In pursuit of their first World Series in 30 years, the Los Angeles Dodgers again made significant roster upgrades before the non-waiver trade deadline.
The first move the Dodgers made was during the All-Star break when they acquired Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles.
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his staff weren’t done there, as minutes before Tuesday’s deadline they made two separate trades, acquiring Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier and Toronto Blue Jays reliever John Axford.
Those moves could prove vital down the stretch of a tight National League West race. The Dodgers weren’t the only team in the division that made upgrades, though, as both the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies were active as well.
Throughout the course of this season, Arizona has acquired four players to help their Major League roster. Earlier in the year, they traded with the Kansas City Royals for outfielder Jon Jay. He doesn’t play every day for them but has provided much-needed outfield depth off the bench.
The other three players were all acquired this past week, with the first being Twins infielder Eduardo Escobar in exchange for three Minor Leaguers.
Escobar was in the midst of a career season with the Twins, hitting .274/.338/.514 with 15 home runs and 63 RBI in 97 games. He has the ability to play all over the diamond and has been filling in for injured third baseman Jake Lamb since joining the Diamondbacks.
Arizona then bolstered its bullpen by trading for Miami Marlins right-hander Brad Ziegler and Texas Rangers left-hander Jake Diekman, both of whom were linked to the Dodgers leading up to the deadline.
The Diamondbacks gave up two Minor Leaguers as well as a player to be named later combined in those two trades.
Ziegler, who is now with the Diamondbacks for the second time in his career, is 1-5 with a 3.98 ERA, 4.59 FIP and 1.27 WHIP in 53 games this season. However, he’s been stellar of late, yielding a 0.64 ERA over his last 28 appearances.
Diekman will aid Arizona from the left side, and has pitched to a 3.69 ERA, 3.37 FIP and 1.39 WHIP with 48 strikeouts and 23 walks in 39 innings for Texas this season.
The Rockies weren’t as active as the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, although they did add to their struggling bullpen by trading for Blue Jays right-hander Seunghwan Oh.
Oh has only appeared in a couple games for the Rockies, but in 48 appearances for Toronto, he had an impressive 2.68 ERA, 3.03 FIP and 1.00 WHIP. Oh struck out 55 compared to walking just 10 in 47 innings.
Colorado also brought back a familiar face in Matt Holiday on a Minor League deal and signed veteran reliever Santiago Casilla to a Minor League contract. Both could be up with the club when active rosters expand in September.
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