Dodgers-Mason Miller rumors could intensify with Evan Phillips falling apart

While the Dodgers were probably always going to be buyers at the trade deadline this year, no one could've predicted the way their seemingly bulletproof roster has fallen apart, and the kind of aggression they're preparing to show on July 30. Starting pitching is, unfortunately, the name of the game for LA, a team that's running on a piecemeal rotation in the aftermath of multiple injuries, a demotion, and a shock DFA for James Paxton.

Garrett Crochet is reportedly at the top of the Dodgers' wishlist, but they're also rumored to be in on Tarik Skubal, who would take a mountain of prospects to secure. Jack Flaherty and Yusei Kikuchi are also out there if any of the other many teams in pursuit of Crochet manage to edge them out.

While the rotation will be LA's top priority, the bullpen has also been in need of help for some time. Joe Kelly was just reinstated from the IL and Michael Grove and Brusdar Graterol have moved to Triple-A in their rehab assignments, but the bullpen is still struggling. Per Alden Gonazález at ESPN, the Dodgers shouldn't be counted out in trade talks for the Athletics' All-Star closer, Mason Miller (subscription required).

Evan Phillips, the Dodgers' own prized closer, has seemed to be losing his touch. He got through April with a true-to-form 0.87 ERA before getting hurt and missing pretty much of all May, and he hasn't looked as dominant since. In seven appearances during July, his ERA is a mammoth 11.37 over 6 1/3 innings pitched. It was thrown off by an awful 1/3 inning against the Red Sox on Sunday that saw him giving up three hits, two walks, and three runs in the top of the ninth.

Dodgers could call in bullpen reinforcements with a trade for Mason Miller as Evan Phillips struggles

If the Dodgers do chase Miller, it's really going to make them look almost eager to dismantle the top of their pipeline. While Crochet and Skubal are probably an either/or situation, adding Miller to the list would still mean giving up at least three prospects to the perennially selling Oakland Athletics.

There are good reasons why Miller was the A's one and only All-Star this year, though. He's finished 27 games and racked up 15 saves with a 2.27 ERA. His four-seam fastball averages 101 MPH and has a .158 batting average against. His secondary pitch, a slider, has an even lower .140 average against and averages 87.4 MPH to completely tie hitters up at the plate. It was exactly that pitch he used against Shohei Ohtani in the All-Star Game to strike him out.

As a rookie, Miller also has six years of team control left, which drives up his value even more. If the A's let him go at all, the team that gets him will have to send an army in return in order to secure his services through the end of the 2029 season.

But you can never count the Dodgers out. They have a good enough farm system to throw enough firepower at Oakland, and Phillips has been on a scarily fast descent. If these talks heat up, then fans should be expected to say goodbye to some heavy hitters in the organization.