Dodgers go big-game hunting at trade deadline, end up disappointed

LOS ANGELES — Before baseball’s trade deadline arrived Tuesday afternoon, the Dodgers traded Phil Bickford, Justin Bruihl, Adam Kolarek and Eddys Leonard for cash considerations.

So technically, the Dodgers were sellers at the trade deadline.

The lone addition Tuesday came in a deal with the Kansas City Royals. The Dodgers acquired swingman Ryan Yarbrough in a trade for Triple-A infielder Devin Mann and rookie league infielder Derlin Figueroa.

For a franchise – and a fan base – used to landing big fish like Manny Machado, Yu Darvish, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, it was an underwhelming trade season even with last week’s additions of Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Amed Rosario and Kiké Hernandez – all negative WAR players when they arrived – taken into account.

Coming off a July that saw the Dodgers’ starting rotation post a historically dreadful 6.18 ERA, the Dodgers’ failure to land replacements was particularly troubling.

“We’re excited about the guys that we added. I think, to be able to do that in the last week, allowed us to really focus on more of the high end, top end of the market. Which was great,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “Having those things in the bank and addressing some of our more acute needs allowed us to do that. And so we were able to spend our efforts and energy that way.

“For various different reasons for those top-end guys, it just didn’t work out.”

That it didn’t work out for Detroit Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez was a surprise to the Dodgers. The two teams had agreed to a trade, but Rodriguez has a no-trade clause in his contract with a list of 10 teams he can veto as trade destinations. The Dodgers were one of those 10.

Despite a number of former teammates – Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez and Hernandez from Rodriguez’s time with the Red Sox as well as fellow Venezuelan David Peralta from the World Baseball Classic – reaching out to Rodriguez and the opportunity to augment his potential free-agent value this winter by pitching for a contender, Rodriguez refused to waive his no-trade rights.

“We didn’t expect it at all,” Friedman said. “We hadn’t known one way or the other. We thought with having a lot of his ex-teammates and guys he’s played with, our place in the standings, I thought we would be very desirable.”

Friedman said the Dodgers reached out to Rodriguez’s agent but never spoke with the 30-year-old Rodriguez himself. The left-hander has a 6-5 record and a 2.95 ERA this season and an opt-out clause in his $77 million, five-year contract that could allow him to become a free agent this winter. He cited family reasons for his decision and was apparently not interested in moving to the West Coast.

“From our standpoint, we thought it was done. And then learned that it wasn’t,” Friedman said. “We started working on other things while continuing to have those conversations. I’m not going to get into defining who fits into each category, but for us, the top end of the market, we were aggressive in pursuing. The group below that, the versatile arm, floor-raiser, somebody that fits in well with our existing group and helps augment our depth, we were more price-sensitive on.

“We knew that one of those top-end guys was going to be really challenging, especially if one other team was involved.”

That would be Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros. The Dodgers engaged in discussions with the New York Mets to acquire the three-time Cy Young Award winner. But those discussions were never more than a fallback position for the Mets if things broke down with Verlander’s first choice, the Astros.

Two other starting pitchers that the Dodgers pursued, Chicago White Sox right-hander Dylan Cease and Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Mitch Keller, are both years away from free agency, raising the price to acquire them. Neither was traded before the deadline.

“We’ve targeted high-end guys a lot of deadlines. Sometimes it’s worked out and sometimes it hasn’t,” Friedman said. “When it doesn’t, of course (there’s some disappointment). You want to do that. We’re all really competitive, so we want that to happen. But we knew that this year, there was a smaller number than there typically is for various reasons. But there were a couple guys that we aggressively pursued, and that’s how it goes.

“From our standpoint, we feel really good about the team that we have and the depth we have behind it. That said, you always want to feel even better.”

MARTINEZ OUT

Betts returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing two games with an ankle injury. But Martinez was not in the lineup after being scratched before his first at-bat Sunday. He underwent an MRI to evaluate the lingering injury to his groin/hamstring area and it showed “a lot of what he’s had before,” according to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.

“From what I understand, it’s going to be a few-days situation, not an IL right now but could potentially be,” Roberts said. “Right now, I think it’s safe to say day-to-day.”

The ill-defined nature of the injury makes it “concerning” as to whether it will continue to be a problem for the remainder of the season, Roberts acknowledged.

“I think to say there’s no concern would be putting your head in the sand,” Roberts said. “So I think, for us, it’s just doing what we can do to manage it.

“I don’t know what else we could do. But to say it’s not concerning – yeah, it’s concerning. It is.”

URIAS STATS

Left-hander Julio Urias threw a bullpen session Tuesday afternoon to assess the status of a blister issue he is dealing with on the index finger of his pitching hand. Urias’ next start was pushed back two days to Thursday to give him more time to heal.

ALSO

Bruihl (Colorado Rockies), Bickford and Kolarek (Mets) and Leonard (Tigers) were all moved in cash trades after being designated for assignment to clear roster spots in recent days.

UP NEXT

Athletics (LHP Hogan Harris, 2-5, 6.07 ERA) at Dodgers (RHP Tony Gonsolin, 5-4, 4.25  ERA), Wednesday, 7:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, 570 AM