Dodgers Rumors: Rival Evaluators Expect Team To Land Big Name

When it comes to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, every Major League team goes through a phase where they need to evaluate where they are at. For some teams, they are on the cusp of becoming what they want to be, while for others it means taking a step back and thinking about the future.

The Los Angeles Dodgers find themselves entering Tuesday with a half-game lead over the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. The Dodgers are interested in starting pitching help, as the team has a need for some help with their injured rotation.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports, the Dodgers are expected to land one of the big-name starters they have been linked to:

Rival talent evaluators say they would be stunned if #Dodgers don't come away with #Phillies Cole Hamels or #Tigers David Price at deadline.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 28, 2015

Hamels is in the third year of a six-year contract, making him more valuable than a two-month rental like Price. The Philadelphia Phillies announced recently that they want to receive all final offers for Hamels by Wednesday. This tactic makes sense for the Phillies, but does leave the Dodgers in a predicament. The team must decide if they want to bite on their final offer and give up one of their two top prospects, Corey Seager and Julio Urias, as a part of the deal.

On the other hand, the acquisition of Price is the opposite direction in that it is a rental for just this season. Price signed a one-year, $19.75 million deal with the Detroit Tigers, which would mean the Dodgers would only have him until the end of the season.

Both teams would require some sort of prospect turnover for the starting pitchers, but the Dodgers have also made it known that Yasiel Puig and Alexander Guerrero are both available on the trade market.