Dodgers' deadline priority? Orioles exposed? Rangers reinforcements? 5 burning MLB questions
The Dodgers are the hottest, if not the best, team in the National League. But their glaring roster needs could make them very aggressive before the trade deadline. The Giants went all-in this offseason, only to find themselves below .500 and on the outside looking in at a wild-card spot.
The Orioles just snapped their longest losing streak in two years. The Rangers followed up their four-game winning streak with a four-game losing streak. The Brewers and Cubs are in opposite positions from what many expected when Craig Counsell left Milwaukee for Chicago last winter.
These six teams make up this week's FOX Saturday Baseball lineup, as the Brewers host the Cubs (4:10 p.m. ET on FS1), the Giants host the Dodgers (7:15 p.m. ET on FOX) and the Orioles host the Rangers (7:15 p.m. ET on FOX).
Accordingly, FOX Sports MLB experts Rowan Kavner and Deesha Thosar tackle these topics and more in this week's roundtable.
1. Which should be the higher priority addition for the Dodgers at the trade deadline: a premier bat or arm?
Kavner: This one's interesting because I do think they need to and will add a bat, and that should be a high priority, but it doesn't need to be a top-tier piece. Now, that might be different if there were elite shortstops available, but that's simply not the case. Miguel Rojas is hitting better right now than the options that appear to be available. With a volatile bottom half of the order, they just need someone to lengthen the lineup.
If the question is strictly about premier options, the answer is probably an arm. The Dodgers possess starting pitching depth, and Tyler Glasnow looks like one of the top Cy Young contenders, but questions linger at the top of the rotation as they look toward October. Namely, how comfortable do they feel right now with their options behind Glasnow in a playoff series?
Glasnow's already approaching his career high in innings. Gavin Stone has been terrific, but the rookie has never pitched in the postseason. Yoshinobu Yamamoto's on the shelf with a shoulder issue. Clayton Kershaw will be coming off shoulder surgery. Bobby Miller hasn't looked like his usual self since returning from his own shoulder issue. Neither has Walker Buehler in his return from Tommy John surgery. James Paxton has an impressive ERA but struggled to miss bats for much of the year, an elite skill in October. If Yamamoto comes back and looks the way he did, or if Miller or Buehler turn a corner, or if Kershaw returns in his usual form, the Dodgers should be fine with what they have. But if none of those "ifs" turn out well, another frontline starter would alleviate any concern.
Thosar: Premier bat, please. Outside of Teoscar Hernández (18 HR, 127 OPS+), the Dodgers' outfield bats are lethargic. Los Angeles' left fielders have a combined 88 OPS+, good for 24th in MLB, and Dodgers center fielders are even worse at the plate, combining to sport a 67 OPS+ that's ranked 28th in MLB. The Dodgers are too good, with the brightest of outlooks, to have production this poor from center field. I mean, the left-swinging center fielder Jazz Chisholm is right there for the taking. Chisholm needs to be rescued from a 28-win Marlins team that was so pumped to be sellers that they dealt Luis Arráez to the Padres as early as May 4. Chisholm is Miami's next obvious candidate to be on the trading block, and he's an excellent possibility to flourish under good coaching and high expectations.
It would be a mistake for the Dodgers to stand pat with their current outfield alignment, and it shouldn't cost them that much prospect capital to trade for someone like Chisholm, or even White Sox center fielder Luis Robert Jr. The point being: The Dodgers should make another splash. They already have experience in that department after spending over a billion dollars on free-agent signings. Why not keep it going?
2. Should the Giants be looking to buy or sell? Who's the best player on their roster that you would dangle, or which position would you try to fortify first?
Thosar: Since the Giants are in a crowded NL wild-card race, they should take their chances and fight for a playoff spot, not only because anything can happen with three months left in the season, but also because going for it is their modus operandi this year, so they shouldn't change the game plan now. The only trouble with that plan is, San Francisco would have to give up its prized prospects to land a big fish, particularly for the rotation.
If the Giants were to give up top prospects for starting pitching help, that would mean they also feel good about their chances for a deep playoff run. As things currently stand, the Giants need a better idea of their roster strength overall before they can declare themselves true playoff contenders, versus candidates for the NL wild-card spot. In the end, this Giants team has injured pitchers returning and plenty of room for improvement all around, so as of right now, the club seems like a good candidate to hold at the deadline.
Kavner: While it's still a bit too early to say, the Giants didn't bring in Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jung-Hoo Lee, Jorge Soler and Jordan Hicks to give up. Unless the Giants' season turns demonstrably away from .500, one way or the other, I'd expect a relatively tame deadline ahead and some sort of "our deadline additions were Robbie Ray, Alex Cobb, Snell and Kyle Harrison" type quote from Farhan Zaidi. I don't think they'll be the team making another huge splash.
At the same time, if they're at all still in the mix a month from now — which I'd expect, given how mid the NL is right now — I wouldn't expect more than some modest selling. If they went that route, which would still surprise me, I could see them making Michael Conforto available. The player options on Chapman and Snell complicate the trade value of their most alluring rentals. If they wanted to add on the fringes, which seems like the more likely route, a middle infield addition (Luis Rengifo? Paul DeJong reunion?) could make sense. They're still trying to prove this endeavor works, and they can look at the rotation pieces they're expected to get back in the second half to try to convince themselves better days are ahead.
