The first significant domino fell on Thursday with the San Diego Padres trading All-Star pitcher Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for Anderson Espinoza. Several pitchers figure to be on the move prior to the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.
Although the Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitching staff is in better shape now than it was for much of the season, they’re presumed to be among the clubs interested in acquiring a starting pitcher. The Dodgers were said to have Atlanta’s Julio Teheran and Oakland’s Sonny Gray on their radar, along with Tampa Bay reliever Erasmo Ramirez.
More recently, Los Angeles was linked to Rays starters Chris Archer and Matt Moore. The Dodgers in the interim addressed their pitching need by acquiring Bud Norris from the Braves in a five-player trade at the end of June.
But according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation, the Dodgers are among the several teams who are checking in on Rays starting pitchers:
Rays hold a lot of power on this trade market. Teams inquiring on their SPs, per sources: CHC, TEX, LAD, PIT, NYY, HOU, TOR, BAL, DET.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) July 15, 2016
The Dodgers were among the teams who had scouts at Friday’s game to watch Archer, per Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times:
#Rangers had 2 scouts there also; #Dodgers and #Marlins represented as well https://t.co/92YLHbfkNq
— Marc Topkin (@TBTimes_Rays) July 16, 2016
Tampa Bay owns worst record in the American League East by a wide margin and in position to reset their clock by trading away some of their valuable chips. Archer of course is the marquee name, though a deal for the right-hander may prove difficult given his down year but still strong overall value.
That would particularly apply to the Dodgers who have yet to part ways with the caliber of prospects a trade for Archer presumably would require.
