Bob Nightengale of USA Today is reporting that the Dodgers have been much more aggressive of late than the Padres or Cardinals in their trade proposals for Washington star Juan Soto, who seems likely to be dealt by Tuesday's trade deadline. The potential of adding Soto to a loaded roster likely helps explain why the Dodgers' World Series odds swung from +360 to +300 at Caesars Sportsbook late last night. They are now the sole favorites for first time since June 25. The Yankees (now +350) were either the sole favorites or co-favorites with t he Dodgers during that span.
At 68-33 (.673), the Dodgers have passed the Yankees (69-34, .670) for the best winning percentage in the majors and potential home-field advantage in a World Series matchup. Los Angeles was 21-5 in July. The team made a trade over the weekend in landing reliever Chris Martin (4.31 ERA in 34 appearances) from the Cubs for seldom-used outfielder Zach McKinstry.
I'll be stunned if the Dodgers don't make at least one more move by Tuesday, even if it's not for Soto. They also will be getting injury reinforcements back soon in the likes of super utility-man Chris Taylor, reliever Blake Treinen, and starting pitchers Walker Buehler (he's a longer ways off) and Dustin May.
The Dodgers''Freddie Freeman leads the majors with 128 hits and Trea Turner is second with 127. They are looking to become the first set of teammates to finish 1-2 in hits in the regular season since 2001 when Ichiro (242) and Bret Boone (206) di d so for the Mariners. There have been six set of teammates in MLB history to finish in the top two spots in the majors in hits.