Dodgers nearing a deal to get pitcher Danny Duffy from Royals
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The Dodgers are nearing a deal to acquire left-hander Danny Duffy from the Kansas City Royals for a player or players to be named later, according to a person familiar with trade talks but not authorized to speak publicly about them.
Duffy, 32, is on the injured list because of a flexor strain but he is expected to return in August. Though he has been a starter for most of his 11-year career, he could serve in a high-leverage, multiinning relief role for the Dodgers, much like Julio Urias has in recent seasons.
The Dodgers are also in need of rotation help having lost Dustin May to season-ending elbow surgery in early May, Trevor Bauer to a domestic-violence investigation in late June and Clayton Kershaw to an elbow injury in early July. Kershaw is expected to return in early August.
Duffy is 4-3 with a 2.51 ERA in 13 games — 12 of them starts — this season, with 65 strikeouts and 22 walks in 61 innings. A graduate of Cabrillo High in Lompoc and a third-round pick of the Royals in 2007, he has a 68-68 career record and 3.95 ERA.
Duffy is making $15.5 million this season and will be a free agent this winter. The Dodgers are reportedly getting money from the Royals in the deal, which needs to be approved. Duffy reportedly waived his rights to veto a trade as a player with 10 years in the big leagues and five with one team.
Duffy mixes a fastball that averages 93.1 mph according to Fangraphs with an 83.5-mph slider, a 74-mph curve and an 85.2-mph changeup.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.