Dodgers keep adding, get ChiSox’s Lynn, Kelly
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
The Los Angeles Dodgers added an experienced arm to their short-handed rotation and a familiar face to the back end of their bullpen Friday, acquiring starter Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly from the Chicago White Sox, the teams announced.
In exchange, the White Sox received outfielder Trayce Thompson, who was originally drafted by Chicago in 2009, along with minor league starter Nick Nastrini and minor league reliever Jordan Leasure.
Lynn and Kelly join shortstop Amed Rosario and utilityman Enrique Hernandez among the Dodgers’ acquisitions this week, all of whom could be free agents after the season. Lynn and Kelly both have club options for next season and are making a combined $27.5 million in 2023.
Lynn, 36, has struggled mightily through the second season of a two-year, $38 million extension he signed with the White Sox in July 2021, posting a 6.47 ERA in 119⅔ innings while allowing a major-league-high 28 home runs. Lynn waived his no-trade clause to accept the move to Los Angeles.
“Outside of the batted-ball stuff, his under-the-hood stuff is not that much different than it’s been in the past,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said. “As well as doing some digging, we think there’s some suggestions we have with pitch usage that should be helpful. So getting him in our environment with our pitching guys and the energy that guys will have around him is really exciting.”
Kelly — who, like Hernandez, was a fan favorite on the 2020 Dodgers team that won the championship to end the COVID-19-shortened season — has posted a 4.97 ERA in 29 innings, striking out 41 batters and walking 12. The 35-year-old right-hander has served two stints on the injured list this season because of a groin strain and elbow inflammation.
“The people of Los Angeles know Joe, and I would argue that his stuff is even better than it was when he was with us – the velocity, the curveball, all that stuff,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I think for Joe specifically, there’s been some on the IL, off, and I also think that, he’s a guy, like most players, when they’re in a winning environment, they thrive.”
The Dodgers began the week in desperate need of starting pitching and had been among the most aggressive suitors for Lynn, despite his underwhelming numbers. The Dodgers are in first place in the National League West and sit 15 games over .500, but they have thrived despite issues throughout their rotation.
Julio Urias has had an up-and-down year, Clayton Kershaw is on the injured list, Dustin May has been lost for the season, Walker Buehler is still working his way back from Tommy John surgery and Noah Syndergaard struggled mightily before getting sent to the Cleveland Guardians in the Rosario deal, forcing rookie starters Emmet Sheehan, Bobby Miller and Michael Grove to take on more of a workload than the Dodgers initially hoped.
The bullpen was also an issue in the early part of the season, but Dodgers relievers have posted a major-league-best 2.67 ERA this month, with the likes of Caleb Ferguson, Ryan Brasier, Phil Bickford, Yency Almonte and Brusdar Graterol stepping up late in games.
In Lynn, Kelly, Rosario and Hernandez, the Dodgers have acquired four veteran players who are having relatively underwhelming seasons. Rosario and Hernandez will bounce around the middle infield and not spend most of their time at shortstop, the position they’ve played full-time in 2023.
All four believe they can improve in L.A.
“I would argue we’ve raised the floor and the ceiling,” Roberts said. “With [Hernandez], there’s a familiarity, there’s something that we feel like we can tap into, essentially give him some opportunities versus [left-handed pitchers], use the versatility on defense. And I think that with Joe, familiarity, and I mentioned the culture part of it. I think there are some things with Lance — the sequencing, the strikeout rates, there are certain things that can raise that ceiling. And then with Amed — his buy-in, his athleticism. He’s now the fastest player on our ballclub, so that speed element, the ability to move around the diamond, to lengthen our ballclub versus left-handed pitching has raised the ceiling.”
Thompson hit .155 in 36 games for the Dodgers this season, his second in his latest stint in Los Angeles. He hit three of his five home runs this year in his first game of 2023, on April 1 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Thompson has been on the injured list since June with a left oblique strain and had recently started a rehab assignment with the Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League affiliate.
The White Sox, 22 games below .500 and 13 games out of first place despite playing in the weak American League Central, sent starter Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez to the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday and are expected to shed more veterans before Tuesday’s trade deadline. The White Sox had gone into a rebuilding phase hoping to establish themselves as a legitimate contender, but a division title in 2021 was followed by a .500 finish in 2022.
The end of the 2023 season, the first under rookie manager Pedro Grifol, could trigger another rebuilding cycle on the South Side.
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Jesse Rogers
CHICAGO — Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino started pointing toward the locker of teammate Seth Lugo after their 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Lugo, 35, had just pitched six solid innings in sweltering heat, leading Kansas City to its 50th win of the season.
“I’d like to see him pitch for us again,” Pasquantino said while pointing. “I’d really like to see him in a Royals jersey in his next start. We’re trying to make that happen. That’s up to us.”
The Royals are one of the bubble teams in the American League, having picked up some ground on the wild-card leaders after taking two of three from the Cubs. But they are still three games under .500 as the MLB trade deadline approaches next week. Lugo would be an attractive player for another team, as he is set to become a free agent, assuming he turns down his player option for next season.
Kansas City should do well in a trade if it chooses to move him. Lugo’s ERA sits at 2.95 after he gave up two runs in his six innings Wednesday.
“His name is prevalent, especially here [Chicago],” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said before the game. “I’m aware of that. We talked about it openly, understanding we like what we have here. We believe if we can string some good games together, we can get back in this thing.”
If they can’t get back in it, the Cubs are among the teams expected to be interested in Lugo’s services. Their starting pitching after top guys Shota Imanaga and All-Star Matthew Boyd is suspect. Righty Colin Rea gave up three home runs Wednesday, two to Pasquantino. Lugo easily outpitched him, giving up four hits and two walks while striking out six on an extremely hitter-friendly day at Wrigley Field. The wind was blowing out, but Lugo kept the ball in the park.
Afterward, he was asked how he keeps his mind focused considering the rumors swirling around him.
“You don’t think about it,” he said. “You worry about the start. That’s it.”
Lugo was pleased to hear Pasquantino go to bat for him. He said he’d rather stay and win with the Royals than be shipped out.
“I want to be here through the thick and thin,” he said. “It’s a good team. We just have to be more consistent and we’ll be all right.”
Kansas City has hovered around the .500 mark all season but hasn’t been able to get over the hump in the wild-card race. The win Wednesday drew the Royals within four games of the final wild-card spot but with four teams to overcome.
Quatraro waved off the trade talk, citing the unpredictability of the season after the deadline. No matter what his front office does, he wants his team to continue to push.
“You can add to your team and not play as well,” he said. “You can subtract from your team and play better. Or you can stay status quo and get hot.”
Pasquantino added: “It’s a business. Teams have to make business decisions, but as far as I’m concerned, I want [Lugo] in Royals blue for the rest of the season.”
After a day off Thursday, the Royals begin a homestand that will take them through the deadline on July 31. Lugo would be in line to start against the Atlanta Braves next week before the deadline, but it remains to be seen whether he’ll take the mound as scheduled.
“Start today,” he said. “Off day tomorrow, and it’s back to work after that. Control what I can control. Go about my routine. Go about my business.”
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