LOS ANGELES — There are 12 shopping days left before the Aug. 1 trade deadline, more than enough time for the Dodgers to address their most pressing needs — a starting pitcher or two for an injury-ravaged rotation, an impact arm for an improving but still-thin bullpen and perhaps a right-handed-hitting outfielder.
It's a sellers' market, with 19 teams entering play Thursday with a division lead, in a wild-card position or within six games of a playoff spot, and two or three teams — the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and perhaps the Cleveland Guardians — on the bubble, trying to decide whether to hold — and maybe be bold — or fold.
Starting pitching, as usual, is the focus of most trade talks, and there appear to be a fair number of solid rotation candidates available, though no surefire ace unless the Angels shock the baseball world and decide to part with two-way phenom Shohei Ohtani.
