CarterHud

         The Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired 3B David Freese from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for INF Jesus Manuel Valdez.

          For the Dodgers, They struggle to hit against lefties, and Freese is a career .300 hitter against them. He brings veteran presence, and has won a world series before. He is also having his best season since 2012.

           Freese, 35, has a .282 batting average, with nine homers and 42 RBIs in 265 Plate Appearances for the Pirates this year. In his MLB career for the Pirates, Los Angeles Angels and St. Louis Cardinals, Freese has a .274 batting average, with 100 home runs and 497 RBIs.

           For the Pirates, They are in the middle of a youth movement, after trading their top two prospects, Tyler Glasnow and Austin Meadows, plus Shane Baz, a top five prospect, for Chris Archer. They aren\’t making the postseason now, but will go after a spot next season.

          Valdez, 20, has a .230 batting average, with six homers, 27 RBIs and 16 stolen bases in 242 Plate Appearances for the Rookie League Dodgers.

            
 The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired OF Curtis Granderson from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for OF Demi Orimoloye.

  For the Brewers, Granderson is a solid bench bat for the team down the stretch as they look towards making the postseason. While he has never won one, Granderson was part of the 2015 Mets that made it to the World Series. He is an upgrade to their 4th outfielder spot.

              Granderson, 37, has a .245 batting average, 11 homers, 35 RBIs and two steals in 349 Plate Appearances for the Blue Jays this season. In his MLB career for the Blue Jays, New York Mets, New York Yankeees, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers, Granderson has a batting average of .252, with 330 homers, 900 RBIs and 153 stolen bases in 7889 Plate Appearances.

              For the Jays, they aren\’t making the playoffs, and would rather give younger players a chance than the aging Granderson. They get Orimoloye, a speedy Nigerian who is still very young.

              Orimoloye, 21, has a .248 batting average, with 12 homers, 55 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in 525 Plate Appearances between Single-A Wisconsin and High-A Carolina this year.

                The Cleveland Indians have acquired 3B Josh Donaldson from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for a player to be named later.

                For the Indians, they already have Jose Ramirez, an MVP candidate, at third base, but he can be moved to second, putting Jason Kipnis in the outfield. Donaldson, a former MVP, has been injured almost this entire year. But, the bringer of rain will still help Cleveland when he returns from the disabled list.

                For the Jays, the team is bad, and Donaldson, a pending free agent, isn\’t needed. He\’s been out all year, so it doesn\’t affect the current team too much. The player to be named will probably be a mid-leveled prospect, but for now, we can\’t tell who won the deal.

                Donaldson, 32, has a .234 batting average, five homers and 16 RBIs in 159 Plate Appearances for the Jays this year. In his MLB career for the Jays and Oakland Athletics, Donaldson has a batting average of .275, with 179 homers, 544 RBIs and 34 stolen bases in 3757 Plate Appearances.

            The Milwaukee Brewers have acquired LHP Gio Gonzalez from the New York Yankees in exchange for INF Gilbert Lara and C KJ Harrison.

             For the Brewers, they need starting pitching. Wade Miley, Chase Anderson and Jhoulys Chacin as your top three starters won\’t work in the postseason. Also, Gonzalez will help them get to the playoffs. But, Gonzalez is more of a number 2/3 starter, and the Crew still need a number one.

             Gonzalez, 32, has a 4.57 ERA, with a 1.53 WHIP and 126 strikeouts in 145.2 innings for the Nats this year. In his MLB career for the Nationals and Oakland Athletics, Gonzalez has an ERA of 3.71, with a 1.32 WHIP and 1726 strikeouts in 1788.2 innings.

             For the Nats, they aren\’t making the playoffs this year. Gonzalez is a pending free agent, and they won\’t need him this month. They could have gotten more if they traded him earlier.

             Lara, 20, has a .249 batting average, five homers and 46 RBIs in 452 Plate Appearances for Single-A Wisconsin this year.

             Harrison, 22, has a batting average of .228, with 12 homers and 51 RBIs in 466 Plate Appearances this year, also at Single-A Wisconsin.

             The Oakland Athletics have acquired RHP Cory Gearrin from the Texas Rangers in exchange for RHPs Abdiel Mendoza and Teodoro Ortega.

           For the A\’s, they\’ve been adding to their bullpen this trading season, adding Jeurys Familia, Shawn Kelley and Fernando Rodney. Gearrin, while not as big of a name as the previous three, can still help the pen down the stretch as the A\’s try to make the playoffs.

           Gearrin, 32, has a 3.51 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 51 strikeouts in 51.1 innings for the Rangers and San Fransisco Giants this year. In his MLB career for the Rangers, Giants and Atlanta Braves, Gearrin has a 3.48 ERA with a WHIP of 1.27, plus 233 strikeouts in 240.2 innings.

           For the Rangers, Gearrin is just an arm that they don\’t need for the rest of the season, as they are adding more arms due to September call-ups tomorrow. They get two minor leaguers for Gearrin.

           Mendoza, 19, has a 3.32 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in 57 innings for Low-A this year.

           Ortega, 18, has a 2.11 ERA with a .89 WHIP and 48 strikeouts in 42.2 innings in rookie league this year, his first professional season.