Dodgers' Trade Deadline Plans Will Hinge on One Key Factor

Los Angeles Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman doesn't enjoy buying in July.

It's something he actively avoids, if possible.

“My goal is to not buy in July,” Friedman said ahead of the 2025 season. “I am setting that out there right now. My goal is to do everything we can right now to not buy in July. It is terrible.”

Friedman stuck to his guns last summer as the Dodgers made limited moves ahead of the deadline. The team's biggest trade last July was headlined by longtime Dodgers pitcher Dustin May, who was traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for two top prospects.

As for players who the Dodgers traded for that immediately made an impact, outfielder Alex Call, catcher Ben Rortvedt and reliever Brock Stewart were added to the roster. Stewart, however, made just four appearances for LA before landing on the injured list and missing the rest of the 2025 season.

With summer quickly approaching, it remains to be seen whether the Dodgers will be buyers or stand pat at this year's deadline. The Dodgers made sure to upgrade their two key weaknesses over the winter.

Edwin Díaz's $69 million deal and Kyle Tucker's $240 million contract made quite the splash in the offseason. But will that be enough to safeguard a third World Series title in 2026?

Dodgers Expected to Be Buyers, Under One Condition

The Athletic's Jim Bowden reports injuries will play a pivotal role in where the Dodgers look to add this summer, and whether or not they're buyers or not.

"Despite the uneven start, the Dodgers are still the favorites to win it all. Injuries will dictate what they look to add at the deadline but they will be buyers as usual," Bowden writes.

Thus far, the injuries have riddled the pitching staff (surprise, surprise). However, even without its closer, the Dodgers bullpen tossed 38 consecutive scoreless innings before giving up a home run on Monday.

Unfortuantely, the same can't be said for the Dodgers starting rotation.

With Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell both on the injured list, LA is missing two of its staple starters for the foreseeable future. That leaves the unit with Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan, Justin Wrobleski and the newly-added Eric Lauer.

The trio of young arms in Sasaki, Sheehan and Wrobleski haven't all performed at a high level this season. In fact, Sasaki and Sheehan have struggled to be consistent throughout the early months of 2026.

The Dodgers traded for Lauer from the Toronto Blue Jays as a depth piece in light of injuries to Snell and Glasnow, but it's unclear whether the veteran will remain in the mix down the stretch and into the postseason. He did look good in his debut, though, pitching six innings of one-run ball against the Colorado Rockies.

Offensively, the Dodgers have plenty of depth, but suffered an unfortunate blow when Kiké Hernández hurt his oblique. However, his injury shouldn't sideline him for more than a couple months at most, and Tommy Edman is expected to return sometime in June.

If the trade deadline were this week, the Dodgers would likely feel comfortable with where the roster stands. However, over the next couple months, the team will be ready to pivot in the event of more injuries.

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