WSOU

NL West Weekly No. 2

Date: August 2, 2021

By: Chris Kiely

New LA Dodger Max Scherzer walks on the field before a game.

Getty Images

WHAT JUST HAPPENED! THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS JUST COMMITTED HIGHWAY ROBBERY ON THE WASHINGTON NATIONALS!

Heading into the dwindling days of July, the MLB’s trade deadlines usually range from irrelevant to mild additions. Not this season though. As it went into the late afternoon, word on the street was that the San Diego Padres were nearing a deal with the Nationals for Max Scherzer, which would have been a homerun of a deal as the Padres were about to be the biggest winners of the trade deadline.

However, you can put the edit of Scherzer in a Padres uniform in the same pile of edits that had Chris Paul as a Laker, and Trevor Bauer as a Met. As it reached evening, it transitioned from the Padres to the Dodgers being the frontrunners to get Max Scherzer. Just before 9 p.m. ET, it became official as the Dodgers traded for SP Scherzer and SS Trea Turner in exchange for catcher Keibert Ruiz, RHPs Josiah Gray and Gerardo Carrillo, and OF Donovan Casey.

There is no way else to say it, but the Dodgers have potentially made a case of being the first super team in MLB history. Now there have been great teams, such as Murderers’ Row, the 1998 Yankees, the 2001 Mariners, and the 2018 Red Sox. However, there has never been a team this talented through built just trades. You’d be thinking I was crazy if I told you two years ago that the Dodgers would add Mookie Betts, Scherzer, and Turner.

The most important thing of all is that this is not “unfair.” The Dodgers’ front office has shown for the past decade that they are not afraid to say, “we will concede prospects in an attempt to win a World Series.”

A group of Dodgers' players celebrate after winning a World Series title.

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times

In an era where teams treat prospects with incredible value, the Dodgers have used their opponents’ beliefs against them by making teams concede their best players for what are essentially lottery tickets. The Dodgers know that the chances of the four prospects being traded, end up equating to the value of Turner or Scherzer, let alone both, is highly unlikely. Ever since Justin Verlander was traded to the Astros, sprang to life in Houston, and won a World Series with them, teams buy in the trade deadline with the exact mindset. It happened again with the Astros and Zack Greinke in 2019. It seems clear the Dodgers are doing it this season, as them and the Yankees are the clear winners of the trade deadline, SO FAR.

Now the Dodgers’ starting lineup is going to look like this:

Yeah, that is pretty good. It almost like the Dodgers are playing MLB The Show 21 and are forcing all trades.

As for what this means for the rest of baseball, it is not going to be easy. The good news is that the Dodgers are not even first place right now as the “Island of Misfit Toys” that is the San Francisco Giants still sit first in the NL West. The key to defeating the Dodgers, who are all but a guarantee to make the postseason now, is that you have win early. If the Giants still find a way to hold onto their lead in the NL West, it will mean that the Dodgers would likely have to face the Padres in the Wild Card round.

This also means that if they have one bad game against a really good Padres team, the first super team in baseball could be out. Also, this is a team that has been accustomed to getting upset or “choking” in the postseason, so they are not unbeatable.

In other news across the NL West, the Arizona Diamondbacks are relieving Eduardo Escobar of the torture that has been professional baseball in Phoenix, as he was traded to the Brewers for prospects. It’s a win-win for both teams. RHP Mychal Givens has also been traded from Colorado to Cincinnati for minor league prospects.

Trevor Story is another name that was swirling around in the pot. Both the New York Mets and the Giants are teams that might go after him, but no deal was made before the deadline. The Giants also landed Kris Bryant from the Cubs, who like similar to the Nationals, are beginning their rebuilds.

Ironically, the Cubs and Nationals wrapped up a three-game set against each other, with Washington grabbing two games to secure the series victory.

Chris Kiely can be reached at christopher.kiely@student.shu.edu.

Posted in: Sports

Seton Hall

Seton Hall

Merchandise

wsou store