3. Did the Orioles' recent losing streak expose any potentially serious flaws?
Kavner: It's no mystery here: The team could use more starting pitching. Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and John Means are all done for the year. From last Friday to Wednesday, a stretch in which the Orioles went 1-5, their rotation had a 6.68 ERA. Corbin Burnes has given Baltimore what it hoped for, Grayson Rodriguez has been mostly very good and Dean Kremer is now on the mend, but there's no question they could use another piece to feel better about their chances in October.
Thosar: The only thing this losing streak exposed about the Orioles was that they have a hard time capitalizing on the opportunities that the Yankees had been giving them. The Yankees, first place in the AL East, have lost four consecutive series and essentially begged Baltimore to go ahead and take the division crown, no matter how fleeting that standing would be in June. But the Orioles went through their rough patch at around the same time as New York navigated a challenging schedule that exposed its flaws.
As for the Orioles, their losing streak was eyebrow-raising, but it was pretty routine in the big picture of the long baseball season. Baltimore just ran into two hot teams, the Astros and Guardians, with a loftier challenge to silence those lineups. For now, there's no reason for the O's to worry. They're a lock for the playoffs, and with support on the way via the trade deadline, there is no sense in hitting the panic button for an all-around excellent club.
4. With star rookie prospect Wyatt Langford appearing to settle in, should the Rangers simply bank on their veterans to make this a formidable offense again or do they need reinforcements to make a real playoff push?
Thosar: Reinforcements wouldn't hurt, especially from the defending World Series champions who should presumably have the luxury of going for it in back-to-back years. But, more than that, I'm expecting this Rangers offense to return to what we saw from the lineup last year down the stretch. The biggest X-factor for the lineup is undoubtedly Adolis García, who is steadily improving over the small sample of the past month but still doesn't resemble the ALCS MVP winner we saw last October. There's no telling when Texas' veteran lineup will bounce back, but those players have earned a little breathing room and trust that they will, eventually, turn it around. It was a good move to promote outfielder Derek Hill from Triple-A to the big league squad, because the Rangers seem in need of a shake-up to the roster, if only to remind themselves of what they're capable of. Plus, a little young and hungry energy never hurts.
Kavner: I think they can still make a push with the pieces in place, but they're a bit confounding, and another impact bat certainly wouldn't hurt their effort. With all the injuries to the rotation, it's not a huge surprise they've had an unremarkable first half. It is a surprise that the reason for their struggles is an anemic offense, considering how many players have returned from last year's powerhouse championship group. The Rangers' inability to slug is especially perplexing considering they had the third-highest slugging percentage in the sport last season and routinely mashed homers throughout their postseason run.
Their middle infield is set. At third base, they have to wait for Josh Jung's return from injury, which is taking a bit longer than expected. Josh Smith helps alleviate that absence. One of the biggest issues has been Adolis Garcia's regression after his incredible end to the 2023 season, but they have to let him figure things out in right field. As you mentioned, Langford is finally starting to get hot in left, which could be huge. They should get Evan Carter back in the outfield later this year, though they could certainly add more help in center, where Leody Taveras hasn't given them much offensively.
Since they don't have a set designated hitter right now, they can afford to add another power threat without worrying too much about the position he plays. When healthy, the best version of their team probably has Langford at DH, but he has performed well with his opportunities in left. A first base/DH type makes sense considering Nathaniel Lowe has three home runs this year, tied for the second fewest of any first baseman with at least 200 plate appearances this season. Maybe they can get into the Brent Rooker conversation? Where they are right now, it's hard to see them surrendering the prospects necessary to go all in for a season-altering piece like a Pete Alonso or Vlad Guerrero Jr., but it wouldn't surprise me to see them make a more economical move for a home run threat.
5. Do you think Craig Counsell has any regret over leaving the Brewers for the Cubs?
Kavner: It can't feel great to see the team he left holding a double-digit lead over his Cubs, and I'm sure it's weird for the Wisconsin native, who has coached and won more games than any manager in Brewers history, to feel the disdain from his scorned hometown fans. But he has 40 million reasons to feel good about his decision. I doubt he regrets his choice, despite the Cubs' tailspin. It seemed like he was ready for a different challenge, and, well, now the highest-paid manager in the sport has a big one on his hands. The Cubs will give him time to figure it out.
Thosar: The manager is always the first one to blame for any losing team in the majors, let alone one like the Cubs with such a monumental and controversial hire after snatching him away from a division rival. But when things are going well, the manager suddenly looks like a hero. It's the Cubs' roster and the front office that put it together that should be under scrutiny — Counsell's curious late-game management notwithstanding. The Cubs offense was expected to perform better than this, and the bullpen has blown opportunities. At the same time, Counsell might have expected some of this backlash from Chicago's fan base when he signed that lucrative managerial contract. With big money comes big expectations, and right now the Cubs look like they're going nowhere fast.
Rowan Kavner is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. He previously covered the L.A. Dodgers, LA Clippers and Dallas Cowboys. An LSU grad, Rowan was born in California, grew up in Texas, then moved back to the West Coast in 2014. Follow him on Twitter at @RowanKavner.
Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.
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