Thanks to the season-ending injury to franchise shortstop Corey Seager, the Dodgers are thin in the infield as we work our way toward the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
Chris Taylor has filled in admirably at Seager's position, but second base has been a sinkhole all season. Dodger second basemen this season have combined for an OPS of just .648, and primaries Chase Utley and Logan Forsythe have been even worse than that. The Dodgers are reported to be among the teams that are most serious about trading for Orioles shortstop/deadline headliner Manny Machado (which would push Taylor to second base). Now, though, it appears L.A. is broadening its search to include more potential infield solutions. Here's the scoop from Yahoo's Jeff Passan:
That versatility noted above means, in this instance, Taylor. He can play second, which allows the pursuit of a shortstop, or he can play short (among other positions), which allows the pursuit of a second baseman. Of the names above, Scooter Gennett of the Reds figures to be the best catch. He added more loft to his swing, and since the start of the 2017 season on Cincy's watch he's batted .306/.352/.522 (128 OPS+) with 41 home runs in 228 games. The 28-year-old Gennett isn't eligible for free agency until after the 2019 season.
As for Dozier, he's an established power hitter, but this season his overall numbers are down quite a bit (95 OPS+ versus a 131 OPS+ from 2016-17). That said, if the Dodgers project a return to form or something close to it, then the 31-year-old pending free agent could be a sensible addition. Cabrera, 32, has been a plus hitter for his career and over the four seasons in particular. In 2018, he's enjoying perhaps the best outputs of his career (16 homers and a 125 OPS+ through 86 games played). Cabrera's eligible for free agency at season's end.
Of these three, Dozier's $9 million is the highest salary, and of course more than half of that tab is already paid. That's notable for the Dodgers, who remain wary of the competitive-balance tax threshold.