5 Dodgers trade candidates from teams quickly falling out of contention

David Bednar

Look, I know that the Pirates were a really fun story to start the season, as they somehow took a team of cheap spare parts and young talent and catapulted into first place in the NL Central. Sure, the Pirates' ownership has been the poster child for teams with rich owners that cry poor and refuse to invest in their rosters, but it was nice to believe for a bit that those players could run back the script of Major League and make some noise.

Unfortunately, the news lately from them hasn't been nearly as good, and it seems likely that they will be out of contention as we approach the trade deadline, even in a division as poor as the NL Central. That brings us to David Bednar, who compares favorably, at least in terms of value, to the aforementioned Diaz. Bednar is having another excellent season so far, with an 0.64 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 innings of work.

Relievers are always going to be in demand, and that isn't just speaking of the Dodgers, so Pittsburgh is going to be getting a lot of calls about Bednar. He has a little less team control than Diaz, but that also means that he has more of a track record of performance, which could be enticing if the Dodgers decide they want to make a big play for a closer at the deadline to bolster the bullpen. It is unclear if the Pirates would actually move a guy like Bednar, though, because the team IS more interesting than it has been in a while and Bednar could serve as the backbone of the bullpen (and hometown Pittsburgh hero) for several years at minimal cost.