While most of the National League is still on the border of the playoff picture, the Dodgers have no such ambiguity. Theyre in their typical position of preparing to buy. On paper, the teams biggest question appears to be the roster depth. The Dodgers havent gotten much production out of the bottom third of the lineup. They have seven starting pitchers on the injured list at the moment, leading them to go into the All-Star Break with a four-man rotation that includes three rookies. They felt the effects in the weeks leading up to the Break. Theyve taken just four of 12 games this month and have a 20-18 record since the beginning of June. Despite their recent slump, the Dodgers have one of the more comfortable divisional cushions in the majors. Theyre seven games clear of the Diamondbacks and Padres in the NL West. They remain very likely to win the division. Whether theyll finish in the National Leagues top two and secure a first-round bye is more of a question. L.A. is well back of the Phillies for the #1 seed and only holds a one-game edge on the Central-leading Brewers. The division lead allows the front office to be flexible in which players they target before July 30. President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman indicated this week that the Dodgers will focus most of their attention at the top of the trade market. For us, I dont Gordon Graceffo Jersey think our mentality is different than its been in previous years in that we feel we have a really good team and to the extent that we can add really good players were going to be aggre sive to do so, Friedman said (link via ). What appears to be a marginal upgrade is not something were going to spend a lot of time on. That doesnt mean something is not going to happen along those lines but thats not where our energy and focus will be. With very little danger of mi sing the playoffs, the Dodgers can primarily concern themselves with how the roster will look in October. They anticipate having a lot of impact players back by then. Los Angeles isnt expecting a long-term absence for . , and could be back in August. is building up in the minors as he completes his rehab from last years shoulder surgery. and once looked like obvious pieces of the October staff. Thats questionable now. Buehler was rocked over eight starts in his return from a second Tommy John procedure. He has been on the injured list for a month with a hip i sue. Miller lost a couple months to a shoulder problem and didnt look like himself upon returning. The Dodgers optioned him to Triple-A late last week. wont be able to contribute down the stretch after unexpectedly requiring in a scary situation. Glasnow, Yamamoto, Kershaw and could still comprise a solid playoff rotation. Theres downside with that entire group, though. Yamamoto is rehabbing a rotator cuff strain. Glasnow should easily eclipse his previous career high in innings. Kershaw is a 36-year-old coming off shoulder surgery. This is the first time Stone is getting extended run out of the rotation. Theres not a ton of value for the Dodgers in acquiring a back-end arm to take a handful of starts in August and September. Like every team, Los Angeles would benefit from adding another high-end starter whom the team would feel comfortable taking the ball in October. The Dodgers reportedly already made an offer to the White Sox for that was turned down. Theyll presumably have continued interest in the AL strikeout leader, whod certainly qualify as the kind of impact talent to which Friedman alluded. Teams will have questions about how well Crochet will hold up given his innings count, but hes pitching like an ace at the moment. and look like the top rental starters wholl be on the market. Plunkett writes that Friedman downplayed the urgency to add at specific positions on the other side of the ball. The Dodgers havent gotten much out of at second base. Theyve had limited production in both left and center field. Third base has been an i sue since Muncy went down. has stabilized the corner outfield spot opposite , but the Dodgers are relying on in center field after he struggled early in the season. Getting Betts back in the fold would go a long way toward addre sing those problems. He could slide to second base with handling shortstop, pushing Lux to the bench. Betts could obviously handle the outfield if need be. As with the rotation, its easy enough to argue for an upgrade, but its also not clear how many significant players are on the market. The middle infield group looks . is the crown of the center field cla s. The White Sox would need a ma sive haul to deal him thanks to his three years of remaining club control. Thomas Saggese Jersey