Dodgers' World Series Pursuit Shouldn't Stop with Tyler Glasnow Amid MLB Trade Rumors

The Los Angeles Dodgers have dominated the baseball conversation over the last week thanks to the unprecedented acquisition of free agent two-way player Shohei Ohtani.

Frustrated following another failed 100-win season, and with their eyes on a World Series ring, the team does not intend to stop at Ohtani.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported "The Dodgers, even if they acquire Tyler Glasnow from the Tampa Bay Rays, are still all in on Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Yet, the Yankees still remain the favorites on Yamomoto."

Not only does Nightengale suggest there was something to Jack Azoulay-Haron's report that the Dodgers were in discussions with the Tampa Bay Rays for ace Tyler Glasnow, but it also gives insight to the Dodgers' mindset this offseason.

The team watched Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts play some of the best baseball of their Hall of Fame-worthy careers, only to be ousted form the playoffs in the divisional round by an Arizona Diamondbacks team that out-hit them, doing considerable damage to their starting rotation.

The team ERA of 6.58 was the second-worst pitching performance of the playoffs, ahead of only the Baltimore Orioles. The offense failed, too, with an average of 1.77 and a third-worst OPS of .498.

Management is likely tired of producing a team that appears to effortlessly roll through the regular season before stalling when wins and losses count most and exiting the playoffs without a championship ring.

The Dodgers should absolutely complete the trade for Tyler Glasnow and bring his 120 innings pitched, 162 strikeouts, and opponent batting average of .209 to Los Angeles.

But they should not stop there.

The Ohtani deal, with its deferments, allows the team to acquire enough talent to not only make a legitimate run at the World Series, but also build a super team of sorts.

As Nightengale noted, the team remains in the hunt for Japanese phenom Yoshinobu Yamamoto, alongside six other teams looking to acquire the 25-year-old budding star.

It is no wonder why the Dodgers would be interested in beefing up their rotation with Yamamoto given his 1.16 ERA and 176 strikeouts in 24 games.

Like Marvel Studios with the Avengers, Los Angeles has assembled an attractive Hollywood package of Betts, Freeman, and Ohtani, all of whom were on hand for the team's meeting with Yamamoto, according to Fabian Ardaya and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

Ardaya and Rosenthal also revealed that the Dodgers are not in nearly as much luxury tax trouble as one would expect given the heftiness of their deals to the sport's top stars, thanks in part to those aforementioned Ohtani deferrals.

"The deferrals in Ohtani's contract are expected to result in an annual luxury tax figure of a record $46 million but the club still is projected to be below the first threshold for penalties."

Nightengale's report may mention the Yankees as the leaders in the Yamamoto sweepstakes but if there is one thing this postseason has taught the baseball world, it is that the Dodgers will be incredibly aggressive, and convincing, in their pursuit of a potential asset.

Adding Glasnow and sealing the deal with Yamamoto would only further establish the reigning NL West champions as the World Series favorite and a super team the likes of which Major League Baseball has not seen since those aforementioned Yankees would routinely outbid any and all suitors for the game's hottest free agents.