The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are two of the better teams in baseball, and they’ll likely be two of the more aggressive teams at the trade deadline.
Both teams need to add to their respective bullpens, so there’s a good chance we see the Yankees and Dodgers battling for similar trade targets in the coming weeks in the same way the two sides battled over Jack Flaherty last year.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan recently listed the Yankees and Dodgers as two of the “best fits” in a potential trade for star reliever Griffin Jax of the Minnesota Twins.
“Despite a 3.92 ERA that says otherwise, Jax has been one of the top relievers in baseball this season — the best by xFIP and toward the top in other, similar metrics,” Passan wrote. “Only Fernando Cruz and Mason Miller have better strikeout rates than Jax’s 14.37 per nine, and his sweeper-heavy arsenal induces as much swing-and-miss as anyone.”
Jax is one of the more underrated pitchers set to become available at the trade deadline. While most of the eyes are on Emmanuel Clase and Ryan Helsley, adding a talented seventh or eighth inning guy like Jax would be massive for any team.
For the Yankees, this would be about adding talent and depth. The bullpen is solid at the backend, but could use some help in the seventh inning or later high-leverage situations.
For the Dodgers, it would all be about health. Los Angeles’ pitching staff has struggled with staying healthy all year. The front office needs to add some pitching, especially if the Dodgers’ starting rotation is going to average well under five innings pitched per start.
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