Dodgers trade for Josh Reddick, Rich Hill

The Giants were looking for an outfielder. They were looking for a starting pitcher. And that’s when the Dodgers came in and got the best rental available at each position. I’ll be honest, I’m not sure why I didn’t see this coming.

The Dodgers acquired both Josh Reddick, All-Star outfielder, and Rich Hill, logic-defying starting pitcher, improving substantially and hosing their division rivals in the trade market at the same time. This is fine.

This is fine. There are no problems here.

As you might imagine, though, the price in prospects wasn’t cheap. The A’s will get three pitching prospects, two of whom were in the Dodgers’ top 10. That’s saying something, considering how deep the Dodgers’ system is. Grant Holmes was their first-round pick just last year.

How does this affect the Giants? Well, the first thing Reddick did when he got off the phone was hit a home run against Jeff Samardzija, which is unfortunate. And Rich Hill’s curveball wizardry seems like the perfect foil for a Giants team that’s built for the current fastball-crazy trend in baseball.

On the other hand, Hill has a blister. Literally on the other hand! It’s been giving him guff for the last month, and it’s not like he’s been the paragon of health at any point in his career. The reason he was on the Long Island Ducks in the first place was because teams were tired of waiting for his health to come around. It’s almost like the Dodgers are messing around with Gambler’s Fallacy, here. "C’mon, there’s no way this oft-injured pitcher gets hurt. Our luck has to change!"

Unless they’re getting two players who will help them very, very much.

There are still over two hours left in the deadline, and the Giants can still get Jeanmar Gomez, everyone. Just note that the Dodgers got two of the better targets of the deadline. No pressure.