Padres, Dodgers Predicted to Enter Bidding Way for All-Star Starting Pitcher at Trade Deadline

The San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are clashing on the field during seven games in 11 days stretch, though they could be set to face off on the trade market as well.

Any playoff team will be looking to add pitching at the trade deadline — either starting or relief arms — in order to cover themselves in case of an injury.

The Padres and Dodgers will likely be in the playoffs in some capacity, either winning the division or via a wildcard spot.

Considering how frequent pitching injuries are, both teams will be looking for additional arms to shore up their pitching reserves.

Zach Lutz of Just Baseball predicts that the National League West should end up vying for Houston Astros ace Framber Valdez.

"As for Valdez, if Houston does sell, the Dodgers and Padres could be front-runners. Both are in contention and could use a durable left-handed starter," Lutz wrote in an article.

"The Padres could use someone to complement Michael King and help offset Dylan Cease’s inconsistency.

"The Dodgers’ pitching injuries have been well-documented, and question marks in the current rotation behind Yoshinobu Yamamoto could inspire a front office motivated to repeat as champions.

"A Padres-Dodgers bidding war for Valdez would be electric, and it wouldn’t be the first time those clubs clashed at the deadline."

Valdez has been one of the best pitchers in baseball again, netting a 2.0 WAR with a 3.07 ERA through 85 innings pitched.

His pitching style revolves around netting a high volume of ground balls — which explains his higher expected ERA of 3.67 — but he always manages to outperform his expected number.