The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone, and though a record 30 transactions took place on July 31, it was a relatively dull day for the Los Angeles Dodgers and many other teams.
The Dodgers were involved on a number of fronts, exploring the possibility of adding an elite reliever to their bullpen and perhaps another ace to the starting rotation. However, the club wound up only improving on the fringes, adding Jedd Gyorko to the bench and a left-handed specialist in Adam Kolarek.
Despite not making a blockbuster acquisition, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is still confident in his club’s chances of winning the World Series this season. “The thing about our club is, we know internally we have what it takes to win a championship, and that’s never been debated,” he said.
“If there’s an opportunity that we line up with a team that can move the needle, we’re open to it. That didn’t happen, and it doesn’t affect what I thought before the deadline. I feel the same exact way: I love our club.
“The big fish, or whoever, a lot of those guys didn’t move. It just shows the value those teams placed on those players. We’re very happy with where we’re at right now.”
There was understandably some disappointment within the fanbase that the Dodgers couldn’t pull off a major trade, but Roberts reiterated his confidence in the front office. “To be honest with you, I didn’t take part in a whole lot of what was out and around,” he said.
“I knew once the deadline had passed, what we did and what we didn’t do. That’s as much as I dug into it. I’d like to think our fans can support whatever the organization does. I think we’ve done some pretty good things.”
The Dodgers were strongly linked to Felipe Vazquez in their efforts to add an elite left-hander to the bullpen, but the Pittsburgh Pirates wouldn’t budge off their high asking price.
Pittsburgh reportedly sought one of Gavin Lux or Dustin May on top of Keibert Ruiz in any trade involving Vazquez — a price L.A. wasn’t comfortable in meeting.
Roberts is nevertheless happy the Dodgers were able to hold onto their top prospects. “I’m very excited about keeping all those guys,” he said. “They’re all very good baseball players, high-IQ players and they’re very good men. To hold onto those guys, I’m very excited about.
“We’ve had a lot of discussions; Andrew and I, the front office, over the years I think the one thing we’ve been very consistent about is being responsible in our dealings with other teams.
“It’s easy to look back and be emotional about what didn’t happen, but I think you can look back at the players we held onto that have impacted our teams the last few years. I have full confidence in what our guys are doing. That’s not only the best for this year to win a championship but years going forward. That’s our job as an organization.”
While Vazquez would’ve surely boosted the bullpen, the Dodgers are already reaping the benefits of May. He was excellent in Wednesday’s start over the St. Louis Cardinals, yielding just one run on five hits over 5.2 innings pitched.
Lux, on the other hand, was just named Pacific Coast League Player of the Month for July and continues putting up video-game like numbers at the plate.
The only blockbuster trade to come to fruition before the 1 p.m. PT deadline this year was the Houston Astros’ acquisition of Zack Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander being on the move came as a surprise, as he was hardly mentioned in any trade rumors.
On the flip side, other big-name players that were expected to be traded ultimately stayed put with their current organization. The list extends to San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner, Vazquez and New York Mets co-ace Noah Syndergaard.
