Dodgers Proven Winners Post Trade Deadline

Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

There were no deals for Cole Hammels nor David Price.  Jon Lester landed bay-side in Oakland.  And, all was quiet on the Los Angeles Dodgers front.

Yes, the Dodgers have bullpen woes that rear their ugly heads.  Yes the Dodgers also have concerns to shore up a reliable back-end starter in case the descent of Dan Haren continues.  And, yes, the Los Angeles Dodgers have 2 outfielders too many, and currently 2 who have been disappointingly unproductive considering their vast fortunes in salary.  However, the Los Angeles Dodgers are 3.5 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants, whom they recently swept in a 3 game series.  And, are freshly off of a sweep of the Atlanta Braves as well.

The Dodgers….are in good shape.  Furthermore, making them winners of the trade deadline.

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Dodgers Way

Ned Colletti made the right decision in refusing to mortgage the future of the Dodgers in their farm system for potential rental starters of which they would absorb more salary.  Truth be told, the Dodgers front 4 of Kershaw, Greinke, Beckett, and Ryu are 5th best in the majors, as well as 3rd in ERA and 5th in earned runs.  Only 2 teams currently competing, Washington and St. Louis, compete with majority of the Dodgers team pitching stats.  Thus, while pitching help is and will be heavily coveted to assist the Dodgers down the stretch, there’s still more than enough to compete among the elite in order to not compromise the franchise’s future.

Then there’s the Matt Kemp factor.  Teams simply wanted too much from the Dodgers in trading Kemp.  Most offers asked to include Pederson or Seager as well as for the Dodgers to eat most of the remaining portion of Kemp’s deal.  Either way, simply just not good enough for Colletti to pull the trigger on long-term.  Matt Kemp slugging 3 home runs and hitting a game winning single in his last 3 games has largely validated reasoning not to be so quick to give up on Beast Mode.

“There was no trade where I was thinking, `Wow, we should have done that.’ Cost on the prospect side exceeded where we saw as the value.”-Ned Colletti

Colletti fully believes in the idea that his top 3 prospects, Joc Pederson, Julio Urias, and Corey Seager, will not only be major leaguers, but star players that will be major contributors for the Dodgers for years to come.

Although the Dodgers seemingly take a risk upon not landing a high-caliber starter to further build an all-star cast rotation such as Oakland or Detroit, the Dodgers still have enough talent to suffice.  During a 6 game winning streak, the revival of Matt Kemp has begun, quickly dispelling his trade rumors.  As the Dodgers turn the corner after the all-star break, we await Carl Crawford ,Hanley Ramirez, and Adrian Gonzalez to heat back up.  Fortunately for the Dodgers, they have the luxury of having that patience as the pitching talent, Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, and Dee Gordon carry the franchise.

In the meantime, the Dodgers have nearly all of August to acquire help in the pen, on the back of the rotation, and in the field (hopefully at catcher), through waivers. The perception may be that the Dodgers were “afraid” to go in for the kill to rule the National League.  However, the Dodgers are simply playing it smart as their team has already proven that they are among the elite.  The Dodgers have sent 2 consecutive first place teams into a decline.  They have the most dominant pitcher in major league baseball.  And, Matt Kemp is starting to turn back into a dominant player in his own right, leading the Dodgers into having 2 of the most dominant outfielders in the game.

Ned Colletti made the right decision.  Believing in this Dodger team is paying its dividends.  Only minor tweaks need be made at this point.  The Dodgers did not have to cough up high potential prospects or star players in order to land a star pitcher.  Which may definitely aid the Dodgers as ultimate winners in the long-run once the waiver wire begins.