With less than a week remaining before the MLB trade deadline at 1 p.m. PT on Friday, plenty of eyes are on the Los Angeles Dodgers amid an expectation they will address their pitching staff.
The Dodgers’ most pressing need would appear to lie in their starting rotation, though president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently indicated the club is open bolstering the bullpen as well.
Friedman also expressed confidence in the Dodgers having enough prospects and talent throughout the organization to complete a trade before the deadline.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB.com, the Dodgers are among the teams discussing a potential José Berríos trade with the Minnesota Twins:
Sources: #Twins discussing José Berríos in trade talks with multiple teams, including #Padres and #Dodgers. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 26, 2021
The right-hander is in his sixth season with the Twins and remains under team control through next year via salary arbitration.
With Minnesota well below .500 and in last place of the American League Central, they are believed to be among the sellers at the trade deadline this season. It was previously reported the Twins are seeking position players who can play up the middle, which the Dodgers would appear capable of providing.
Nevertheless, there have been conflicting reports on whether the Twins are willing to part with Berríos, who they selected in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
Berríos is 7-5 with a 3.48 ERA, 3.56 FIP and 1.04 WHIP in 20 starts this season. In addition to a career-best ERA, the 27-year-old also holds a 25.7% strikeout rate this year, his highest mark in the Majors.
Where would Berríos fit on Dodgers?
Should the Dodgers manage to complete a trade for Berríos, he likely would slot third or fourth into their starting rotation.
For a potential postseason series, that would afford L.A. the luxury of potentially moving Tony Gonsolin or David Price into the bullpen, where they both began the 2021 campaign.
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