Dodgers: The great trade deadline dilemma of 2019

The Dodgers’ Future (Immediate and Long Term)

Walker Buehler will only get better over the next 5-10 years. Clayton Kershaw has only been better from the second he realized that his stuff isn’t what it used to be. He just passed Sandy Kofax for the third most strikeouts in Dodgers’ history.

Something tells me we haven’t seen the best of this new-Kersh. His season, thus far, has reminded me of Jamie Moyer’s renaissance with the Seattle Mariners back in the late 90’s to early 2000s. Moyer had several solid seasons with the M’s (not all of them of course) and added another 8-10 years to his career once he learned to pitch almost entirely offspeed.

Rich Hill is another perfect example of starting pitchers who find their fountain of youth by soft-tossing. It’s all about deception for pitchers and perception for hitters. Clayton Kershaw can play magician for another 8-10 years so long as his back holds up.

Smart starters realize their limitations, change their approach accordingly, and once they’ve reached that age where they can no longer dial it up, they embrace it. Kershaw may be the smartest pitcher ever to ever play the game. Scary.

Corey Seager will only improve as he moves further away from his surgeries. Cody Bellinger’s ceiling is still a few years from being reached. Will Smith could potentially find himself in next year’s All-Star Game (in LA by the way) and every year after.

In Conclusion

I can name another fifteen reasons why Dodger fans should have the utmost confidence in this organization now and for the next decade. But that’s not the purpose of this article (maybe one in the future).

The Dodgers’ front-office obviously believed that the Pirates’ ask was too much. I think the Pirates ask was too much. Therefore, I believe that the Dodgers’ made the right call. However (as with anything), only time will tell.  All Dodgers’ fans can do from here on out is simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.