Dodgers notes: Trade deadline targets, Jason Heyward, Clayton Kershaw

After a Noah Syndergaard start seems as good a time as any to bring up what pitchers the Dodgers might acquire by the trade deadline.

With all the injuries in the rotation, pitching could “potentially” be a priority via trade, Andrew Friedman acknowledged to Bill Plunkett at the Orange County Register. Also of note in that article is that surgery was “initially” on the table for Dustin May, but per Friedman, “I think now we’re in a good spot where that doesn’t seem like something we’ll need to do.”

Jason Heyward’s great uncle is Kenny Washington, the former UCLA basketball player who won championships under John Wooden in 1964 and 1965. That family tie nearly led Heyward to play his college baseball for the Bruins, writes Jack Harris at the Los Angeles Times.

After seeing it in action in many Triple-A games, J.J. Cooper at Baseball America is convinced that the challenge system has the best of baseball’s automated ball-strike system without the downsides.

Marc Normandin at Baseball Prospectus wrote about Major League Baseball’s dance between pending expansion and trying to improve the lower end of existing stadiums:

The point is that MLB isn’t going to actually expand until they feel confident in the stadium situations of every team in the league. Which could be soon—the A’s could finalize a Vegas deal, the Rays a central Florida of some kind one, the Brewers could work out something with local government like Manfred expects to happen—or it could be somewhere closer to never, because this is an endless grift and stadiums seem to be replaced more often these days than they used to be.

Thursday was the 15th anniversary of Clayton Kershaw’s major league debut, and the only game of his career wearing number 54. Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo shared on Instagram a picture of Kershaw at his locker in the old clubhouse at Dodger Stadium, which also provided some delicious trivia that Kershaw was surrounded by Cory Wade and Jason Schmidt.

Kershaw on Friday also announced he’ll be a part of Christian Faith and Family day at Dodger Stadium on July 30.

More from Kershaw, who earlier in the week was a guest on Off Base with Mookie Betts at Bleacher Report. In this clip, Kershaw details his pregame routine, in many cases down to the minute.