itself there could be an unexpected blockbuster.

Which players may the Dodgers pursue? Which players and prospects would the team part with for the right return?

These are topics to be addressed over the next few weeks, but what do you think Dodgers fans? If you were the Dodgers decision-maker, which player(s) would you add to the roster, and who would you be willing to trade?

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