This reasonable trade could solve Dodgers' biggest woe (if they act fast)

The Dodgers are 11-8 and sitting atop the NL West, but across the country there's a far less fortunate team down in Miami. The Marlins didn't get their first win until April 7, 10 games into the regular season, and have only added two more Ws since. Their hitters are ranked 25th in batting average, the pitching staff 27th, likely cursed by their efforts to hire someone above 2021-2023 general manager Kim Ng, who led the Marlins to their first postseason appearance (in a full season) since 2003.

At 3-14, with two of their best starting pitchers sidelined for the foreseeable future, necessary change seems to be on the horizon for Miami, and there's reason to believe they're headed toward a fire sale months ahead of the trade deadline.

They already let go of Jon Berti before Opening Day and, according Ken Rosenthal and Dennis Lin of The Athletic, are entertaining conversations on Luis Arraez and Jesús Luzardo, which could indicate that they're willing to let go of anyone in the pursuit of trimming payroll (subscription required).

As Marlins approach a fire sale, the Dodgers could turn their attentions to reliever Tanner Scott as LA's bullpen flounders

Position players are pretty much out of the question for the Dodgers, at least for now; despite the bottom of the lineup and bench's struggles in the first two weeks of play, they have a host of internal options that they can call and have called up from the minors. However, the bullpen is a bit of a different story. They're the biggest contributors to LA's pitching staff current standing at 20th place in ERA, and the Dodgers haven't been immune to the infection of pitcher injuries that's swept the league.

Could they look toward Miami for more options? Specifically, to reliever Tanner Scott, who could be a fun fixer-upper for Mark Prior and the Dodgers' pitching staff, who certainly love a project. Last year, Scott pitched 78 innings, the most in his career, for a 2.31 ERA, striking out a remarkable 104 batters while maintaining a WHIP under 1.00. It hasn't been quite the same story this year — he's been acting mostly as the Marlins' closer and has a 4.70 ERA (he also blew his first save opportunity on Monday) — but the Dodgers seem to like a challenge. Year-over-year, he's seemingly lost all the command and control he uncovered in 2023, walking 10 men in his first 7 2/3 frames of 2024 after allowing just 24 free passes all of last year. Maybe Prior and Co. can help with that?

Joe Kelly and Ryan Brasier, who both signed one-year deals for 2024 after great 2023 seasons, are both struggling early on, and Michael Grove, with his 8.71 ERA and 11 strikeouts to tie for first in LA's bullpen, is still a riddle.

Maybe the Dodgers could scoop up Scott cheaply from the Marlins' yard sale and spin him back into the pitcher he was last season. Weirder things have happened for this Dodgers team.