Dodgers: 3 trade deadline targets that would make LAD truly unstoppable

2. Richard Rodriguez

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ fire sale is never really over, considering every time they forge some semblance of a roster, the salesmanship begins anew.

Though they’ve already traded Joe Musgrove and Jameson Taillon to contenders in the Padres and Yankees this offseason, and offloaded slugger Josh Bell to the Washington Nationals, there are still a few pieces they can look to move midseason.

Expect lefty Steven Brault and righty Chad Kuhl to be among the next to depart, as well as 30-year-old bullpen flamethrower Richard Rodriguez who — sad to say — definitely does not have a place on the next great Pirates team.

Probably … probably none of these people do.

Could the Dodgers beef up their bullpen with Richard Rodriguez?

Rodriguez has been excellent the past three seasons, dominating in both 2018 and 2020 after a slight step back in ’19 (3.72 ERA, 5.22 FIP, about a strikeout per inning). In those two exceptional years, though, the righty whiffed 122 men in 92.2 innings pitched, and comes with three years of control still under his belt.

Not to be confused with the Night Stalker, Rodriguez would be a far less ominous presence in LA, unless you’re an opposing batter in the seventh inning or later.

The Dodgers won the 2020 World Series thanks to several likely starters soaking up key bullpen innings, but that won’t be possible over the course of a full season.

Add Rodriguez to Joe Kelly, Blake Treinen, Brusdar Graterol, Victor Gonzalez and Kenley Jansen, and you truly have near-unrivaled depth. All of a sudden.