Los Angeles Dodgers: Three moves to make at the deadline

The MLB trade deadline is fast approaching and like past years, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a prime position to make some moves.

When you’ve had the best record in all of Major League Baseball for months like the Los Angeles Dodgers have, it can be easy to think that all is well in Dodgers Land.

Entering their Friday night matchup against the Washington Nationals the Dodgers were coming off being swept by the Los Angeles Angels for the second time this season, they were 7-7 in their last 14 games and had committed 19 errors in their last 12 games.

The Dodgers won the contest on a late home run by Justin Turner but were also burned by yet another error by Turner at third base.

With the trade deadline approaching, the Los Angeles Dodgers not only have room for improvement, but I dare say they need to make necessary moves or else suffer some more October disappointment.

Middle Infield

Those 19 errors have fallen mostly on the infield, especially the guys up the middle. Corey Seager, Max Muncy and Enrique Hernandez have managed to make 11 of the 19 errors the team has committed.

Errors mean extra outs and put a strain on the Dodgers pitchers; the Dodgers could address this by bringing up their top prospect Gavin Lux. The 21-year-old middle infielder has torn up Triple-A so far hitting .479 with 29 runs batted in over 22 games.

Instead of seeking a trade partner for some fielding, the Dodger may need to bring up Lux allowing them to get an injection of some young talent to help with one of their flaws.

Add Another Starter

When you have three starters like Clayton Kershaw, Walker Beuhler and Hyun Jin-Ryu anchoring a pitching staff, asking to bring in another starter seems like overkill at this point. But another starter could push back end rotation guys like Ross Stripling and Kenta Maeda into the struggling bullpen.

Easier said than done, the Dodgers do have an avenue to get another starter in the rotation. Call the New York Mets, they are looking to move on from Noah Syndergaard while looking to keep Zach Wheeler and 2018 Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom.

Syndergaard is cost-controlled through 2021 and despite struggling this year with a 4.33 ERA, he is still a top starter who may just need a change of scenery.

A 2.42 ERA and 36 strikeouts over 26 innings in the playoffs means his stuff still translates in October, and the Mets may be in a rebuild mode at this point.

The Bullpen Sucks

I’m not going to sugarcoat this one, the Dodgers bullpen not only isn’t championship caliber it downright sucks. The Dodgers are third in the NL with 19 blown saves and are below league average with a 60 percent save percentage, post the All-Star break the Dodgers bullpen blew four of the first eight games played.

It’s time to address the Dodgers biggest flaw, the front office needs to use their collective brainpower. Prospects be damned, the Dodgers need a left-handed specialist and probably someone who can take over when Kenley Jansen falters.

If the Dodgers nibble around the edges and try to shore this up with peripheral moves and dilapidated has-beens like in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 (are you sensing the pattern), then the forget a parade in October and wonder again what might have been.