The 2010 Major League Baseball trade deadline is quickly approaching with the deadline being its customary date of July 31st on a yearly basis.

I will try and tackle every Major League team as the deadline approaches to see if they will be buyers, sellers or stick to their current roster.

I will be basing my assumptions on the direction the team is going, their record as of the date I post the article, possible roster injuries and so on and so forth.

I will provide the information about each team by division.

I began with the National League East’s Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Florida Marlins & Washington Nationals.

I continued with a look at the NL Central’s Cincinnati Reds, St.Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Earlier this week I moved onto the NL West with a look at the San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies.

I will now continue my look at the NL West with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Coming into play today the Dodgers sat third in the NL West with a record of 49-40, two and a half games behind the division leading San Diego Padres.

The Dodgers had a successful season in 2009, advancing to the National League Championship Series, losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The team features impressive young stars such as Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley, James Loney, Jonathan Broxton and more combined with the likes of veterans Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake & Manny Ramirez.

In the off-season the team did not dive too heavily into the free agent market, with owner Frank McCourt’s pending divorce from his wife Jamie. Despite letting the media know that the divorce would in no way affect the team it surely was obvious prior to the season, as the Dodgers were quiet.

The team added veteran utility infielder Jamey Carroll (two years, $3.85 million), outfielder Reed Johnson (one year, $800,000), outfielder Garrett Anderson (minor league deal), outfielder Alfredo Amezaga (minor league deal), resigned numerous pieces such as Vicente Padilla, Brad Ausmus, Ronnie Belliard and Jeff Weaver and traded away the contract of Juan Pierre to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for John Link & John Ely.

The Dodgers have had a good season thus far, despite the team’s rotation posting a record of 33-32, with an earned run average of 4.33, which ranks them 12th in the NL.

Kershaw (9-5, 3.16ERA), Billingsley (7-4, 4.14ERA), Hiroki Kuroda (7-7, 3.87ERA) & Padilla (4-2, 4.04ERA) have done their jobs in the top four spots of the rotation, but the team does not have a legit fifth starter. The team has used John Ely, Carlos Monasterios & James McDonald in the role, with Ely (4-7, 4.63ERA) having the most success.

The team had a very successful bullpen last season and are currently seventh in the NL in team ERA at 3.75. The bullpen is anchored by the closer Broxton (3-0, 2.11ERA, 19SV in 21SVO) and impressive lefty Hong-Chih Kuo (3-1, 0.99ERA), but are missing key piece Ronald Belisario, who is on the team’s restricted list with “personal issues”, while George Sherill (0-1, 7.08ERA) has melted down this season and was recently placed on outright waivers.

Offensively the Dodgers are one of the best in the NL. The team ranks third in runs scored, third in hits, fifth in doubles, fourth in runs batted in, third in batting average, fourth in on-base percentage and seventh in slugging percentage.

All-Star starter Andre Ethier (.326, 15HR, 55RBI) is having a fantastic season, while James Loney (.306, 6HR, 63RBI) is in the top five in the NL in runs batted in. Kemp (.258, 16HR, 51RBI) is showcasing his all around baseball skill, All-Star shortstop Rafael Furcal (.328, 6HR, 35RBI, .378OBP) is a spark plug atop of the team’s line-up and Manny Ramirez (.317, 8HR, 39RBI) is still a dangerous hitter.

Andre Ethier & Manny Ramirez are two of the Dodgers many offensive weapons.

The Dodgers are currently in a tough NL West race with the Padres, Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants and may need to pick up a piece or two at the trade deadline to add to their already impressive team due to the fact that their competition is becoming quite stiff in the division.

Johnson was recently placed on the team’s disabled list with chronic lower back issues and the team is not receiving much production from their other outfielders Garrett Anderson (.178, 2HR, 11RBI) & Xavier Paul (.259, 0HR, 9RBI). The team has also been fielding calls from numerous teams for the services of Carroll (.291, 0HR, 11RBI).

The team is also rumoured to be interested in adding a starter and reliever to their team.

The Dodgers were interested in pitcher Cliff Lee before he was traded to the Texas Rangers, but would not part with Loney or Billingsley.

It is unlikely that the team would trade Carroll as he is a dependable asset for the Dodgers, who can play multiple positions around the infield, but if the team is desperate enough for a starter or reliever he could be a nice piece of veteran bait to use, although the team has interest in using internal option Kenley Jansen in the bullpen.

The team could add relievers such as Seattle Mariners David Aardsma, Cleveland Indians Kerry Wood or Toronto Blue Jays Kevin Gregg, Scott Downs or Jason Frasor, but it is doubtful the team will offer up a package similar to the Josh Bell/Steve Johnson that they gave the Baltimore Orioles last season for George Sherill.

The team does possess prospects in shortstop Dee Gordon (.279, 2HR, 25RBI, 33SB @ Double A Chattanooga) and pitchers Chris Withrow (3-4, 4.85ERA @ Double A Chattanooga), Ethan Martin (9-7, 4.71ERA @ Class A Inland) & Aaron Miller (0-2, 2.40ERA @ Double A Chattanooga).

The Dodgers could be one of the teams in the mix for the Chicago Cubs Ted Lilly, although his $12 million salary and no trade protection may be hard to get around. Other options the Dodgers have from the starting pitching standpoint are Indians Jake Westbrook, Orioles Jeremy Guthrie or even former Dodger Edwin Jackson.

The Dodgers are in need of a starting pitcher, a reliever for their bullpen and another bat off the team’s bench, with their trade bait being Carroll and their top prospects. The Dodgers may be able to add this reliever if Belisario can return from the restricted list or a new option such as Jansen proves effective and their outfield problem may be resolved with the return of Johnson. Ely may in fact be the fifth starter they need, but the team may instead want to add a veteran presence for their playoff stretch run.

Whatever decisions the Dodgers may make come the trade deadline they surely will need to add the necessary pieces required to compete in the NL West horse race that has been going on since the beginning of the season and will surely continue towards the end of the 2010 season.

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