Dodgers Rumors: Pitching trade targets the Dodgers should consider
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Dodgers 2017 campaign has been an up and down ride. Despite the pitching staff thriving, recent Dodgers rumors entail of acquiring new arms.
The pitching staff for the Dodgers has been absolutely phenomenal, that is without question. Thus far the boys in blue rank first in pitching WAR, first in ERA, and first in WHIP; all courtesy of FanGraphs. Yet, despite this success, the most recent Dodgers rumors are entailing that Los Angeles’ front office may be looking to add improvements in the rotation before the Trade Deadline.
Despite juggling multiple stints on the DL and having to work with a seven-man rotation at times, the Dodgers pitching staff has exceeded expectations.
Clayton Kershaw is, well, Clayton Kershaw. Alex Wood has been unhittable, resembling the performance the Dodgers received from Zack Greinke in 2015. Brandon McCarthy has been great, with only a few bumps in the road. The bullpen has been absolutely stellar, and Julio Urias gave the team some good innings in his big league stint this season.
However, it is the bottom three in the rotation that is leaving question marks. Rich Hill, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Kenta Maeda have all shown signs of greatness; but have been far too inconsistent. Both Ryu and Maeda started the season on a sour note, but both have thrown decent since.
Hill, on the other hand, seems to be battling more than the batters in the box. He is constantly in a tug of war game with his left fingers, which seem far too susceptible for blisters.
Overall, perhaps the Dodgers do need one more solid arm in the rotation if they want to make a World Series push. While their current rotation definitely can get them to October, they need one more impact arm to push them beyond their playoff competitors.