By Jordan Long
The Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline is a week away. The L.A. Dodgers are looking to bolster the starting rotation. They are interested in Texas Rangers’ pitcher Yu Darvish.
The Dodgers have the top record in all of baseball at 68-31. The Dodgers know it is a decent start but in October is where they want to play their best. Pitching has been outstanding for them with a combined ERA of 3.17, which leads Major League Baseball.
The Dodgers have two pitchers who have been terrific so far this year, Alex Wood and Clayton Kershaw. Wood is 10-1 with a 2.30 ERA. He hasn’t left the ball up in the zone for home runs with a total of only 4 given up. Wood is able to strike out batters with a total of 101.
Kershaw is a Cy Young candidate. He has an ERA of 2.04 and has a record of 15-2. The 15 wins lead all of Major League Baseball. He is now going to be placed on the disabled list due to a back injury and there is no timetable for his return. Kershaw was taken out of yesterday’s start after 2 innings. The problem with Kershaw is he can’t ever win the big games in October. The Dodgers made the playoffs 6 times with him. His record is 4-7 with an ERA of 4.55.
If the Dodgers want to make noise in the playoffs and a run at the World Series, they need to trade for Yu Darvish. Darvish is in his 5th year in the Majors all with the Texas Rangers. In those years he has gone 52-38 with an era of 3.32. This season Darvish is 6-8 with an era of 3.44. His record isn’t the best but Darvish won’t give up many walks and strikes out batters with 43 walks and 143 strikeouts.
The Dodgers don’t have other starting pitchers on this team after Kershaw and Wood to make a deep run to the playoffs. Adding Darvish would add depth to the pitching staff. He could come in and be the second pitcher behind Kershaw. If Kershaw is hurt, Darvish can be the ace of the staff.
The Dodgers must pick up the phone and call the Texas Rangers. They need pitching help and Darvish is the answer. If they don’t make the trade for Darvish it might be another disappointing postseason without a World Series appearance.
What do you think of the possibility of the L.A. Dodgers trading for Yu Darvish?
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