LA Dodgers add versatility and depth in Tommy Edman, Michael Kopech trade

The trade deadline is getting hot. The LA Dodgers, annually a buyer at the trade deadline, added the club's newest players to the roster on July 29.

Los Angeles landed Tommy Edman from the St. Louis Cardinals and Michael Kopech as part of a three-team deal with the White Sox, which was first reported by Ken Rosenthal. FanSided's Robert Murray confirmed the deal included Kopech.

Entering July 29, the Dodgers are 63-44 with a 6.5-game lead on the Padres for first in the NL West. There's some cushion, but Los Angeles obviously is looking to take that next step to cement a top spot in the National League playoffs.

Given the dual addition of Edman and Kopech, what are the Dodgers getting from these two players, and what can we expect from them?

LA Dodgers Land Tommy Edman

Edman, a 29-year-old who has been with St. Louis since 2019, has yet to play at the MLB level in 2024. He's spent all year on the injured list recovering from wrist surgery, but has slowly worked his way back.

The Stanford product has registered eight games with Double-A Springfield, batting 6-for-29 (.207). He has driven in four runs, walked four times and scored three times.

His last game with Springfield was on July 28, going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.

What to Expect from Tommy Edman

Whenever Edman is 100 percent ready to suit up in a Dodgers uniform, we can expect him to be Chris Taylor 2.0 on defense.

He has fielded every position in his career besides catcher and first base. In 2023, he played most often at second base, logging 51 games.

The 2021 Gold Glove recipient also notched 48 games at shortstop, 42 in center field and eight in right field last season. According to Baseball Savant, Edman was in the 96th percentile in Outs Above Average (OAA), which measures a fielder's range.

At the plate, Edman is a .265/.319/.726 career hitter. He's mashed 13 home runs in each of the past two seasons and has collected 97 doubles and 11 triples over his last three years.

Edman swiped 27 bags in 2023, which is the third-most in his career, placing him in the 88th percentile in sprint speed.

LA Dodgers Land Michael Kopech

It has been a strange and tough season when it comes to the health of Dodgers pitching.

This team absolutely needs some arms, and Kopech brings one with plenty of firepower.

The White Sox have not been a contending by any means this season, which has put each of their pitchers in a tough spot to rack up a worthy win-loss record. Kopech is 2-8 this summer, but for those who still care about W-L, let's look past his record for a second.

Following two seasons where Kopech was a starting pitcher, the 28-year-old moved back to the bullpen in 2024.

He's punched out 59 batters across 43 2/3 innings, logging nine saves in 43 total appearances.

Kopech has a 4.74 earned run average, but when he's locked in, good luck facing him. On July 10, he twirled an immaculate inning against the Twins.

Since then, Kopech has been virtually unhittable. In his last five outings, the right-hander has surrendered just one hit in 5 2/3 innings with eight strikeouts.

This stretch has seen his ERA plummet from 5.45 to 4.74.

What to Expect from Michael Kopech

Kopech is a three-pitch hurler who dominates with his four-seam fastball. He throws the heater 79 percent of the time, and who could blame him?

His fastball velocity is in the 99th percentile this season across Major League Baseball, leading to a 30.9 overall strikeout rate - which is in the 92nd percentile - and a 31.9 whiff rate on his heater alone.

Kopech offsets the fastball nicely with a cutter and slider, which are both thrown about 10 percent of the time.

In 376 career innings, Kopech has struck out 416 batters and walked 198.