As the trade deadline approaches, Dodgers could use another arm

Fabian Ardaya and his colleagues at The Athletic chatted about which teams should buy and which should sell at the upcoming trade deadline, and his conclusion for the Dodgers is no surprise: Buy another pitcher.

With Blake Treinen, Daniel Hudson, and Tommy Kahnle all on the injured list and Craig Kimbrel giving a more inconsistent performance than expected, another bullpen arm would certainly come in handy.

David Shoenfield at ESPN suggested a slightly different approach in acquiring starter Frankie Montas of the Oakland Athletics, someone A’s beat writer Steve Berman described as “by far their best chip” in revitalizing Oakland’s lacking farm system.

Montas is currently dealing with some shoulder inflammation but is expected to recover quickly. He has a 3.26 ERA and 100 strikeouts over 17 games and 96.2 innings, with an average fastball speed of about 96. Two weeks ago, he took a no-hitter well into the eighth inning.

“Frankie’s been pretty much dealing all season,” said A’s catcher Christian Bethancourt of the almost-no-no. “Today was just another day for him.”

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The starting pitcher is an endangered species, writes Jeff Passan of ESPN. Among his spotlit starters: the Marlins’ Sandy Alcántara, who may be on his way to starting the All-Star Game in L.A.

It’s a tight race for All-Star voting, write Brian Murphy and Thomas Harrigan at MLB.com. The second phase of fan voting ends tomorrow, with Mookie Betts clinging onto a starting spot and Trea Turner just behind Dansby Swanson for his own.

The Dodgers and Cardinals will be televised nationally on TBS outside of local markets next Tuesday, with Brian Anderson, Jeff Francoeur, and Allie LaForce on the call.