8 trade candidates to upgrade Dodgers' bullpen

All things considered, the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a pretty good spot. They are comfortably over .500 and their run differential has them as one of the best expected teams in the National League. They have a strong case for boasting the best offense in the NL behind (maybe) the Braves, and their run prevention has largely been good.

However, games are not played in the expected stats realm, and the Arizona Diamondbacks have proven to be a problem in the NL West. Buoyed by Zac Gallen making a run at the NL Cy Young and Corbin Carroll being, well, amazing, Arizona has outperformed expectations and has one of the better records in baseball. That means the Dodgers have some catching up to do.

Thankfully, for all the problems the Dodgers possess, they're only 4.5 games out of the division and currently hold a Wild Card spot with the season reaching the midway point. Really not bad at all.

One thing fans do know, however, is that this team will not survive if the bullpen isn't addressed by the trade deadline. The unit has the worst ERA in the NL and second-worst in MLB (only behind the Athletics). That's unsustainable for any team with playoff aspirations.

So, Andrew Friedman, it's time to get to work.

The Dodgers need bullpen help at the trade deadline

We are firmly into the summer months, past the point where it's a small sample of games and, well, the Dodgers’ bullpen is not very good or deep. They rank in the bottom third in all of baseball by fWAR with only Evan Phillips, Brusdar Graterol and Victor Gonzalez having what one would classify as "good seasons" on paper. With the rest of the bullpen performing like placeholders, the Dodgers need to add some bullpen arms at the deadline.

Here are a few options that should be available for the right price.