On the morning of July 31, the Dodgers and Padres woke up with an escape distance to the standings. The Dodgers were three games away from the San Francisco Giants to secure first place in the National League West, while the Padres returned 5½. Neither team could know that the Dodgers had just completed the most important trade of the season, if not the most consistent mid-season trade in baseball history.
There are other candidates for this title. We will get to these shortly. First, consider the circumstances that made this particular trade special.
The afternoon of July 29th a national reporter tweeted that the Padres were about to acquire All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer from the Washington Nationals. Scherzer was skeptical. I hadn’t heard anything like that from Mike Rizzo, the nationals general manager. Neither did Andrew Friedman, president of Dodgers baseball operations. The fake report “definitely scared me,” Friedman would later say. “My heart skipped a beat.”
When Scherzer and All-Star football field Trea Turner were traded to the Dodgers later that day, the double-cut consequence was evident. The Dodgers had not only acquired two impact players; they had prevented a rival in the division from acquiring the same pair. What followed was a couple of equal and opposite reactions.
Scherzer – 6-0 with an average of 0.88 wins in eight starts since the operation – became the Dodgers’ first starter in rotation since Trevor Bauer was on administrative leave on July 2. . Mookie Betts was in 2020, when she finished second in the National League MVP vote. When Betts finally bounced back from his annoying hip injury, he returned to the top of the lineup. Turner then offered the half-order presence that Cody Bellinger could not provide from day one.
The formidable San Diego roster also came out on the run. Soon the Padres would be forced to hand the ball every fifth game to Jake Arrieta, who was 5-11 with an ERA of 6.88 before being released by the Chicago Cubs. (Goes 0-2 with an effectiveness of 8.25 in three starts since then). They moved star field Fernando Tatís Jr. on the pitch for a while to keep his left shoulder and saw Adam Frazier (.231 with zero homers in 40 games) Tuesday) move to the plate as his second base each day. Scherzer and Turner could have played these roles with great pleasure.
The classification tells a similar story. On July 30, the Dodgers were 62 to 40, a .590 winning percentage. Since then, they have gone 31-10 entering Wednesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a 0.756 winning percentage.
On July 30, parents were 60 to 46 (0.566). Since then, they have gone 14-24 (.368) entering Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. They have lost 18 unimaginable games in the NL West standings since July 1st.
There are more than two weeks left in the regular season. For some, judging the impact of the Scherzer / Turner trade will begin and end with the postseason. For the rest, it’s not too early to marvel at the impact the trade has already had. If held, the Dodgers ’winning percentage winnings (0.166) as of July 30 will rank among the best of any candidate in recent memory.
Dodger fans have been quick to remember a couple of box office trades.
In 2012, Adrian González, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto arrived at an August trade with the Boston Red Sox for James Loney and a pack of potential customers. The trade helped gather a besieged fan base, but didn’t elevate the Dodgers immediately into the postseason. They were 69-58 (.543) on trade day and went from 17-18 (.486) later. This was the last time the Dodgers missed the playoffs.
In 2009, the Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox, and he did well enough in his last 53 games to finish fourth in the National League MVP vote. The Dodgers were 54-54 on July 31, a pair of .500 and 30-24 (.556) after.
That small boost made the difference in winning a relatively weak NL West by two games over the Arizona Diamondbacks; the Dodgers swept the Cubs into a three-game division before falling to the NLCS.
The following is a brief list of the other candidates for the most important mid-season trades in baseball:
1. The Detroit Tigers traded Justin Verlander and Juan Ramirez to the Houston Astros for Daz Cameron, Franklin Perez and Jake Rogers on August 31, 2017. At 34, Verlander began looking for his age before switching to a team. Astros who rejuvenated. his career. He won 5-0 with an effectiveness of 1.06 in September, and then won four more games in October (plus the ALCS MVP award) en route to a championship. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: 0.12
2. The Tigers traded Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets for Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa on July 31, 2015. Cespedes got a few MVP votes after getting 17 homers in 57 games after the operation, which jumped the Mets toward an NL East. title – and ultimately the World Series. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: .112
3. The Colorado Rockies traded Marco Scutaro to the Giants for Charlie Culberson on July 27, 2012. Scutaro, an unknown utility player, hit .361 in the last 61 games of the season, winning the award NLCS MVP and helped the Giants sweep the Tigers in the World Series. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: 0.063
4. The Cleveland Indians traded CC Sabathia for the Milwaukee Brewers for Michael Brantley, Rob Bryson, Zach Jackson and Matt LaPorta on July 7, 2008. Milwaukee was looking to end a 26-year playoff drought when it acquired Sabathia in full swing. age. The big left-handers scored 11-2 with an effectiveness of 1.65, the difference the Brewers reduced to the Mets by a game for the wildcard. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: .009
5. The Astros acquire Carlos Beltran of the Kansas City Royals in a three-team operation on June 24, 2004. Houston had to skip four teams only to get a wildcard bed after the negotiation. Beltran made a big difference in the regular season (23 homers, 53 runs in 90 games) and in the postseason (eight homers in 12 games) as the Astros reached the NLCS. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: 0.072
6. The Seattle Mariners traded Randy Johnson to the Houston Astros for Freddy Garcia, Carlos Guillen and John Halama on July 31, 1998. Houston already took first place in the National League Central when he moved to the future Hall of Fame. Famer, but his rotation lacked a clear starter in the first game. Johnson won 10-1 with an ERA of 1.28 in the end, losing only twice in a four-game NLDS loss to the Padres. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: 0.102
7. The Padres traded Fred McGriff to the Atlanta Braves for Vince Moore, Donnie Elliott and Melvin Nieves on July 18, 1993: Atlanta was eight games away from San Francisco’s first-place finish in the Northwest West End. the day of the trade. Catalyzed by McGriff, their only mid-season acquisition, the Braves went 51-18 on the stretch to reduce the division title. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: 0.169.
8. The Braves exchange Doyle Alexander for the Tigers for John Smoltz on August 12, 1987: Alexander won 9-0 with an ERA of 1.53 for Detroit, which represented a 1½ game deficit to win the AL East after the trade, only losing against Minnesota to the ALCS. Smoltz, who was a prospect at the time, went on to run for the Hall of Fame. Difference in the percentage of gains before / after trading: 0.061
Honorable Mention: Indians traded Rick Sutcliffe, Ron Hassey and George Frazier to puppies for Joe Carter, Mel Hall and Don Schulze on June 13, 1984; the Indians traded David Justice to the New York Yankees for Zach Day, Ricky Ledee and Jake Westbrook on June 29, 2000; the Oakland A trade, Matt Holliday, in the St. Louis Cardinals by Brett Wallace, Shane Peterson and Clayton Mortensen on July 24, 2009.