Dodgers: 3 starting pitchers LAD could target after Clayton Kershaw injury

2. Jose Berrios

What, you thought we were going to say Kenta Maeda?

A reunion would be somewhat adorable, but the Maeda we saw in 2020 has essentially vanished in 2021, and he’d be more of a buy-low candidate than anything else. Last season, it looked like LA had surrendered a future ace (80 whiffs in 66.2 innings, 0.75 WHIP, second place in the Cy Young chase). This year? That WHIP has doubled to 1.452, and the 4.56 FIP doesn’t inspire us.

Jose Berrios is the most attractive Twins starter by a wide margin, and recent buzz indicates he’s more available than ever. Armed with a year and a half of control and a powerful 27-year-old arm, though, he won’t be given away.

Los Angeles is in a great spot to talk Berrios, though. He’s not an ace — which is fine. The Dodgers have Walker Buehler and Kershaw, eventually, to man that territory. If Berrios is a No. 2 or No. 3, that’s fantastic — he has posted nearly the same season every year of his career, featuring a mid-3.00s ERA and just about the same number of strikeouts as innings pitched. As long as the Twins aren’t valuing him as Buehler lite, LA could strike a bargain here.

Gray and Keibert Ruiz would likely be out here, but expect Michael Busch/Kody Hoese/Bobby Miller and Los Angeles’ leaders of their second prospect tier to be on the table. Busch is about to get a well-earned Futures Game showcase — as well as intriguing righty Andre Jackson — and this might shock you, but the Dodgers are probably hoping for a big game on the national stage. Talks begin and end with Busch right now, and LA would like him to have momentum.

1. Sonny Gray

Nope, not Kyle Hendricks!

Every Dodgers fan should be scoreboard watching to see how far the Cincinnati Reds sink, because we’re not sure anyone is really swarming Sonny Gray at this point, and it would be fun to be first in the water.

Gray recently returned from a groin strain (and missed the beginning of the season with a mid-back strain), but when he’s been available, he’s been the same Gray that every non-Yankees fan base he’s ever pitched for has loved to watch. His 2019 (aka the season he got out of the Bronx) was the stuff of legends; Gray dominated the central, whiffing 205 in 175.1 innings, earning a seventh-place Cy Young finish. He hasn’t been quite the same since (but who was in 2020?), posting ERAs of 3.70 and 3.19 in limited sample sizes since.

Now, the last time Gray was dealt midseason to a contender, he struggled to find his footing, though things were not as bad as angry Yankee fans would like you to believe. The wheels fell off in 2018 to the tune of a 4.90 ERA, but in 2017, Gray ended up with a 3.72 ERA and threw a five-inning, one-hit start against the Houston Astros in the ALCS. Not wonderful, not the unmitigated tragedy that the Bronx would have you believe.

Larry Rothschild’s in San Diego anyway, Sonny. He can’t hurt you.

There hasn’t been much Gray buzz whatsoever, and right now, the Reds sit firmly in the middle of the conversation at 45-41. Over the next few weeks, though, they’ll learn their destiny. On Thursday, they head to Milwaukee for four games, then welcome the Crew for three right after the break. Then it’s the Mets, then it’s the Cardinals. Big four-game road set followed by a crucial nine-game homestand.

At the end of that mess, the Dodgers might be ready to buzz their phones and get Sonny.

Dodgers: 3 midseason trade targets LAD should already be focused on

The Los Angeles Dodgers are an excellent team in need of a spark and some normalcy. We completely understand why they're already thinking trade deadline.