The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to have made excellent pitching acquisitions at the trade deadline.
Jack Flaherty has been on the whole dominant since coming over from the Detroit Tigers, such that his offseason payday is looking colossal at present.
A less sexy, but perhaps just as meaningful move that Los Angeles made in July was to acquire reliever Michael Kopech in a multi-team trade that also saw the Dodgers receive utility star Tommy Edman.
Edman was seen as the cream of the deal for Los Angeles, but it's been Kopech who has come through huge in a Dodgers uniform so far.
USA Today's baseball insider Bob Nightengale praised Kopech in a post to X on Friday night, after Kopech emphatically closed the door on the St. Louis Cardinals for another save.
"Michael Kopech has been the steal of the trade deadline," Nightengale said. "He was 2-8 with a 4.74 ERA with the White Sox, gets traded to the Dodgers, and turns into Dennis Eckersley. He has faced 27 batters, and has given up 1 hit, one walk, with 13 strikeouts. He got the save in the Dodgers' 7-6 win tonight."
Los Angeles has to be mighty pleased with what it's getting from Kopech, especially as their rotation continues to present uncomfortable questions through injuries and underperformance.
Kopech looks like a World Series-caliber closer right now, which is something no one saw coming.
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