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“Baseball–At the Deadline–Things Changed”

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The Dodgers have Mookie Betts and David Price, and they still have virtually all their top young prospects in Los Angeles.

The Padres retained all their bright light young pitching, but they are stuck with underachiever Wil Myers, and lots of question marks in a lineup that was supposed to be ready to challenge for a playoff spot.

The Dodgers have positioned themselves to go back to the World Series.  The Padres forever remain a 2nd class citizen in the National League West.

Added to all this, is what happened on the final day of the bidding, as Boston told the Dodgers and Padres, make your best and last bid.

Dodgers ownership rammed thru a pretty good deal.  I am told the Padres ownership said they were not eating 30M of the bad contract that AJ Preller gave Wil Myers years ago.

Everybody was playing ‘chicken’ at the end.

Boston defrocked their roster, letting go of Mookie Betts and his MVP talent and agreeing to eat 45M of the Price contract to get him off the books.  Goodbye pennant hopes this year, at least if you look at the Red Sox starting rotation.

Yes Alex Verdugo will hit homers at Fenway Park, and maybe they have a closer for the future in Brudsar Gratesol, who came at the end of the deal.

The Dodgers swapped out Kenta Maeda, who went to the Twins for Gratesol, who was shipped to Boston.  They replace Maeda with Price, at half of the 96M-that was left on the deal.

To make sure they stay below the luxury tax, the Dodgers shipped Joc Pederson, his home runs, his strikeouts, his 9M contract to the Angels for a 2nd baseman for the future in Luis Rengifo.

The Dodges add a full-time star in Betts, a frontline starter in Price, and wake up in the morning with all their bluechip players still in LA, most notably Gavin Lux and Dustin May, and they are below the luxury tax still.  Now the challenge,  re-sign Betts, but this is LA, where there is big tradition and lots of money.  Betts joins names like Bellinger-Turner-Seager-Pollock in the middle of a pretty good batting order.  And that rotation looks special again, Price-Kershaw-Beuhler-Urias and more.

As the sun comes up on San Diego, it is apparent ownership has tightened the screws on GM-AJ Preller.  Ownership is no longer willing to let him burn thru dollars and dollars, to make up for the bad mistakes he has made in the past.  No, we’re not paying 30M to get rid of Wil Myers.  The bad flashbacks of Justin Upton, Melvin Upton, James Shields, Phil Hughes, Ian Kinsler, Matt Kemp and others are now stapled to Preller’s resume.

it is evident to me, Padres ownership has told Preller, you promised to win if we gave you tons of money to sign these young prospects, so it’s time for those kids you threw money at, to win.  And if they don’t you will be held accountable.

So the Dodgers win at the trade table.  The Padres lose out again, after trying to make all these off season deals, Boston, Cleveland etc.

LA looks like it will win.  The Padres have to prove they can win.  Preller better home they win, or he might lose his job.

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