The Los Angeles Dodgers have a problem most teams would kill for. They have too much talent and not enough holes to fill. But the 2026 MLB trade deadline is creeping up, and the front office isn’t the type to sit still.
Injuries have hit the rotation again. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell have both missed time. The Dodgers have cycled through depth pieces like Santiago Espinal and Chuckie Robinson, guys who aren’t even on the active roster anymore. Young players like Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland have stepped up. Tanner Scott has turned into a reliable closer. Even Eric Lauer, a guy picked up for pocket change, has turned into a useful sixth starter. The farm system is stacked. The ownership group will spend whatever it takes to chase a third straight World Series. So naturally, the Dodgers have been linked to just about every big name on the market.
Tarik Skubal is the dream target for fans. He would make any rotation better, including one that already features Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But the Tigers are playing better than expected. They might not trade Skubal at all. And if they do, the price could be so high that even the Dodgers balk.
The real answer might be simpler
If Skubal stays in Detroit, the Dodgers could go the other direction. Instead of swinging for a superstar, they might add the kind of player who fits like a glove without costing the farm. A guy like Luis Arraez.
Arraez has been a pest to the Dodgers for years, first with the Padres and now with the Giants. He hits for average. He gets on base. He rarely strikes out. He has three batting titles, two Silver Sluggers, and four All-Star nods. He plays second base and can fill in at first. And the Giants? They figured out pretty quickly that they aren’t contenders. They’re selling.
The Dodgers have a second base situation that works. Tommy Edman can play there. But Edman is at his best when he’s bouncing around the diamond. Since returning from surgery in June, he has played third, left field, second, and pinch-hit. Locking him into one spot wastes his biggest weapon: versatility.
Adding Arraez would let Edman roam. It would give Dave Roberts a reliable bat in the two-hole behind Shohei Ohtani. It would give the lineup a contact hitter who can move runners and wear down pitchers. And it would give the Dodgers insurance if another infielder or outfielder goes down.
Arraez is hitting above .300 again. The Dodgers only have one regular above .294 right now. That’s Edman. The math writes itself.
ESPN has Arraez’s trade odds at 90 percent. The question isn’t whether he moves. It’s whether the Dodgers are willing to pay what the Giants want. The asking price shouldn’t be astronomical. San Francisco isn’t holding a bidding war for a rental who doesn’t hit for power. The Dodgers have enough prospects to get this done without touching their top guys.
There’s also a personal connection here. Arraez shared an All-Star clubhouse with six current Dodgers during the midseason break in Philadelphia. That doesn’t seal a trade, but it doesn’t hurt. Dave Roberts could have a seventh familiar face in the dugout by October.
The Dodgers don’t need a savior. They need a table-setter. Arraez might be exactly that.
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