(Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE)
The Los Angeles Dodgers entered the season with five established veteran starters and have added two more veterans in August alone. Yet it’s easy to see why general manager Ned Colletti is still trying to add more pitching.
Colletti was a guest on “The Dan Patrick Show” on Monday and said he still had a deal in the works, four days before Friday’s deadline to acquire players to be eligible for the postseason. Patrick tried to get Colletti to divulge details of his trade talks, but all the general manager would confirm is that the club is still looking for pitching.
“We’re trying to do one more if we can, but it’s more precarious than ever down to the last few days,” Colletti said. “We’re still on the phone with a lot of clubs heading up to the 31st of August.”
Chad Billingsley is on the disabled list with right elbow pain and is waiting for a second MRI after his swelling goes down. But the original MRI with the swelling showed enough damage to put the right-hander on the DL, and he could miss significant time. Ted Lilly hasn’t pitched for the Dodgers since May 23, and if he comes back in September it would be as a reliever.
If Billingsley is unavailable, the Dodgers would be rather thin at the top of the rotation after Clayton Kershaw. Chris Capuano is likely the second best starter, and the Dodgers are hoping for a resurgence from Josh Beckett, who was 5-11 with a 5.23 ERA in the American League. Adding a top-of-the-rotation starter would be ideal, but it’s unlikely if such a pitcher is available.
Then again, after adding nine new players and more than $300 million in salary commitments since the end of July, Colletti might very well believe that anything is possible.
