What Rich Hill, Josh Reddick deal means for Dodgers, A's

The Oakland Athletics pulled off the long-considered trade of Josh Reddick and Rich Hill shortly before the MLB trade deadline. The Los Angeles Dodgers were rumored to be interested even as the A’s placed Hill on the DL yesterday afternoon, though Hill will be eligible to return from the DL on Thursday after landing there as further precaution for a blister he has been fighting on his pitching hand.

The Athletics acquired three right-handed pitchers from the Dodgers: Jharel Cotton, Frankie Montas and Grant Holmes. It is no secret that Oakland loves its pitchers, and this gives the A’s more depth at their favorite position. A’s pitching coach Curt Young will have some more young arms to mold, something he's been successful at for year. Young has helped 13 A’s pitchers make it to the All-Star Game and has had two AL Rookies of the Year: Huston Street in 2005 and Andrew Bailey in 2009.

Rich Hill is 9-3 in his 14 starts this season and sports a pretty 2.25 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. The lefty will add further stability to the Dodgers' rotation, especially given that Clayton Kershaw is still out and, as of two days ago, the Dodgers did not have a timetable for his return. Hill is a bit of a journeyman with his longest stint being with the Chicago Cubs organization, where he started his career and made a home for four seasons. He has bounced around the AL East spending time with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox (twice), and then made his way west with stops in Cleveland, Anaheim and Oakland.

Reddick landed with Oakland when the aforementioned Andrew Bailey was sent to the Boston Red Sox along with former A’s outfielder Ryan Sweeney in exchange for Reddick and two prospects. Reddick has been a mainstay in the A’s outfield with highlight-reel catches and throws, timely hitting, and the creation of a lasting relationship with the fans in right field since his arrival.

His 2012 campaign was the epitome of what Oakland A’s fans have come to expect from their hitters: low batting average (.242), a decent number of home runs (32) and a lot of strikeouts (151). The next two seasons were a bit of a struggle for Reddick from a health perspective, but in 2015 he was back to his old self, playing in 149 games for the Green and Gold.

The Dodgers have gotten two solid players, even if they do end up as just rentals for the rest of the year, as they are both free agents at the end of the season. The A’s did what the A’s do, flipping a couple of their top-producing players for some prospects that could help the team in the future. The questionable part is what they got in return. Only one of the three players (Holmes) cracked the top 100 Prospect list.The Dodgers had four players listed higher than Holmes on that list, both a lefty and righty, along with two position players.

David Forst seems to be in lock step with where Billy Beane left off, but it's hard to see why the Dodgers pulled the trigger on a trade like this when they are not sure if or when Kershaw will be back to anchor the rotation and continue to lead the Dodgers' surge on the first-place San Francisco Giants.

With an MLB-leading $265 million payroll, it is probably too much to ask the Dodgers to just play for next year. Adding a couple quality pieces while trying to see how the rest of the season plays out is not a bad strategy, especially when you start the trade deadline just two games back of your rivals.