The Los Angeles Dodgers are cruising in the NL West, sitting 7.5 games up on the second-place San Diego Padres. The MLB trade deadline seems to prompt a flurry of roster moves for almost every ball club, even if the transactions do not include a trade. This was the case for the Dodgers on July 2.
Los Angeles designated starting pitcher James Paxton for assignment. Paxton was 8-2 with a 4.43 ERA this season. There are far worse starting pitchers in the league keeping jobs so this move was a little bit of a surprise.
It was intially reported that this roster move was made to make way for prospect River Ryan as well as veterans Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow who is about to return from injury. Now it has been reported that the Dodgers have their eye on another starting pitcher who is very similar to James Paxton, just older.
The interest from the Dodgers can’t help but cause a little bit of confusion. Rich Hill last pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres in 2023 where he went 8-14 with a 5.41 ERA combined. These are far worse numbers than James Paxton had given the Dodgers before being DFA’d.
The only logical explanation for the Dodgers signing Rich Hill would be for clubhouse leadership and a safety net should one of their other options be faced with an unfortunate injury after the trade deadline has already passed. It is possible Hill could win a rotation spot with Los Angeles but there are several other teams out there where he wouldn’t have to have as much of a competition.
