LOS ANGELES — If the Los Angeles Dodgers are truly downplaying their interest in the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, they are saying the right things.They have pledged faith in their rotation returning to full strength, with Blake Snell midway through a rehab assignment and Tyler Glasnow set to start one soon.They have repeatedly stressed that the left knee soreness plaguing Shohei Ohtani is not a long-term issue and that he will pitch again this season.And they have reiterated through president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts that they don’t believe there is an obvious need to address before MLB’s Monday trade deadline.But are they to be believed?As Scott Harris and the Detroit Tigers agonize over whether to trade their prized ace, the Dodgers — at least in the eyes of rival executives — have the best chance to pull off another blockbuster acquisition. The usual reasoning applies: The Dodgers have the best prospects to offer, their robust farm system can handle a significant hit, and they certainly aren’t limited by finances.Still, the back-to-back champions have downplayed their interest in acquiring the back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, should Skubal become available. That was true once more Wednesday, when Friedman addressed Ohtani’s health. The two-way star disclosed Tuesday night that neither his knee nor his right biceps — which he tweaked swinging a bat shortly before the All-Star break — was “at 100 percent.”“I don’t think (Ohtani) puts it in an acute need at all,” Friedman said in a media session before the Dodgers’ 4-2 win over the Seattle Mariners. “We’re confident he is going to come back. Again, if there was something structural, then we would be much more concerned with that. But there’s not. And the fact that it does keep improving suggests that we’re on the right path and feel very confident that he will be back.”Why haven't there been many MLB trades yet?Andy McCulloughThe Dodgers have said Ohtani’s knee pain is due to inflammation. Ohtani has said that inflammation is a product of his pitching mechanics, likely correlated to how he lands after his delivery, and that it does not impact his hitting. He received a lubricant shot over the All-Star break to alleviate some of that inflammation and acknowledged that at this point in the season, there’s no reason to rush a return.“The knee is getting better, and the goal is to get to the 100 percent mark. But I do have to focus on the hitting side, the position-player side of things,” Ohtani said through interpreter Will Ireton.