SAN FRANCISCO — The Dodgers acquired veteran left-hander Danny Duffy from the Kansas City Royals on Thursday afternoon, a deal that probably didn’t excite the team’s fan base all that much.
It turned out Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations, was just getting warmed up.
The Dodgers were “very close” to acquiring ace right-hander Max Scherzer and All-Star shortstop Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals on Thursday evening, a blockbuster deal that would greatly enhance the team’s chances of winning their second straight World Series championship.
The trade was confirmed by a person familiar with negotiations but not authorized to speak publicly about them. Scherzer, according to the person, agreed to waive his rights as a player with 10 years of service time and five with the same team to veto the trade.
The Dodgers will reportedly send their top two prospects, catcher Keibert Ruiz and pitcher Josiah Gray, as well as “mid-level” prospects Donovan Casey, a Double-A outfielder, and Gerardo Carrillo, a Double-A right-hander, to the Nationals.
Another person familiar with negotiations was not sure if the deal would be finalized Thursday night. “Just a lot of moving parts and details,” the person said.
In Scherzer, who is in the final year of a seven-year, $210 million contract that pays him $34.5 million this season, the Dodgers would get a three-time Cy Young Award winner who helped the Nationals win the 2019 World Series and is 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 19 starts this season.
Not only would the Dodgers add another ace to pair with Walker Buehler at the front of their rotation and bolster a thin starting pitching corps, they would outbid their National League West rivals, the first-place San Francisco Giants and third-place San Diego Padres, for the 37-year-old right-hander.
Turner, who is on the COVID-19 list, is batting .322 with an .890 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, 18 homers, 17 doubles and 49 RBIs in 96 games this season.
Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager, out since mid-May because of a right hand fracture, is expected to be activated this weekend, but Turner can play center field and second base, as well as shortstop.
Turner, 28, is under club control through 2022, and he would be high-quality replacement for Seager, who is eligible to become a free agent this winter.
