With back-to-back losses against the Yankees and Mets on Sunday and Monday, the Dodgers have seen their division lead in the NL West whittled down to a single game.
The always pesky Padres have won seven of their last 10, which allowed them to creep up behind the Giants (four for their last 10) and overtake them for second place.
The Padres had a mostly inactive offseason, but if they remain competitive by the All-Star break, their trade deadline could be a horrifyingly active one.
On Monday, Dennis Lin of the Athletic reported that they’d expressed interest in Red Sox outfielder and 2024’s All-Star Game MVP Jarren Duran.
Duran doesn’t look quite as good this season as he did last season, when he led baseball in doubles and triples and was Boston’s most valuable player by far, but the Red Sox have dropped under .500 and have no idea what to do with their logjam of top prospects, and the Padres desperately need to improve the bottom half of their lineup.
The last thing the Dodgers would want would be the Padres getting a power threat to add to Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, and even White Sox castoff Gavin Sheets, especially if they’re barely keeping a hold on their first place spot by the end of July.
Padres’ interest in Red Sox OF Jarren Duran could give the Dodgers a problem after the trade deadline
This isn’t to say that the Dodgers should try to trade for Duran themselves — even if they dumped Michael Conforto, they could move Dalton Rushing or Hyeseong Kim to the outfield to give them more playing time — but he would probably be a threat as an opponent, even if he’s not quite as good at the plate as he was last season. He could also just be on the cusp of a breakout, as June and July are typically his best offensive months.
The Dodgers will have to be all-in on pitching at the deadline, especially because it sort of seems like Tyler Glasnow may never return.
For the time being, though, they just need to get back to winning games. They’ve won five of their last 10, which has also allowed the Padres to creep up the standings.
Putting a wider gap between themselves and San Diego before the deadline would make it a lot harder for them to care whether or not the Padres get Duran.
