The Los Angeles Dodgers don’t have too many problems in life. They’re the defending World Series champions and are tied with the New York Mets for the best record in the National League as of May 19.
Most teams would kill to be in the Dodgers’ situation, but the one thing going against Los Angeles is health, or lack thereof.
The Dodgers are dealing with an alarming number of injuries, especially to their pitching staff. The starting rotation is without big names like Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, and Roki Sasaki, while the bullpen is missing key relievers like Kirby Yates, Evan Phillips, and Blake Treinen.
Los Angeles has enough depth in its starting rotation to survive these injuries, but the bullpen doesn’t have as many in-house options.
As is the case seemingly every year, the Dodgers will be buyers at the trade deadline, and beefing up the bullpen should be their main focus.
St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley is expected to be available this summer, and he would be a perfect solution to the Dodgers’ bullpen woes.
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Helsley is one of the top closers in baseball. The two-time All-Star led the majors in saves last season with 49 and has an ERA of 2.14 since 2022.
The Dodgers have plenty of young players they can offer, but they wouldn’t need to unload the farm system since Helsley will be a free agent after this season. An offer centered around James Outman and some prospects could be enough to get the deal done.
Aside from just needing reinforcements, the Dodgers also need more relievers they can depend on. The Dodgers rank in the bottom half of the majors with a bullpen ERA of 3.90, so trading for Helsley would improve the quality and quantity of the bullpen.
The Dodgers don’t have too many weaknesses to address, but adding a trustworthy arm like Helsley to an underwhelming bullpen would make Los Angeles even tougher to take down in October.
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