3 blockbuster trade targets for Dodgers after Walker Buehler injury

1. Pablo Lopez (or Sandy Alcantara!)

OK … so which pitcher are the Marlins going to deal? Conventional wisdom suggests Pablo Lopez, since Sandy Alcantara was recently signed to a long-term extension, but who’s to say the Dodgers can’t have their pick if they allow the Marlins to select a handful of prospects of their choosing in a potential trade? We’ve seen crazier things happen!

Anyway, Lopez, who previously led MLB in ERA (Alcantara does now!), is 4-2 with a 2.30 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 1.02 WHIP and 72 strikeouts in 12 starts (70.1 innings). Alcantara is 6-2 with a 1.68 ERA, 2.97 FIP, 0.96 WHIP and 82 strikeouts in 13 starts (91.1 innings). He leads MLB in innings pitched, batters faced, and hits per nine innings.

Both right-handers are among the best in the game, and the Marlins have a lot of other issues to address outside of their starting pitching (five of their top-10 prospects are pitchers and guys like Trevor Rogers and Jesus Luzardo are also at the MLB level despite struggling this year).

Miami needs an infusion of offense, since their only above-average hitters at the moment are Jazz Chisholm Jr. (who the team doesn’t like), Garrett Cooper and Jorge Soler. The Dodgers could certainly help on that front, while the Marlins would be trading from a position of strength both at the MLB level and minor-league level.

Neither will be cheap, though. Lopez is under club control through the 2024 season and is making just $2.5 million this year. Alcantara’s recent extension takes him through the 2026 season (with a $21 million team option for 2027). Both have longer-term control at tremendous prices.

But the Dodgers are staring down the barrel of a troubling situation. What if Buehler needs surgery? What if Kershaw retires after 2022? What if Urías leaves in free agency after 2023? The short-term status of LA’s rotation is up in the air and needs some stability. One of these guys would fix that in an instant.

3 starting pitchers Dodgers might have to trade for before deadline frenzy

The Los Angeles Dodgers are going to need starting rotation help as soon as possible, and might want to get ahead of the process before the frenzy.