The Los Angeles Dodgers should be expected to make a big move at the 2025 trade deadline, because they’re the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Even though this Dodgers team on paper is one of the most impressive collections of talent ever assembled, they’ve still proven to have flaws. Their outfield has been a rotating cast of characters, though the return of Teoscar Hernández should help provide stability.
If the Dodgers are going to go after help in the outfield at this deadline, it may make sense to find a platoon partner for Michael Conforto in left field. Conforto is batting .168 so far in 45 games, so even if he keeps his job for the rest of the year, he shouldn’t be facing tough lefties.
Perhaps that means the Dodgers should go after the right-handed hitting outfielder who had the most impactful at-bat against the lefty American League Cy Young winner from last season’s playoff run.
In a recent article, Jason Fray of Dodgers Nation named Cleveland Guardians outfielder Lane Thomas, who sent his team to the ALCS last year with a grand slam off the Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal, as a potential trade target for LA.
“Cleveland is notorious in not spending a ton of money. Depending on who you ask, the thought of re-signing Thomas to a multi-year deal might not sound all that appetizing from the Guardians’ standpoint,” Fray wrote.
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“Cleveland is right in the hunt for a playoff spot, and figures to be highly competitive in trying to win the AL Central. At the same time, without Thomas, they’ve played very well. If he continues to flounder, could the Dodgers poach him with the hopes that a new situation with different instructions may unlock something in his case?”
Thomas, 29, has batted .156 in 45 at-bats this year and is currently on the injured list with a wrist issue. But he’s a notorious slow starter at this point, so there’s reason to believe he could heat back up and reach his career norm (104 OPS+ range).
Most importantly, the Dodgers would be trading for Thomas to play a very specific role–mashing against lefties, which a handful of players succeed at doing after struggling in full-time duties. He’s on a $7.8 million salary this season and will be a free agent this winter.
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