Dodgers Quick Hits: Trades, Rich Hill, Ross Stripling

The season is winding down and so too are the Dodgers chances to jump into first place. With their streak of six straight division winners on the line, the Dodgers need to kick it into high gear in the final month of the regular season. On Thursday night, they fell short, losing to the Diamondbacks by a score of 3-1.

The team needs to start winning and the driving force behind the exact opposite, their losses, has been the result of a few issues on the roster. First, the lack of reliable hitting depth is a problem. Second, the Dodger bullpen has been a mess, and lastly, the rotation has proven its inconsistencies over its last few starts. The solution you ask? Time to make a trade. General manager Farhan Zaidi told the media that the team has “a few irons in the fire” in terms of trades to both bolster the bullpen as well as add depth to the team’s batting corps and bench. If the Dodgers do make a trade, it is hard to imagine it being for anything more than a decent reliever or a bench piece to pinch hit and be a role player. Anything is more than something and it this point, the Dodgers should do whatever it is they need to do to get back into first place.

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• Dodgers ironically sign former all-star to potentially replace Cody Bellinger

More notes…

• Rich Hill has been a model of consistency lately for the Dodgers and has seemed to have found his groove when he’s on the mound. On Thursday, things looked to be going the same way as they usually do. through four innings, despite a high pitch count, Hill was throwing the ball well. He was hitting his spots, making pitches when he needed to and getting outs. But, the only blemish on his outing, a three-run homer, will be all that people remember. If anything, Dodger fans should be encouraged by Hill’s performances of late. He could play a huge role to a postseason birth.

• Ross Stripling is expected to rejoin the Dodgers on Saturday for game three of the four-game series against Arizona. He has been on the disabled list for nearly three weeks with a back injury. Stripling has been the Dodgers best pitcher in 2018 as both a reliever and a starter. The plan is to move the 28-year old All-Star to the bullpen upon his return for the DL and it will be a move that should benefit the team greatly. Stripling, in 11 relief appearance this year, Ross has a .59 ERA and a 1.127 WHIP. He also struck out 17. For a bullpen that is hurting, Stripling may be the answer.