Dodgers’ Max Scherzer-Trea Turner trade already ranks among the best of all time – Orange County Register

On the morning of July 31, the Dodgers and Padres woke up with a spit distance gap in the standings. The Dodgers were three games behind the San Francisco Giants for first place in the Western National League, the Padres were 5½. Neither team could have known that the Dodgers had just completed the most important trade of the season – if not the most important midseason trade in baseball history.

There are other contenders for this title. We will come back to this shortly. First, consider the circumstances that made this particular trade special.

The afternoon of July 29, a national reporter tweeted that the Padres were set to acquire All-Star pitcher Max Scherzer from the Washington Nationals. Scherzer was skeptical. He hadn’t heard anything like it from Mike Rizzo, the Nationals general manager. Nor did Andrew Friedman, the president of baseball operations for the Dodgers. The false report “definitely scared me,” Friedman would say later. “My heart skipped a beat. ”

When Scherzer and All-Star shortstop Trea Turner were traded to the Dodgers later in the day, the double-edged sword was obvious. The Dodgers hadn’t just acquired two impact players; they had prevented a division rival from acquiring the same pair. What followed was a pair of equal and opposite reactions.

Scherzer – 6-0 with an earned-run average of 0.88 in eight starts since the trade – has become the leading starter in the rotation the Dodgers have been missing since Trevor Bauer was put on administrative leave on July 2. Turner became the impact hitter that Mookie Betts was in 2020, when he finished second in the National League MVP vote. When Betts finally rebounded from his lingering hip injury, he returned to the top of the roster. Turner then offered the mid-order presence that Cody Bellinger failed to provide on day one.

San Diego’s formidable list was also leaking. Soon the Padres would be forced to hand the ball every five games to Jake Arrieta, who was 5-11 with a 6.88 ERA before being released by the Chicago Cubs. (He’s 0-2 with an 8.25 ERA in three starts since.) They moved star shortstop Fernando Tatís Jr. to the outfield for a while to save his ailing left shoulder and watched Adam Frazier (0.231 with zero homers in 40 games through Tuesday) flounder to home plate as an everyday second baseman. Scherzer and Turner could have played these roles brilliantly.

The ranking tells a similar story. On July 30, the Dodgers were 62-40, a 0.590 winning percentage. Since then, they’re 31-10 heading into Wednesday’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, a 0.756 winning percentage.

On July 30, the Padres were 60-46 (.566). Since then, they’re 14-24 (0.368) heading into Wednesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants. They have lost 18 unimaginable games in the NL West standings since July 1.

There are more than two weeks left in the regular season. For some, judging the impact of the Scherzer / Turner trade will start and end with the playoffs. For everyone else, it’s not too early to marvel at the impact that trade has already had. If held up, the Dodgers’ gain in winning percentage (0.166) since July 30 will rank among the best of any competitor in recent memory.

Dodger fans were quick to recall a pair of successful trades.

In 2012, Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto arrived in a trade with the Boston Red Sox in August for James Loney and a set of prospects. The trade helped rally a beleaguered fan base, but it didn’t immediately advance the Dodgers to the playoffs. They were 69-58 (.543) on the day of the exchange and went 17-18 (.486) afterwards. It was the last time the Dodgers missed the playoffs.

In 2009, the Dodgers acquired Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox, and he’s done well enough in his last 53 games to finish fourth in the NL MVP vote. The Dodgers were 54-54 on July 31, par 0.500, and 30-24 (0.556) thereafter.

That little push made all the difference in winning a relatively weak NL West by two games against the Arizona Diamondbacks; the Dodgers then swept the Cubs in a three-game divisional streak before falling into the NLCS.

Here is a short list of other contenders for the most important mid-season trades in baseball:

1. Detroit Tigers trade Justin Verlander and Juan Ramirez to the Houston Astros for Daz Cameron, Franklin Perez and Jake Rogers on August 31, 2017. At 34, Verlander was starting to look his age before the trade with a rejuvenated Astros team. his career. He went 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in September, then won four more games in October (plus the ALCS MVP award) en route to a championship. Pre / Post Trade Win Percentage Difference: .122

2. The Tigers trade Yoenis Cespedes to the New York Mets for Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa on July 31, 2015. Cespedes won a few MVP votes after hitting 17 home runs in 57 games after the trade, which propelled the Mets to an NL East title – and ultimately the World Series. Pre / Post Trade Win Percentage Difference: .112

3. The Colorado Rockies trade Marco Scutaro to the Giants for Charlie Culberson on July 27, 2012. Scutaro, an unannounced utility player, has hit .361 in the last 61 games of the season, won the NLCS MVP award and assisted the Giants to sweep the Tigers in the World Series. Pre / post trade payout percentage difference: 0.063

4. Cleveland Indians trade CC Sabathia to 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 he acquired Sabathia at its peak. The tall southpaw went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA – all the difference as the Brewers edged the Mets in a game for the wild card. Pre / Post Trade Win Percentage Difference: .009

5. The Astros acquire Carlos Beltran from the Kansas City Royals in a three-team trade on June 24, 2004. Houston had to pass four teams just to land a wild card spot after the trade. Beltran made a huge difference in the regular season (23 homers, 53 RBIs in 90 games) and the playoffs (eight homers in 12 games) as the Astros reached the NLCS. Pre / Post Trade Win Percentage Difference: .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 was already in first place in the NL Central when he traded for the future Hall of Famer, but his spin lacked a clear starter for the first game. Johnson went 10-1 with a 1.28 ERA down the stretch – only to lose twice in a four-game loss to the NLDS to the Padres. Pre / post trade payout percentage difference: .102