In a last-second move, the Dodgers agreed to trade pitcher Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday afternoon after a relatively quiet deadline.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have traded RHP Ross Stripling to the Toronto Blue Jays for two players to be named later.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 31, 2020
Trade season is always a rollercoaster as any player that leaves the organization is usually hard to say goodbye to. In the case of Ross Stripling, we are losing someone that came up through the organization and made an impact in a variety of ways.
Having said that, however, the Dodgers’ starting rotation has been lacking in clarity all season long and will benefit from this move going forward. The Dodgers have used a total of 8 different starting pitchers (if you include Caleb Ferguson’s bullpen game start) and have gone through some roster gymnastics to make it possible.
Prior to the trade, the rotation consisted of Kershaw, Buehler, May, Urias, and Stripling. This did not leave space for the Dodgers’ other rookie sensation in Tony Gonsolin, who has had some excellent spot starts so far this year. From the look of things, the Dodgers were inclined to give Gonsolin a rotation spot going forward, but needed to make room.
Friedman said the team made the decision to put Gonsolin in the rotation and didn't feel comfortable moving Stripling back to the bullpen. "We have a ton of professional and personal respect for Ross and believe he is a Major League starting pitcher."
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) August 31, 2020
As a result of the trade, the 5th rotation spot now belongs to Tony Gonsolin, who is sporting a 0.51 ERA in 17.2 innings this season. The rotation as a whole should feel much more stable going forward, that is, until Alex Wood is ready to come off of the IL. Once that day comes, it’s anyone’s guess as to who loses their spot in the rotation, but we’ll take things one step at a time.
