3 hours ago
3
PHILADELPHIA – Dave Roberts understood that what he was about to say would sound crazy.
He still said it.
“I could almost argue that we’re sellers more than buyers,” Roberts told The California Post.
The Dodgers have a chance to win their third consecutive World Series championship.
They’re down multiple players.
They could theoretically strike deals before the Aug. 3 trade deadline for players such as Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan or Mason Miller.
And Roberts is talking about the Dodgers being sellers?
Well, yeah.
“Personally, I don’t see any glaring needs,” Roberts said. “I really don’t.”
The uncertainty that emerged in recent days didn’t change that.
Not the indefinite break Shohei Ohtani is taking from pitching. Not the still-unclear timeline for catcher Will Smith’s return.
“Our expectation is that Will is going to be back,” Roberts said.
And if Smith doesn’t come back, the Dodgers are prepared to go into the playoffs with Dalton Rushing as their starting catcher. Rushing has been the Dodgers’ primary backstop over the six-plus weeks Smith has missed with an inflamed disc in his neck.
“Obviously, we feel good with Dalton,” Roberts said.
Which isn’t to say the Dodgers won’t engage other teams. They could reinforce the periphery of their roster. They could pick up a backup catcher. They could trade for a reliever. Or, maybe, just maybe, they could even find a starting pitcher or catcher at a bargain price they couldn’t refuse.
“I think we’re always kicking the tires,” Roberts said.
Just don’t expect a big move.
Don’t expect Skubal to walk through the clubhouse doors anytime soon.
Before the Dodgers opened their three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, Ohtani long-tossed and played catch in the outfield at Citizens Bank Park.
Just as he did the day before at Yankee Stadium between the two games of a doubleheader.
While Roberts said he still didn’t know when Ohtani might return to the rotation, he said the two-way player would throw a bullpen session later this week.
Roberts clarified something about Ohtani’s problematic left knee: Its condition hasn’t worsened. It just hasn’t improved.
“Because it’s not gotten better, the All-Star break, the Orthovisc shot, not pitching him, all that stuff is trying to give us the best chance for him to be out of the woods entirely,” Roberts said.
Ohtani’s absence from the rotation leaves Yoshinobu Yamamoto as the only active member of the playoff rotation last year.
Blake Snell just started pitching in minor-league games on a rehabilitation assignment.
Tyler Glasnow is throwing bullpen sessions.
If any of the Big Four can’t pitch in the playoffs for any reason, the Dodgers could replace the unavailable starter with an opener. In that scenario, someone like Justin Wrobleski or Roki Sasaki could pitch the first two or three innings, with the bullpen taking down the remaining innings.
The bullpen, which has been one of the team’s greatest strengths, is on the verge of reintegrating closer Edwin Diaz.
Diaz could return this weekend for a series against his former team, the New York Mets, at his former home stadium, Citi Field.
“You talk about all the guys that we’re going to have coming back in the next few weeks, those are huge trade-deadline acquisitions,” Roberts said.
But what if the players they are counting on to return never make it back?
“There are certainties and there are uncertainties, and you have to make a bet,” Roberts said. “I do know that the deadline is Aug. 3. So we have time to get as much information, you see what you got at that point in time, and then you have to make a decision.”
With the information the Dodgers have now, the verdict appears to be to stay put.
Which is what the team planned.
This season was always expected to be a wait for October, an uneventful spring-training camp leading to an uneventful regular season that included an uneventful trade deadline.
English (US)