The Los Angeles Dodgers are no strangers to seismic trade deadline moves. But this year, with a $400 million payroll, mounting injuries, and a bullpen in need of stability, the Dodgers are navigating perhaps their most delicate balancing act yet: staying aggressive without sacrificing a future cornerstone.
As Joel Sherman of the New York Post put it, “The Dodgers have become baseball’s Michael Myers as the rest of the sport envisions a beast lurking out there waiting to pounce. Many executives offered a version that they expect Los Angeles to land [Mason] Miller or [Steven] Kwan or both.”
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There’s no pitcher quite like Mason Miller on the market.
The 25-year-old A’s fireballer is averaging a league-best 101.2 mph on his fastball. He’s struck out nearly 40% of opposing hitters this season, leads MLB in swing-and-miss rate (42.8%), and has converted 20 of 23 save chances. Despite pitching for a franchise in flux, Miller has been a nightly reminder of what elite looks like.
The Athletics are at least listening on offers, according to multiple reports, including from Sherman of the New York Post. But the ask is predictably steep: league insiders say it will take a top-25 prospect to headline any serious package.
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The Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, and Mets are all said to be intrigued. But with Miller under team control through 2029 and making just $765,000 this year, the A’s aren’t desperate—and may need to be blown away to part with their biggest building block.
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Then there’s Steven Kwan, the Guardians’ two-time Gold Glove outfielder and one of the game’s toughest outs. At a time when L.A.’s outfield has struggled for consistency outside of Teoscar Hernández, Kwan’s profile—high OBP, elite defense, and control through 2027—makes him one of the most valuable players on the market.
Cleveland is reportedly open to moving him, but only for a substantial return. Jon Heyman reported the Dodgers are “one of many teams” showing interest, noting that any package “would likely be headlined by elite catching prospect Dalton Rushing.”
Rushing the Deal?
That’s where the calculus gets tricky. Rushing, the Dodgers’ top overall prospect per Baseball America, has long been viewed as Will Smith’s eventual successor. Though blocked at the MLB level, L.A. hasn’t experimented with him at other positions and views him as a long-term backstop.
So far, the Dodgers have been reluctant to move him. Manager Dave Roberts offered rare public clarity when asked about the trade rumors:
“I just don’t see a world in which he’s moved anyway, and I think he’s smart enough to realize that,” Roberts told reporters.
That’s the clearest indication yet that L.A. isn’t eager to use Rushing as trade bait. And yet, rival executives continue to link his name to any high-end return.
High Cost, High Stakes
Could the Dodgers land both Miller and Kwan? Executives around the league reportedly wouldn’t be surprised. As Joel Sherman wrote: “This is what happens when you already have taken your payroll above $400 million, are willing to pay $160 million-ish in luxury tax, and have a farm system that keeps producing attractive items.”
The Dodgers have the capital. They have the need. And they have the ambition.
But they also have a timeline to manage—and a reluctance to sacrifice a player they believe could define the next era behind the plate.
The odds of a Kwan deal, per ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, remain under 20%. But with days remaining before Thursday’s deadline, all options remain on the table. The Dodgers have been aggressive before. The question now is: How much do they want to win in 2025—and at what cost?