The Los Angeles Dodgers already have a surplus of capable starters. However, that may not stop them from adding a breakout starter to make their rotation even better.
The Dodgers have Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Rōki Sasaki, Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw as capable starters. However, injuries could arise, putting the Dodgers in a similar situation to last year when they acquired Jack Flaherty. Snell is already on the injured list, Glasnow left a start with cramps and Gonsolin, Ohtani and Kershaw still have to make their debuts this year.
Newsweek’s Zach Pressnell proposed this trade between the Dodgers and Cincinnati Reds to bring Andrew Abbott to Los Angeles:
- Dodgers receive: left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott
- Reds receive: catcher/outfielder Dalton Rushing, outfielder Eduardo Quintero and left-handed pitcher Justin Wrobleski
“Abbott is a potential ace who’s already proved to be a solid innings-eater,” wrote Pressnell. “He’s under team control for quite a long time. The Dodgers could add him to the roster as a consistent piece of an injury-plagued rotation for the next few years.”
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Abbott is more of a luxury than a need for the Dodgers. However, the Dodgers are not an organization that is going to risk their season on Landon Knack, Bobby Miller or River Ryan stepping up in the case of an injury. The Dodgers will already have to make tough decisions in the rotation when Ohtani and Kershaw are ready to pitch.
The Dodgers may have to move a player like May or Gonsolin to the bullpen as it is. Adding Abbott would further complicate things. However, the reality is that the Dodgers pitchers have proven to be injury-prone. Yamamoto missed a significant amount of time last year and Glasnow missed the postseason. Kershaw and Ohtani are recovering from offseason procedures as well.
Abbott has a 1.64 ERA this season in two starts. Even if the Dodgers’ rotation is healthy, they may prefer Abbott to one of their current starters. The most likely scenario is that the Dodgers would make a trade like this if they had a slew of injuries, but Abbott could be a staple of their rotation for years to come.
Despite how good the Dodgers’ rotation is, Abbott would surely be able to make it even better. Acquiring Abbott could also free up the Dodgers to deal one of their other starters for an outfielder.
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