The Los Angeles Dodgers are again in search of starting pitchers before this year’s MLB trade deadline. However, a notable MLB insider says their approach in 2024 will be very different than it was in 2023.
The Dodgers enter the second half with a sizable seven-game lead in the National League West. As well as one of the best records in all of baseball. However, the team is in an arms race with the league-leading Philadelphia Phillies to create the most formidable roster possible for the playoffs.
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Unsurprisingly, the team has been connected to several players ahead of the July 30 trade deadline. Including Chicago White Sox ace Garrett Crochet and his Detroit Tigers counterpart Tarik Skubal. The front office’s approach to the deadline this year is not different from what it was last year. Get more pitching.
However, ESPN MLB reporter Alden Gonzalez revealed that the Dodgers’ strategy to bolster the staff in 2024 will be different than a year ago.
“The same Dodgers team that traded for Tyler Glasnow, signed Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and brought back Clayton Kershaw in the offseason is expected to be among the most aggressive teams in pursuit of high-end starting pitching this month,” Gonzalez wrote. “They’re expected to chase only frontline starters, though — not rotation fillers, like they essentially got last year while trading for Lance Lynn.
“If they can’t get that type of arm, they’ll probably shift their focus to the bullpen. It’s why Crochet makes a ton of sense for them, regardless of whether or not he’s a starter, for the rest of the year.”
Since LA is a serious title contender in 2024, the front office must believe that only big pieces in the staff will make the group better for the postseason. Furthermore, they were swept in the division series last year. Proving the 2023 strategy was not a fruitful one.
