Danny Duffy update makes Dodgers’ deadline trade look even worse

Back in July, the Los Angeles Dodgers made a flurry of trades, obviously headlined by the acquisitions of Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. One of those deals that should’ve gotten a lot more negative publicity was the one involving Kansas City Royals pitcher Danny Duffy.

The veteran left-hander was having a resurgent 2021 campaign but saw his season interrupted by a few injuries, most notably a flexor strain in his pitching arm that sidelined him in the middle of July. But that didn’t prevent the Dodgers from pulling the trigger on a deal.

It was questioned at the time given the injury’s severity. Flexor strains are usually tricky, and they often lead to more serious forearm/elbow issues. And it’s not like Duffy was cheap, either. His $15.5 million salary for the 2021 season had the Dodgers on the hook for over $5 million.

In the end, Duffy never threw a pitch for the Dodgers. He suffered a setback with his flexor strain in September and that was it. LA’s plan to lengthen their rotation during the regular season and bullpen during the postseason had gone off the tracks.

Why did the Dodgers trade for Royals pitcher Danny Duffy?

Duffy ended up requiring surgery, but it thankfully wasn’t Tommy John (which would’ve been the second of his career). He just needed the flexor tendon to be repaired, but that’s still going to affect the start of his 2022 season. According to Andy McCullough of The Athletic, Duffy plans to be ready by June (though he’s a free agent at the moment).

And that bit of information makes the Dodgers’ trade for Duffy all the more puzzling/frustrating. For a team that badly needed pitching depth due to the myriad of injuries and regressions on their staff, taking a risk on Duffy couldn’t have backfired any worse. The flexor injury will now have cost Duffy nearly a year (he last pitched on July 16).

With so many other healthy options on the market, why the Dodgers opted for an injury and pricey 32-year-old is beyond us.

Couldn’t have done that cheap Kyle Gibson/Ian Kennedy trade the Texas Rangers and Philadelphia Phillies worked out? What about the M’s/Pirates swap involving Tyler Anderson? It was evident the Dodgers didn’t want to overspend in another trade after Scherzer and Turner cost them Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz (their top two prospects), but there were options as cheap or a tad more pricey than Duffy that would’ve been much more worthwhile.

Duffy’s experience, postseason pedigree and ability to pitch out of the rotation and bullpen were no doubt valuable characteristics, but the high-risk, low-reward (how good would Duffy have been after not pitching for two months?) trade failing comes as no surprise, and the latest news of his recovery shows the Dodgers whiffed on an opportunity to patch up a serious roster deficiency.

Dodgers: Danny Duffy timeline makes trade extremely confusing

The Dodgers transferred Danny Duffy to the 60-day injured list on Monday, which makes their decision to trade for him all the more confusing.