In one of the most active Trade deadlines in decades, thanks to the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs, the Dodgers came out as the biggest winners at the deadline. This is an exciting time for baseball and hopefully, this helps the game grow as many teams on the playoff bubble showing they are willing to go for it. The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Max Scherer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals for Keibert Ruiz (#1), Josiah Gray (#2), Gerardo Carrillo (#17), and Donovan Casey, an unranked prospect. This is a win for both teams.
The Dodgers get their pieces to put their best foot forward to win back-to-back World Series. Max Scherzer has been pitching extremely well this season going 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA. The future Hall of Famer is 37 years old and in the final year of his contract but has shown no signs of slowing down. The Dodgers will most likely re-sign him to a 2 or 3-year extension but nothing longer as father time is undefeated. The true value of this trade, however, is Trea Turner. Trea Turner is a 28-year-old shortstop with the best WAR in the National League for a shortstop. Predictions are that he will play second base while Corey Seager remains at playing shortstop. Turner has one year of arbitration left on his contract making his cost worthwhile for the Dodgers. Trea is having one of the best seasons of his career batting .322 with 18 homeruns and 49 RBIs. Another plus is Turner’s speed making him a base-stealing threat. His defensive skills are above average, and he plays a smooth infield. Trea Turner is one of the best shortstops in the game and we have him for a year and a half. These are exciting times for Dodger fans, and this may be one of the best teams they have ever assembled.
The Nationals get the best prospects any team can give them. Keibert Ruiz was stuck behind Will Smith for playing time in Los Angeles but he is now on a fast track to the majors. Ruiz will be a star for the Nationals which will hurt in the long term but if we win a World Series, then it was worth it. Josiah Gray is going to be a great pitcher in about 5 years. That is too long for the Dodgers as they are in win-now mode. Gerardo Carrillo is a 22-year-old right-handed pitcher who can come up to the majors now and compete for a now-depleted Nationals. Donovan Casey is an unranked 25-year-old outfielder who has been hitting well for the AA Tulsa Drillers. I assume he will be playing in the majors soon, as he has been a consistent bat his entire minor league career. All these quality pieces will help jump-start the Nationals rebuild.
This move for the Dodgers also provides some leverage over the Corey Seager situation. Corey is going to be a free agent next year and he is going to want top dollar. He is one of the best hitting shortstops in baseball when he is healthy. That is the problem with Corey Seager. Trea has only been hurt a handful of times in his career and even when he was injured it was for a short period of time. Corey has been plagued with periodic injuries and played only 28 games in 2018 and sitting out a chunk of this year. No doubt a healthy Corey Seager is an impressive player (think World Series MVP), but his injury history should give teams a moment of pause. With the Dodgers acquisition of Turner, the Dodgers do not need to engage in a marketplace war for a free agent shortstop this year.
At the deadline, Dodgers were in second place behind the San Francisco Giants by 3 games and ahead of the Padres by 2.5 games. All three NL West teams made moves at the deadline, but the Dodgers unquestionably got the best pieces acquiring Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. The Giants traded for Kris Bryant (3B/LF/CF) and Tony Watson (RP). The Padres obtained Adam Frazier (2B), Daniel Hudson (RP), and Jake Marisnick (OF). The Dodgers got the best pitcher and position player on the market. The Giants got a great bat in Bryant. Padres didn’t get the big arm they wanted but they got quality depth pieces. This makes the playoff push for all three teams that much more exciting. Scoreboard watching will be happening much earlier than normal.