Dodgers Must Trade for Brewers' Corbin Burnes Amid Clayton Kershaw Injury, MLB Rumors

Los Angeles Dodgers starter and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw announced on Instagram Friday that he underwent surgery on the gleno-humeral ligaments and capsule of his left shoulder and is "hopeful to return to play at some point next summer."

Some may read that as a positive, that Kershaw wants to return to the mound, but it is also a harrowing reminder that the team's pitching situation is hardly that of a legitimate World Series contender and something it must address this offseason.

It appears as though they know it, too.

"The Dodgers are expected to pursue former Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, if the Milwaukee Brewers consider trading their ace right-hander ahead of his final year of team control," Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times wrote.

Burnes was instrumental in the Milwaukee Brewers clinching the National League Central division this season and, despite giving up four earned runs in four innings to the eventual league champion Arizona Diamondbacks, played some of his best ball down the stretch to get his team to the postseason.

Corbin struck out 9.29 batters, gave up just over one home run, and walked just over three hitters over the course of nine innings in 2023 per Fangraphs, all strong stats from an ace pitcher.

The Dodgers, by comparison, tallied similar numbers but had a collective ERA of 4.09 and ranked 21st in the majors with 1.24 home runs per nine innings. They were not consistently good and the Diamondbacks made them pay for it in the NLDS, sweeping them while putting up 19 runs in three games.

The team is expected to make a run at Shohei Ohtani in free agency but the best two-way player in baseball history will not be able to pitch for the team until at least 2025 following arm surgery. The team needs help in the rotation this coming season and cannot afford to wait around and hope that one, Ohtani returns to pitching and, two, he is as effective as he once was.

With Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman coming off MVP-worthy seasons, and the team re-signing Max Muncy in hopes he can continue to add a big bat to the lineup, the team is set offensively to win now.

It needs to find itself an ace that it can rely on to get wins, secure crucial outs, and carry the team on its back until Kershaw returns. Even then, it needs someone to assume the ace position in the event that the Hall of Famer who returns to the mound is not the same guy that he was even this past season.

Burnes has shown that he can be that guy.

It is up to the Dodgers to look at their farm system and current roster and see if they can piece together enough parts to convince the Brewers to deal Burnes to a competitor in the same league.

If so, the team will have a shot at overcoming the hurdles that have seen superb regular seasons end in disappointing fashion all too often.