After landing Lynn, Kelly, Dodgers remain active

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LOS ANGELES -- President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman is on a mission. After a quiet offseason, the Dodgers appear ready to pounce in the trade market to give this year’s team the best chance to win a World Series.

Earlier this week the Dodgers made separate deals to land Kiké Hernández from the Red Sox for a pair of right-handers and Amed Rosario from the Guardians for Noah Syndergaard, an admission there that his signing was a failure.

On Friday, the aggressiveness continued by landing starter Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly from the White Sox for pitching prospects Jordan Leasure, Nick Nastrini and outfielder Trayce Thompson.

With four days left before Tuesday’s Trade Deadline, the Dodgers continue to be “very aggressive” in a lot of trade talks, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the situation.

Let’s take a look at what else the Dodgers could have in mind over the next few days.

Could a Nolan Arenado deal actually happen?

Will it happen? It’s not likely, but we’ll see. Is it possible? Absolutely. The Dodgers and Cardinals have had plenty of talks this week. That shouldn’t be a shock to anyone. St. Louis has Jack Flaherty and Jordan Montgomery and Los Angeles desperately needs starters. That has been the main conversation.

But as was the case two deadlines ago, trade talks can take some crazy turns. In 2021, the Dodgers called the Nationals about Max Scherzer. Trea Turner wasn’t even something the Dodgers thought about at first. But once they got word that the Nats were listening on Turner, that’s when they pounced on both of them.

This situation is a bit similar. The Dodgers have called about pitching, but maybe the Cardinals are considering moving their third baseman, who has a full no-trade clause in his deal and would have to waive it in order to get moved anywhere. Of course, there’s no reason to believe he wouldn’t waive that to join the Dodgers.

Now, the Cardinals don’t necessarily have to move Arenado. He still has four years left in his deal. If the Dodgers want Arenado, they’re going to have to put together quite the package and probably lose one or two of Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone. Again, this isn’t the most likely trade, but it’s one both sides have discussed.

What about pitching?

Two of the three moves this week were to reinforce the bench, but the Dodgers finally addressed the pitching side on Friday by landing Lynn and Kelly. Friedman constantly talks about taking “bets” that players will get back to their form and they’re taking another sizable gamble on Lynn, who has a 6.47 ERA this season. Will that be enough to help a rotation that has been one of the worst in baseball since losing Clayton Kershaw to a left shoulder injury a month ago? Probably not.

Mitch Keller of the Pirates, Dylan Cease of the White Sox, Montgomery and Flaherty are also all possibilities for the Dodgers, with Keller and Cease being significantly more challenging because of years of control. Montgomery and Flaherty are free agents at the end of the season.

What the Dodgers have to weigh, however, is which pitcher is worth trading valuable prospects. If they don’t believe that pitcher can help them in the postseason, that will certainly factor into their decision. But with Tony Gonsolin struggling, the Syndergaard experiment blowing up, and three rookie starters in the current rotation, the Dodgers need to be aggressive, and they know it.

Backup catcher?

Twitter mentions are always in shambles when Austin Barnes is in the starting lineup. Barnes has really struggled this season. That’s no secret to anyone, including Barnes. But it’s important to remember that he still has a strong relationship with Kershaw and a lot of others inside the clubhouse. As a backup catcher, that’s usually the priority.

The Dodgers should look for a quality veteran option they can stash in Triple-A Oklahoma City to protect from injury, but there’s really no real reason to get rid of Barnes, given he plays just once a week and could still add value in other ways.