Dodgers: Making a Case for the Top Three Starters to Be in Blue

Sonny Gray

Gray as a pitcher is the complete opposite of Darvish and Verlander. While Verlander and Darvish rely more on their power, Gray relies on changing speeds and spotting the ball. With that said he may be the best pitcher right now out of the bunch.

He is the pitcher that has the most years left at 27 years old, and if the Dodgers were to trade for him, it wouldn’t be just for now but for the future as well. Because of his rookie contract and age, he might be the most expensive player to get. Gray is 6-5 with a 3.43 ERA in 16 starts. He struggled last season dealing with injury and posting a 5.69 ERA and some of those struggles carried over to the beginning of this season.

But he was great in 2014 and 2015, posting a combined 2.90 ERA and finishing third in AL Cy Young voting in 2015. He has been excellent as of late too. He has a 1.38 ERA in his last six starts and seems to be regaining his pre-2016 form.

The Dodgers desperately need a right-handed starter, not just for this year but going forward. Gray does have potential to be that right-handed ace they haven’t had since Zack Greinke left. However, the Dodgers are going to have to be comfortable with parting ways with some top prospects to get him.

Gray does have some postseason experience, posting a 2.08 ERA in two starts back in 2013. It’s not a big sample size, but it is better than any other righty the Dodgers currently have.

He also has a connection to the Dodgers’ current GM Farhad Zaidi, who drafted Gray back in 2011 with the A’s, so the front office knows him well. He might be the safest player they could get out of this trio because he not only would help out now but in the long term as well.

With that said, the Dodgers have to make a trade and do something. This is their best chance at winning a World Series, so they have to be aggressive and take control of the opportunity. They can’t go into the playoffs with Kenta Maeda being their best right-hander, especially after his struggles last year.

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It might take some of their top prospects, but with the depth of talent they have in the farm system, it shouldn’t mortgage their future. The time is now for the Dodgers.