Dodgers' biggest deadline need is one they thought they fixed during the offseason

When Tanner Scott walked off the mound with a trainer in Monday's game, Dodgers fans immediately knew we wouldn't be getting good news. He'd spiked a ball in the dirt and come out of his rotation wincing, and it only took a few seconds for Dave Roberts to come out and relieve Scott of his duties. When the game ended, Roberts confirmed that Scott was likely to go onto the IL after feeling a "sting" in his forearm.

The Dodgers have yet to make the official roster move, pending an MRI, but it doesn't look good.

The Dodgers have used nearly 40 pitchers this season and show no signs of stopping. Both starters and relievers alike have gotten injured at a remarkable clip, and a handful of relievers have been unceremoniously dumped onto the waiver wire or traded after poor outings.

Andrew Friedman has said that his least favorite thing to do is to overpay for relievers at the trade deadline, which explains the Dodgers' overkill in signing free agent pitchers during the offseason. However, LA's been connected to multiple relievers already — including Twins standouts Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax, Emmanuel Clase of the Guardians, and more recently the Pirates' David Bednar and the Cardinals' Ryan Helsley. Scott's seemingly inevitable IL stint certainly condemns them to having to acquire one of them.

Dodgers' connections to multiple relievers ahead of trade deadline shows offseason acquisitions were far from enough

The two biggest bullpen signings from the offseason were Scott and Kirby Yates, and neither has performed to expectations this season. Scott has stayed healthy up until now, but has a 4.14 ERA on the season and 8.10 ERA in his last seven games; Yates was absent for a few weeks with a hamstring strain and has a 3.86 ERA this season.

Evan Phillips underwent Tommy John. Michael Kopech went back to the IL after pitching seven innings. Brusdar Graterol might miss the entire season after a shoulder surgery. Blake Treinen should be coming back from a rehab assignment soon, but he won't be enough to cover for all of the other absences.

There are so many good closers and backend bullpen arms expected to be on the market at the deadline that the Dodgers shouldn't have any issues finding one — maybe even two — but it's baffling that what even Friedman acknowledged as excess in the offseason still hasn't proven to be enough for such a breakable pitching staff.