Los Angeles Dodgers acquire Yu Darvish for trio of prospects
By Tim Haberin
The day’s biggest deal came in just under the deadline, as the Los Angeles Dodgers landed Yu Darvish for three prospects.
In a last-second bombshell, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired pitcher Yu Darvish from the Texas Rangers before this afternoon’s trade deadline, according to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Details are still emerging, but this is a seismic and much-anticipated move for the team with the league’s best record.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that minor league infielder/outfielder Willie Calhoun, right-hander A.J. Alexy and infielder Brendon Davis will go the Rangers in the deal. The three were ranked as the Nos. 4, 17 and 27 prospects in the Dodgers system by MLB Pipeline, respectively.
As the minutes ticked by and 4:00 pm ET neared, it looked like Darvish was increasingly likely to remain in Texas and the Yankees’ trade for Sonny Gray would remain the most headline-worthy deal of the day. Perhaps the Rangers would keep him and bank on their ability to re-sign the impending free agent in the offseason.
They still might have designs on bringing Darvish back in the winter, but for now the right-hander will spend the next few months trying to help bring a World Series title to Los Angeles. Their 29-year championship drought probably had more than a little to do with the Dodgers deciding to pull the trigger on this move.
More from Call to the Pen
- Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
- Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
- Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
- Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
- 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals
Darvish, who turns 31 in a couple weeks, isn’t having his best season, but he still maintains the reputation of an ace-type pitcher. He sports a 4.01 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 3.29 K/BB ratio over 137 innings. However, the beating he took in his last outing – 10 earned runs surrendered to the Marlins over 3.2 frames – inflated those numbers. Before that, he owned a more agreeable 3.44 ERA and 1.12 WHIP on the year.
The Dodgers were the club most consistently mentioned in connection to Darvish over the past several days. Pursuing him was always about doubling down on an existing strength. Even with Clayton Kershaw sidelined for a little while, L.A. wasn’t exactly in desperate need of a starting pitcher. Their rotation is tops in the majors with an overall 3.25 ERA.
Alex Wood (2.38 ERA) and Rich Hill (3.35 ERA) have been standout performers behind Kershaw, but each comes with a legitimate question mark moving forward. Wood doesn’t really have an extensive track record of success, and Hill has been dogged by blister problems in recent memory. Hill has four career postseason starts, and Wood has none.
Next: Yankees acquire Sonny Gray
Though Darvish isn’t quite a postseason veteran himself with only two playoff outings under his belt, he brings some bona fide insurance to that pitching staff and makes the Dodgers that much scarier in October. Kershaw, presuming he returns to full health, and Darvish would make for a marquee one-two punch in any postseason series.