The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team of two tales in mid-June 2025. Their offense is a roaring flame, leading baseball in hitting and scoring runs in a relentless fashion. But their championship aspirations are being weighed down by a pitching staff that has been broken in half by injury. This obvious hole has backed the front office into a corner as we near the trade deadline. To remedy it, the Dodgers have a complex trade scenario on their minds: Trading for a veteran starter from a heated division rival, a move that could be the ultimate gamble.
This urgent thirst for arms is written in the box scores and on the injured list. The Boys in Blue have a team ERA of 4.13, which is a lowly 22nd in MLB. The issue stems from a decimated rotation, with aces like Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell on the 60-day IL. Rookie Roki Sasaki’s status is unknown, and Shohei Ohtani isn’t scheduled to pitch until after the All-Star break.
This has led to an overtaxed bullpen and inconsistent starts, forcing the offense to win games by itself. One possible solution might be Arizona’s steady veteran, Merrill Kelly.
This intriguing possibility was highlighted by Doug McKain on a recent edition of “Dodgers Dugout Live.” McKain sees Kelly as a practical, attainable target. “Merrill Kelly is another guy I think teams are going to go after,” he stated, noting that as a pending free agent, “He’s someone they can get on the cheap potentially.” McKain emphasized the familiarity, as the Dodgers have faced him numerous times in the division. He suggests that while Kelly isn’t an ace, he could be a vital piece for a team desperate for reliable starts.
But does Kelly want to leave the Diamondbacks? Let’s hear what he said about his future just a few weeks ago. “This is the seventh, so I need three years after this. I know there’s not too many multi-year deals that are handed out for 37-year-olds. I’m aware of that. I’m gonna keep going as long as somebody will give me a big league jersey. I’ve said it multiple times, I would love for that to be here in Arizona. At the end of the day, it is a business and if somebody offers me two years rather than the one or whatever that may be, I’m gonna have to obviously weigh our options and see what the best thing for my family is.”
McKain’s analysis paints Kelly as a solid, not spectacular, addition. “He’s not an explosive pitcher by any stretch,” he admitted. “He’s not one of those guys that you look at as, oh, this is a game one, game two type of starter.” Instead, he views Kelly as a dependable veteran who can eat innings and keep the team in games, which is precisely what the Dodgers need. “He’s having a good year, 3.18 ERA,” McKain added, concluding that Kelly’s affordability makes him an attractive option for teams looking to add depth without mortgaging their future.
Dodgers’ dilemma: Risk vs. reward for a “win-now” team
Kelly’s 2025 performance certainly backs up this assessment. The 36-year-old has been a stabilizing force for the Diamondbacks. In over 82 innings, he has posted that impressive 3.18 ERA, backed up by a solid 3.22 FIP, which suggests his success is legitimate. He has maintained a healthy 24.4 K% next to a low 6.5% walk rate. That’s the profile of a durable, effective mid-rotation starter who throws the ball in the strike zone and keeps the team in the game every time he takes the mound, and that’s exactly what the Dodgers need right now.
The Diamondbacks, by contrast, are at a crossroads. Hovering around the .500 mark and fourth in the competitive NL West, their playoff aspirations suffered a huge blow recently when ace Corbin Burnes required season-ending surgery. This devastating blow likely pushes them into the role of sellers at the deadline. With Kelly on an expiring $18 million contract, trading him for future assets is a logical move for the team.
Yet there is one glaring, almost unbelievable anomaly in Kelly’s resume: his record against the Dodgers. In 17 career starts against Los Angeles, Kelly holds an astonishing 0-11 record with a bloated 5.56 ERA. He has been consistently battered by the Boys in Blue, allowing 16 home runs in just 89.0 innings. This isn’t a small sample size. It’s an unchanging pattern of failure vs. the very team that might trade for him.
Ultimately, the Dodgers will have to think about the significant risk against their desperate need. Kelly offers a clear path to stabilizing a rotation in disarray.
For a “win-now” team with a historic offense, there is no choice but to act. The NL West race is really tight, with the Giants a half game behind. And the Padres are trailing by only 2.0 games. Can the Dodgers really afford to overlook a possible answer practically in their own backyard, even with his haunted history against them?
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