Dozier tops flurry of deals
For Brian Dozier, getting traded meant a dash to the airport and a long trip to Dodger Stadium.
For Jake Diekman, it was a lot easier. He simply rode the bullpen cart from one clubhouse to the other at Chase Field.
Chris Archer , Jonathan Schoop and a bunch of relievers moved on deadline day, a flurry of 15 swaps yesterday before time ran out to make deals without waivers.
The trade market kept spinning at a dizzying pace. Every team except San Francisco made at least one deal since the All-Star Game, with Tampa Bay swinging seven.
Archer, a two-time All-Star, hugged teammates at Tropicana Field before heading to Pittsburgh. He is 3-5 with a 4.31 ERA in 17 starts this season, and joins a Pirates club that has pushed back into the playoff race even after trading away Gerrit Cole and Andrew McCutchen in the offseason.
“They’re super-hot right now, and they want me,” Archer said. “I’m excited to be part of the organization that wants me.”
The Rays sent former All-Star catcher Wilson Ramos to NL East-leading Philadelphia, while Leonys Martin, Kevin Gausman and Cameron Maybin also switched sides as contenders tweaked their rosters.
And why not? All but four National League teams began the day within 51⁄2 games of a playoff spot. The American League is more spread out as division leaders the Red Sox, Cleveland and Houston have been busy.
Manny Machado, Cole Hamels, Zach Britton, Mike Moustakas and Ian Kinsler were among the big names that moved earlier this month.
Bryce Harper, Jacob deGrom, J.T. Realmuto and McCutchen had been mentioned in trade speculation, but stayed put.
Exactly a year after getting traded from Minnesota to Washington, reliever Brandon Kintzler was part of another deadline deal. This time, the Nationals sent him to the NL Centralleading Chicago Cubs.
“I thought they were joking. I figured it’s not April’s Fools. They called me in, I said, ‘Am I traded?’ They said yeah,” said Kintzler, who turns 34 today.
“I’m traveling on my birthday again, so that’s great. It is what it is,” he said.
Dozier had been a fixture in Minnesota’s lineup for years. But the Twins dipped this season, and they sent the power-hitting second baseman to the NL West-leading Los Angeles Dodgers for infielder Logan Forsythe and two minor leaguers.
Rather than starting at Target Field in Minneapolis, the 31-year-old Dozier hustled to join his new club as it hosted Milwaukee. He’s now part of a revamped infield for the defending NL West champion Dodgers, who added Machado two weeks ago.
“Brian’s brand here in Minnesota, I don’t know if you can get much better than that,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said.
Diekman, a 31-year-old lefty, struck out two while pitching for Texas on Monday night in a win at Arizona. The Diamondbacks reacquired reliever Brad Ziegler from Miami early yesterday, then boosted their bullpen by getting Diekman from the Rangers.
Wanting to make Diekman’s move easy, the Diamondbacks offered the services of the bullpen cart used to ferry relievers into the game.
“They asked and I was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t want to carry all of my stuff,’ ” Diekman said.