So much for the Dodgers ruining baseball.
They won’t finish this season with the best record in history, as they could win every one of their remaining games and still not realize the 120-win season that was envisioned for them.
They might not even finish this season with the best record in the National League — or in their own division, for that matter.
The Dodgers look beatable.
Their perceived vulnerability didn’t necessarily inspire the frenzied action around baseball before the trade deadline, but it certainly didn’t discourage it either.
With blood in the water and the World Series field wide open, several contenders moved to prepare their rosters for October. No team changed as much as the San Diego Padres, who are suddenly positioned to turn the Dodgers’ title defense into a humiliation exercise.
“We went in knowing, OK, we have a team that can compete and play deep and ultimately we have these needs and let’s go fill them,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said.
Mason Miller, who throws a fastball with an average velocity of 101 mph, will turbocharge what was already the No. 1 bullpen in baseball. Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn will improve the balance of a top-heavy lineup featuring Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. Freddy Fermin will address a hole at catcher. JP Sears and Nestor Cortes will add depth to a rotation on the mend.
Particularly revealing of the Padres’ ambitions was what Preller didn’t do. He didn’t trade closer Robert Suarez, an impending free agent. He didn’t trade underperforming former All-Star pitcher Dylan Cease, who will also hit the market this winter.
The Padres were only three games behind the Dodgers at the trade deadline, making Preller’s team a legitimate threat to overtake them in the division and cost them a top-two seed in the NL, for which the reward is a first-round bye in the playoffs.
The danger didn’t compel the Dodgers to act, their relative inactivity in this situation reflecting the contrasting philosophies of the two organizations.
The Dodgers make deals on their terms. When president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman overpay for players — the combined $85 million the Dodgers spent over the winter on relievers Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates is an example — it’s usually by accident.
The mentality often results in the market dictating to the Dodgers what they can and can’t do. For better or worse, the Padres have elected a proactive approach.
Landing Miller required to part with Leo De Vries, an 18-year-old shortstop who is widely considered one of the five best prospects in the entire sport.
Preller knew what he gave up.
“He’s going to be a very good major league player,” Preller said of De Vries.
Preller has done this before, He traded Max Fried and he traded Emmanuel Clase and he traded Josh Naylor. When he acquired Juan Soto at the 2022 trade deadline, he sent the Washington Nationals a package that included three future All-Stars in CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and James Wood.
Impact players have considerable price tags, and they’re higher in some years than in others. The Dodgers examined the prices of the best relievers and outfielders available, and they settled for more affordable options. The Padres went for it, with Preller saying he was confident the team’s scouting and player development departments would once again replenish the farm system.
“In different points in time over the last few years, we’ve been able to be in this position, to be able to make these types of decisions and calls,” Preller said. “It’s just because we have good players that other teams want.”
The Padres weren’t alone. The two New York teams reconstructed their bullpens, the Philadelphia Phillies found a closer in Jhoan Duan and the Seattle Mariners added some pop to their lineup by dealing for Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor.
Why wouldn’t these teams be bold?
The Dodgers couldn’t make this a one-horse race. Their inability to separate themselves from the pack presented competitors with opportunities to pass them by at the trade deadline. Some of them might have.
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