Even though public perception states otherwise, the Los Angeles Dodgers own one of the better bullpens in Major League Baseball, statistically speaking. Joe Blanton, Louis Coleman and Adam Liberatore have been pleasant surprises, while Kenley Jansen again ranks as one of the game’s elite closers.
Nonetheless, there are some concerns over the group’s usage, and the bullpen is one area the Dodgers are said to be in search of an upgrade prior to Monday’s non-waiver trade deadline. The likelihood of the Dodgers trading for a premier reliever was seemingly diminished by the Chicago Cubs sending a large haul to the New York Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman.
The market regressed to the mean a bit on Saturday with the Washington Nationals sending Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for closer Mark Melancon.
That may work in the Dodgers favor as they are among the clubs who are aggressively searching for a reliever on the final weekend before the non-waiver trade deadline, per ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick:
#Indians, #Nationals, #SFGiants, #Mets, #Pirates, #STLCards and #Dodgers are most aggressive teams in bullpen market, says one exec.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 30, 2016
Los Angeles reportedly is intrigued by Yankees reliever Andrew Miller, though it’s unclear if the southpaw is truly available. More recently, the Dodgers were tied to Kansas City Royals closer Wade Davis.
However, the Dodgers aren’t believed to be interested in Ian Kennedy, whom the Royals are attempting to package with Davis. The Dodgers’ bullpen owns a 3.07 ERA that ranks third-best in the Majors entering play on Saturday.
Their .202 batting average against, .276 opponents’ on-base percentage and .337 slugging are all tops in baseball.
