Dodgers: Rotation Arms They Should Start Looking at

Justin Verlander

The Dodgers had actually approached the Detriot Tigers about Justin Verlander during the offseason, but talks didn’t go very far. Verlander is by far the most accomplished on this list, racking up six All-Star appearances along with the 2011 AL CY Young and MVP awards. He also has two second place finishes and one third place finish in CY Young voting. In fact, he probably should have won his second CY Young last season (just ask Kate Upton), as he finished with the most first-place votes in the AL voting and had better numbers across the board than the actual winner Rick Porcello.

He finished with a 3.04 ERA, 1.001 WHIP, and 254 strikeouts in 227.2 innings. He has continued his mini-resurgence after having a down year back in 2015.

However, the 34-year old is the kind of player that the front office would avoid trading for because of his age and money. He is due $106 million through 2020, and that is a lot of dough to shell out for a pitcher approaching his mid-30s.

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Surprisingly though, he hasn’t lost too much velocity off his fastball. He’s actually throwing harder now than he did back in 2014, while his slider’s velocity has increased over the past few seasons. He looks like a guy who can give you a couple more quality seasons before his eventual decline.

Verlander also has a good amount of postseason experience with 98.1 innings thrown. In those innings he has a 3.39 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, and 112 strikeouts, and with a team whose goal is the World Series, these numbers would be welcomed.

The Dodger starters have struggled to go deep into games (regular season and postseason) since the start of 2016, but Verlander would give them a second legitimate workhorse who’d give the bullpen a much-needed rest when it’s his turn to take the mound.

Next: The Bullpen Anchor

It goes without saying, however, that this deal only happens if the Tigers are out of postseason contention and finally decide to sell away their aging core.