I’m not going to lie. I had a brief draft of this last Thursday. But as time wore on, I felt the Dodgers’ grasp on Yu Darvish slip away. In fact, I actually deleted that draft at about 3:58 PM on this trade deadline day. But then a tweet came across my bow making the removal of that one paragraph from the archives premature.
In a day that saw several big arms find new homes, the Dodgers came in at the buzzer to steal the headlines and the hearts of their fans. Dodgers nation went from mildly impressed to meltdown levels of excited as the Dodgers haul went from two Tony’s, Watson and Cingrani, to a full fledged pledge to “go for it.”
Darvish’s July started and ended in miserable fashion. That is as clear as day. His 10 run outing against the Marlins needed Benny Hill music accompaniment. His opener to the month on Independence Day against the Red Sox provided plenty of fireworks in all the wrong ways. But his three starts in between were just as much bad luck as they were ineffectiveness. Darvish’s reputation entering this deadline was lower than it really should have been. But Texas knew what they had and held steadfastly.
In the end, the Dodgers got the deal over the line. Best of all, they didn’t need to include any of the prospects originally asked for by the Rangers. Alex Verdugo, Walker Buehler, and Yadier Alvarez, the proverbial medal stand of Dodgers’ prospects, are all still in Dodger blue. Willie Calhoun, A.J. Alexy, and Brendon Davis aren’t no-name shlubs, but they are not the crown jewels coveted by other clubs.
Clayton Kershaw still has a good month on the shelf. With Darvish in the fold, Dave Roberts has no need to rush his all-world ace back before he’s 100%. As always this is a small sample, but Darvish’s interleague exploits lead me to believe he’s ready to take on such a responsibility. He’s 8-3 all-time against the National League with a 3.07 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. The Dodgers’ closest challenger at the moment is the team that Darvish has dominated the most. Arizona has struck out 28 times in two Darvish starts and walked zero in 14 2/3 innings.
I may be looking at this deal with blue tinted glasses at the moment, but I love it. With a team that usually underwhelms in terms of addressing issues, the Dodgers knocked it out of the park here. Time will tell if this late flurry in July comes good come October. For now, Los Angeles has the best insurance money can buy.