NL West
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Los Angeles Dodgers: Can they land a star middle infielder?
As much as it looked coming into the season like the Dodgers were one of the greatest teams assembled in MLB history, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman will still have some work to do before the trade deadline if Los Angeles is going to win a third consecutive World Series.
Even if future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts heats up at some point this year, the Dodgers still probably are a middle infielder short with an upgrade likely needed over any combination of Hyeseong Kim, Alex Freeland and Miguel Rojas.
The nightmare scenario for the rest of the league would be if Friedman is able to pry the aforementioned Abrams away from the Nationals, either to play shortstop or second base. It’s hard to think the Diamondbacks would trade Marte in the division, but you get the feeling that the Dodgers are going to try to reel in another big fish this summer.
San Diego Padres: What level of internal improvement can be expected offensively?
The Padres are currently in control of the top wild-card spot in the National League, despite being 24th in runs scored. Obviously, for them to hold onto that spot and have any chance to do damage in the postseason, that’s going to have to change.
Here’s the thing, this should not only be a more capable offense, but one of the tougher ones in the league. But the stars aren’t performing:
In theory, that should be one of the scariest lineup trios in baseball. If they return to being that, the Padres could be a scary out in the postseason considering Mason Miller is headlining baseball’s best bullpen.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Do they have the starting pitching to be a playoff team?
Torey Lovullo almost always seems to keep the Diamondbacks competitive, but president of baseball operations Mike Hazen is going to have to decide this summer whether the ceiling for the Snakes is 82 wins, or if a tweak or two could get them into the playoffs.
How the rotation looks is going to go a long way in determining Hazen’s evaluation. Eduardo Rodríguez is having a rebound year, as the veteran lefty has a 2.24 ERA across 10 starts. However, the team’s long-time rotation anchors have both underperformed. Zac Gallen has a 4.80 ERA and 4.33 FIP to show after returning on a one-year, $22.025 million deal. Merrill Kelly—who returned in free agency on a two-year, $40 million deal—does have one complete game, but has a 5.71 ERA in his first seven starts since returning from a back injury.
Considering how well Michael Soroka is pitching, the DBacks have the chance to not only get to the postseason but be an October spoiler if Gallen and Kelly round into form. If that doesn’t happen before the trade deadline, Hazen is going to have to make some tough decisions.
San Francisco Giants: Would anyone take a big deal off their hands?
There were high hopes for the Giants entering the season, but they’ve instead been one of the worst teams in the National League. That could change in time for them to be buyers before the trade deadline, but right now it seems that president of baseball operations Buster Posey could end up at a crossroads this summer.
If the Giants decide the core they’ve constructed isn’t what they want to proceed with, it will be interesting to see if they can offload any of the big deals they’ve signed.
Assuming Logan Webb returns from right knee bursitis and looks like himself, teams would be lined up to trade for the workhorse righty, who is in the third season of a five-year, $90 million deal. The Giants almost certainly wouldn’t trade the 29-year-old, who they would owe a $1 million trade assignment bonus if dealt.
There will definitely be interest in a resurgent Luis Arráez, but the return likely won’t be drastic since he’s only signed for this season. Harrison Bader is hot right now, but he also secured a $1 million trade assignment bonus when he inked a two-year, $20.5 million deal in the offseason.
Quite frankly, Posey is going to have a tough job shaking this team up in a meaningful way as a seller this summer.
Colorado Rockies: Who will they listen on?
Tomoyuki Sugano and Antonio Senzatela are veterans the Rockies seem sure to deal this summer since both will be free agents next winter.
It will be interesting to see if in his first trade deadline as president of baseball operations, Paul DePodesta is willing to consider any of his more productive controllable pieces.
We’ll really get an idea of how far away DePodesta thinks the Rockies are by how he operates this summer.
