Dodgers Seeking Catcher at Trade Deadline, Expected to Compete With Yankees

Major League Baseball's trade deadline is just one week away, and all sorts of rumors have started to fly around the Los Angeles Dodgers.

This has ranged from the Dodgers going after another star player to the front office simply adding around the margins of the roster. But given that the roster doesn't have too many holes on it, the front office may not want to spend heavily to just add.

However, there are some needs that Los Angeles has, with one being depth at the catcher spot. The Dodgers have been without starting catcher Will Smith since early June, leaving the position fairly bare behind him.

This could see the team look to target more depth for the stretch run, especially if the injury to Smith remains. According to MLB insiders Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic, the Dodgers are indeed going after catching help, but there will be some competition in a thin market.

"Satisfying that goal will be easier said than done. The catching market is thin, and the Rays, New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the other teams seeking help behind the plate," Rosenthal and Sammon wrote.

Who Could the Dodgers Target at the Catcher Position?

The Dodgers will likely look for a catcher on an expiring deal who could be a right-handed platoon partner for Dalton Rushing.

Players who fit that bill include Ryan Jeffers of the Minnesota Twins and Tyler Stephenson of the Cincinnati Reds.

Jeffers could be too expensive as he's hitting .293 with nine home runs and a .930 OPS across 46 games. Stephenson is hitting .244 across 80 games with eight home runs and an OPS of .712.

If the Dodgers were open to a non-expiring contract, MLB insider Jon Heyman of The New York Post linked Los Angeles to New York Mets catcher Luis Torrens, with the Yankees also potentially in the mix for his services.

While Torrens is under contract for two more years, the Dodgers could always look to flip him in the offseason. He would fit the bill as a much more defensive catcher behind Rushing.

Torrens has played 64 games this season and is slashing .223/.284/.320 with two home runs and 19 RBIs. Defensively, he ranks among the league leaders in caught stealing above average, framing and Fielding Run Value.

It remains to be seen if the Dodgers ultimately add a catcher, but given their goals to three-peat this season, addressing the spot should be one of the bigger priorities for the front office over the next few weeks.

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