The Los Angeles Dodgers have plenty of star starting pitchers, but not all of them have shown they can stay healthy. That could force the Dodgers to make a trade.
Last season, injuries to Tyler Glasnow, Clayton Kershaw and Yoshinobu Yamamoto forced the Dodgers to trade for Jack Flaherty, a pending free agent. This season, they have already seen Glasnow, Snell and Rōki Sasaki go on the injured list. While the Dodgers expect all three back, and Shohei Ohtani to pitch at some point, their rotation has shown it cannot be relied on to stay healthy.
If the Dodgers’ rotation is not healthy by the July 31 trade deadline, they could dip their hand in the starting pitcher market. CBS Sports’ R.J. Anderson tabbed Andrew Heaney of the Pittsburgh Pirates as a potential target for the Dodgers.
“Heaney’s season is a Rorschach test for how one evaluates pitchers,” wrote Anderson. “On the one hand, he’s done a good job of keeping runs off the board with his west-east approach. On the other hand, his strikeout rate has cratered by two batters per nine innings compared to last season. Teams are more likely to concern themselves with the second part of that matter, which is notable given they already viewed him with skepticism (he had to settle this offseason for a one-year pact worth just over $5 million). Even so, there’s only so much starting pitching to go around. Heaney is a tolerable back-end option, particularly in the right environment.”
Unlike last year, the Dodgers do not seemingly need a frontline starter, at least not yet. Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been great, Ohtani is getting closer to returning, and they do expect Sasaki, Snell and Glasnow back. However, Heaney would be a great arm to have in the backend of the rotation and as insurance against more injuries.
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Heaney will be a free agent after the season and has been good for the Pirates so far. He has a 3.41 ERA in 11 starts. The Pirates are headed for a rebuild, and while Heaney is not the pitcher everyone wants from the Pirates, he is still capable of helping a contender. The Dodgers may be able to get Heaney without trading away an elite prospect as well.
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