Andrew Friedman, president of the baseball division of the Los Angeles Dodgers, said openly in a recent interview with local media that “a starting trade may be considered.”메이저놀이터
He did, of course, on the premise that he would do his best to resolve the previous problem. Coordination of internal players and utilization of internal resources are a priority. However, looking at the recent situation of the Dodgers, the prospect that they will eventually snoop in the trade market is convincing. Everyone is sick, everyone has bad grades. But the team performance is good. We can’t give up on the season, and it’s a condition where we can challenge to win the World Series again, and we need a new player to do that.
As of the 29th (Korean time), the Dodgers are 32-22 (.593), leading the National League West Division. Even though the team has been devalued, saying that its power has weakened, the team shows off its potential and is praised as ‘as expected of the Dodgers’. Even if you look at the entire National League, it is a battle for first place with Atlanta. The problem is that the mound is unstable. It certainly doesn’t show the structure of the last 2-3 years.
The Dodgers’ team ERA in 2022 was 2.80, the best among the 30 major league teams. The starting ERA was 2.75, which was also the first in the major leagues, and the bullpen was 2.87, second only to Houston (2.80). Things are different this year. The team’s ERA is 4.50, which is 22nd in the league.
The bullpen ERA was 4.59, falling to 24th in the league, and the starting ERA was 4.44, which also rose significantly compared to last year. It is a major anxiety factor for the Dodgers that the most important starting rotation in a long-term race is shaken. The Dodgers know better than anyone else that they cannot challenge for the World Series with this kind of record.
Walker Buehler, who underwent elbow surgery, is still far away from returning, and Julio Urias (4.39 ERA), who was expected to be an ace, is embarrassingly sluggish. Dustin May (2.63), who threw relatively well, left due to an elbow injury. I won’t be in the rotation for a while. Tony Gonsolin (1.82) and Clayton Kershaw (3.32) are throwing well, but Noah Syndergaard (6.27), who signed a one-year contract this year, is not so good that he has to worry about the starting rotation itself.
▲ If Dylan Seaz comes to the trade market, it is expected to attract great interest from the major leagues.
▲ Shane Bieber, who is making a name for himself as a solid starting pitcher, will be eligible for free agency after the 2024 season.
While the performance of the newly emerged pitchers is also inconsistent, John Heyman, a columnist for the ‘New York Post’ and a major league representative, predicted that players from the Central Division of the American League and National League could appear in the starting trade market. In fact, if the Dodgers decide to run again this year and bring in starting pitchers to sustain them in the second half, there’s a chance something could blow up in this Central Region.
There are many big names. Dylan Siege (28, Chicago White Sox), who finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting last year, and Lucas Giolito (29, Chicago White Sox), who will qualify as a free agent after this season, is also a Cy Young Award winner and is expected to play next season. Corbin Burns (29, Milwaukee), Shane Bieber (28, Cleveland), and Eduardo Rodriguez (30, Detroit), who made a rebound this year, are players that Heyman expected to come to the trade market.
The Chicago White Sox are having a season that is below expectations again this year, and it is expected that they will sell key players and start building a new frame. Putting Siege on the trade market isn’t easy to imagine right now, but if it does, it could garner interest from multiple teams. He’s a bit sluggish this year, but he’s a player with a solid pitch. Last year, he won 14 wins in 32 games, and after the 2025 season, he won FA status, so he has plenty of service time. Instead, the downside is that the spending on prospective stocks will be large.
If so, Giolito of the same team, which will not be spending much on prospects as he is not far from free agency, can be an alternative. Giolito may not be the league’s leading pitcher, but he still has a good image when he throws well. Since it is a half-season rental here, the burden is not that great. Rodriguez, who has been making a surprise performance this year, has a contract until 2026 and receives an annual salary of $ 15.4 million. He is a player worth considering if you take a long-term perspective.
▲ Lucas Giolito, who has half a year left on his contract, can be a short-term alternative.
Bieber, the 2020 American League Cy Young Award winner, is one of the league’s few pitchers who consistently performs well. He’s also putting up decent numbers this year, going 4-3 with a 3.04 earned run average in 11 games. Burns, the 2021 National League Cy Young Award winner who had a big fight with Milwaukee at the time of salary adjustment last year, came out of sluggishness at the beginning of this season. Milwaukee also doesn’t have the money to get Burns and can put it on the trade block like they did Josh Hader (San Diego).
For the Dodgers, several considerations are needed in the starting trade. This is because after this season, Urias obtains FA status and is aiming to recruit Ohtani Shohei (29‧LA Angels). We have to think about everything from team circumstances, financial calculations, and ways to utilize young pitchers. If Burns and Bieber are recruited, they will have to spend a year and a half, and in order to do so, the leakage of the team’s cherished prospect is inevitable. I am curious about the Dodgers’ calculation method.