Dodgers Acquire Curtis Granderson

So I saw Curtis Granderson featured at the Dodgers' Twitter feed, and I thought "Why's he putting on a Dodger jersey? Must be doing cross-team MLB promotions, or something." Then I thought, "Wait, the Dodgers traded for Curtis Granderson?" And I googled it. Yep, they snagged the dude from the Mets. Granderson's got tremendous energy and charisma. I've seen him play clutch baseball here and there, but I've never really followed his game closely. His acquisition by the Dodgers illustrates the team's intent to win the World Series, and of course Granderson's totally stoked.

Here's Bill Plaschke, at LAT, "The Dodgers' front office swings for the fences with acquisition of Curtis Granderson":

Dodger fans, @cgrand3 has a message for you. #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/Td87uPqoqN

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 19, 2017

.@cgrand3 is PUMPED. 👊 #LetsGoDodgers https://t.co/gOy6Wdwb9T (via MLB Fans) pic.twitter.com/ieCpEC4v1p

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 19, 2017

Each game, I wear my socks high in honor of #JackieRobinson. Today I did it in a @dodgers uniform -and it felt really special #LetsGoDodgers pic.twitter.com/x9xTWcpldp

— Curtis Granderson (@cgrand3) August 19, 2017

It happened again. They did it again.

Late innings, out of nowhere, a screaming line drive, a sprint toward home, dust flies, fans gasp, victory appears.

It happened again. The Dodgers’ front office did it again.

The magic of this wondrous baseball team is nearly being matched, walk-off for walk-off, by the magic of the guys who have assembled it. Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi went deep in extra innings for the second time in less than three weeks Friday night, picking up October-honed outfielder Curtis Granderson from the New York Mets for virtually nothing, and now can there be any question?

In their third season here, Friedman and Zaidi understand Dodgers fans’ anguish. They connect with their desperation. They share their hope. They get it, and they’re going for it.

Even with the team steamrollering to what might be the best regular-season record in baseball history, possibly breaking the fabled 116-victory mark, Friedman and Zaidi are still shaking things up, adding a veteran left-handed hitter, sending down former top prospect Joc Pederson, emphasizing that their only goal is one shared by anyone who has spent the last 29 years going out of their blue minds.

“We’ll take the 11 wins in October over the 116 wins in the regular season any day,” Zaidi, the team’s general manager, said in a phone interview.

Remember when everyone was worried that they were satisfied with building for the future at the expense of today? About five minutes before the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline, with nothing big happening, folks everywhere were beginning to gripe about two guys who cared more about the process than the present.

Then, boom, they walked it off with the deal for starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who has done just enough to help the team win all three of his starts. And now, wham, they have walked it off again by acquiring Granderson, a great clubhouse guy who has 18 home runs since May 1, who can still work up some serious exit velocity against right-handed pitching, and who has played in a dozen postseason series, including two World Series.

He is a big-swinging starting outfielder against right-handers. He is invaluable bench depth on other days. He is 36, he has seen it all, he batted .389 against the Dodgers in a 2015 division series, hit three homers in the 2015 World Series, and becomes yet another gleaming chess piece that can shine under the lights.

“He has the kind of grinding mentality that plays in October,” Zaidi said...

More.