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With the August 3 trade deadline less than a week away, Eric Lauer and Alex Call are being viewed as potential trade chips for the Dodgers, per DodgerBlue. The report aligns with manager Dave Roberts‘ comments last week suggesting the club could be more of a seller at the deadline, and with the broader sense that the front office is taking an opportunistic rather than aggressive posture — even amid the ongoing Tarik Skubal speculation we’ve already covered.

Lauer has had an interesting run with the Dodgers. The left-hander came up through the Padres system, pitched for Milwaukee for several seasons, and signed with Los Angeles looking to carve out a role in a deep pitching staff. He’s a back-end starter or long-relief option — the kind of arm that contenders on the other side of the deadline might want as rotation depth. He’s not going to headline anyone’s acquisition, but he’s a useful, experienced big-league pitcher who eats innings and keeps his team in games. If the Dodgers aren’t buyers, flipping Lauer for a prospect or two makes obvious sense. He doesn’t figure into the long-term pitching plans here, especially once guys start coming back from injury.

Call is a similar profile on the position-player side — a journeyman outfielder who provides defensive versatility and a left-handed bat off the bench. He’s bounced around the league and has been a solid organizational depth piece. He’s not someone you’d build around, but for a team that needs an extra outfielder down the stretch, he has value. The Dodgers have outfield options stacked up, so moving Call frees a roster spot without any real cost to the big-league club.

I think this is exactly the right approach. We’re not in a position where we need to mortgage the future, and we’re also not so far out of things that we should be dumping core pieces. Moving guys like Lauer and Call is smart, low-risk housekeeping — the kind of deadline maneuvering that keeps the farm system stocked without weakening the roster in any meaningful way. The front office clearly sees this deadline as a chance to add depth for the future rather than swing for the fences right now, and these two names fit that strategy perfectly. If someone overpays for either of them, you take the call.

Source(s): Staff (DodgerBlue) | First reported: July 28, 2026 1:24 PM UTC

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