ESPN's possible Dodgers deadline trade chips have a lot of work to do before July

Justin Wrobleski, Landon Knack, and Bobby Miller must've been able to feel the gravity of their situations in their combined five major league starts with the Dodgers so far this season, even if Miller denied placing any extra pressure on himself during his three-inning, six-run outing. They wouldn't have gotten those opportunities if it weren't for Blake Snell's shoulder injury, and it doesn't look like they're going to get them again unless the Dodgers' hand is forced (if their performances are anything to go off of).

In fact, none of the Dodgers' rookies (with the exception of Roki Sasaki) or young players can feel entirely secure in their futures with the team at the major league level. The offensive core that we're seeing now will be kept intact for years to come thanks to massive deals, and the same can be said for most of the rotation and a chunk of the bullpen.

The Dodgers want to try to avoid working too much at the trade deadline, but if starters keep dropping like flies, they're going to have to do something. Wrobleski, Knack, and Miller along with Ben Casparius and Jack Dreyer in the bullpen should all be afraid of having to pack their bags at the deadline.

ESPN named Casparius, Miller, and Wrobleski specifically as potential deadline trade chips (subscription required). However, two out of three of them are going to need to improve drastically if the Dodgers are going to have hope of getting a respectable return.

Ben Casparius, Bobby Miller, and Justin Wrobleski named potential Dodgers trade deadline pieces by ESPN

Casparius has been solid, apart from a 1 2/3 inning appearance against the Cubs on April 12, when he gave up six runs. He hasn't yielded a run in his last 8 1/3 frames, and the Dodgers extended him almost four innings on Sunday against the Pirates (he gave up just two hits while striking out five).

Miller and Wrobleski are a different story. Both only got one shot at a major league start; both failed to perform. Miller has a good 2.65 ERA at Triple-A, but his disastrous crash out last season won't be easily forgotten. Wrobleski sports a far worse 5.71 ERA and gave up six runs in his last start in Oklahoma City.

ESPN also notes that the Dodgers have 47 players on their 40-man roster if you counted those on the 60-day IL. As some of them come back — and if the Dodgers want to upgrade their bench at the deadline — they're going to need to clear others off of the 40-man. The cleanest way to do that could be to trade them. But they need Miller and Wrobleski to get better if they want to get anything of value back.