Dodgers: 3 changes that can help LA leapfrog Giants in second half

The Los Angeles Dodgers have withstood their early-May slump. They’ve shed pitchers along the way, but they’ve mostly clicked on all cylinders in a first half that ended with them playing their best baseball. They’ll likely get better in the second half, but they’re still 56-35 and 30-14 at the full-capacity friendly confines of Dodger Stadium.

And yet — and YET! — they still remain two games behind the San Francisco Giants at the All-Star break.

Instead of angrily asking, “How?” and “Why?” though, we’ll just calmly assess how the Dodgers can easily reverse this narrative in the second half.

Are the Giants “for real”? Of course they are! How real they are, though, we’re not positive. Are they Wild Card For Real or Hold Off the Dodgers’ Charge For Real?

Entering 2021, LA likely thought they had it made. A 110-win ceiling? Sure, sign us up. Only viable divisional rival is a burgeoning Padres team that was already beaten back by this same Dodgers core last postseason? Great! Looking forward to relegating them to the Wild Card Game.

Instead, though, the Dodgers have encountered the same thorn they’ve pulled out of their toes for the past 60 years, and have gone through an unexpected roster purge of their own. The pitching has been a real challenge. Several key components to the offense have gone down injured, and some haven’t reemerged. Their main rivals have no fear of facing the supposed All-Star team that was assembled to run Hollywood all summer long.

In order for the Dodgers to distance themselves into the summer’s muggier months, they’ll need to make these adjustments.

3 things that must change for the Dodgers to leap the Giants in 2021.

3. Get Corey Seager and “Real” Cody Bellinger Back

Short of trading for Kevin Gausman and Buster Posey at the deadline, the return of Corey Seager and the return to form of Cody Bellinger will be the clearest way for Los Angeles to tip the scales.

The last we heard about Seager, he was in the midst of a “plateau” in his rehab, and Dave Roberts’ hope that he could return prior to the All-Star break clearly didn’t come to fruition. The shortstop (in his walk year) still hasn’t appeared in a game since May 15, and posted a quiet 117 OPS+ in his first month-and-a-half of the season before the unfortunate fracture. He’s a monstrous part of this team — some might say the MVP! — and will be able to swing the narrative somewhat once he returns.

As for Bellinger? Breaking news: he’s not a true talent 66 OPS+ guy. The fact that the Dodgers have gotten to the 56-win mark at the break without the real Belli showing up more than once or twice is stunning and … yeah, it shows why this team was projected not just for first place, but for historically great things. Lose May, lose Kershaw, never really have Bellinger or Seager and you’re still just a pair of games back of the league’s best record.

For the order of operations to flip in the NL West, though, both men will have to return to something approximating full strength. It won’t even take a laser-focused fire-spewing run to the top of the National League. Normal levels of production should do it.

1. Trade for a Starter and Reliever. Profit.

The Dodgers are going to need a boost to their rotation most never expected, and a boost to their bullpen almost everyone expected, to get past the Giants.

While Gray and Jackson could provide a spark internally, if Los Angeles hasn’t learned their lesson about never having enough arms by now, they might never do so. David Price hopes to be a significant part of the team’s rotation by the end of the season, but he’s still not stretched out in any meaningful way. Tony Gonsolin missed the lion’s share of the first half, and is still attempting to reemerge from the darkness in his 2020 form. Dustin May’s not walking through that door, and the other two missing pitchers (Clayton Kershaw and someone who’s not worth naming in the context of on-field action) remain question marks.

We’re going to attempt to kill two birds with one trade by arguing for the same deal we’ve been trying to manufacture for months: Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy to Los Angeles, use whatever mid-top-10 prospect pieces you have to in order to get there. Seek out a few players who’ll need 40-man protection from the Rule 5 Draft this offseason and attach them, regardless of pedigree. Everyone short of Gray and Keibert Ruiz should likely be on the table if the right upgrade comes along.

Gibson might be riding a career-best hot streak right now (4.1 WAR in the first half! 1.069 WHIP, which is nice!) but his steadiness could benefit the Dodgers significantly in the back half of their rotation. At the very worst, he’ll be an innings-eater with a mid-3.00s ERA for a team that, once again, is somehow starting relievers after entering 2021 with the most depth possible. Since he’s Kyle Gibson, he’ll cost a good amount, but here’s betting he won’t cost Max Scherzer capital.

As for Kennedy? For a while, he was leading the league in saves, but now he’s a paltry sixth with a 1.055 WHIP and 2.67 ERA. Blah, ho hum. Might look nice in Dodger Blue setting up for Kenley Jansen with a fearsome beard of his own.

Plus, every bullpen arm you trade for is one that doesn’t end up in orange and black. Not a bad way to get ahead.

Dodgers: 3 players LAD needs more from in second half of season

The Los Angeles Dodgers need more from these three players if they want to surpass the San Francisco Giants in the second half.