The trade: The Texas Rangers acquire RHP Max Scherzer and cash from the New York Mets for IF Luisangel Acuna.
When the Los Angeles Angels declared that Shohei Ohtani wouldn't be dealt before the trade deadline, one sad consequence was that it seemed to make the deadline itself a little more banal. There would be trades, sure, but an Ohtani deal itself would have made this an indelible week. Maybe the deadline would be on the dull side or maybe it wouldn't, but our shot at a big fish changing teams seemed far less likely.
Well, that changed Saturday night. No one in MLB matches Ohtani's ability to generate headlines, but a deadline that was already growing in substance thanks to the offloading aggression of the Chicago White Sox and New York Mets now has a signature deal with a future Hall of Famer on the move.
Max Scherzer became the latest rotation standout to make his way from the Mets to the Texas Rangers, joining a list that includes such notables as Nolan Ryan, Jon Matlack and Jacob deGrom. Another name on the roll call of those who pitched for the Mets and the Rangers (feel free to commit all this to memory if it comes up on the Immaculate Grid) is Chris Young, the general manager who just landed the starter who might have the biggest impact of any player acquired this trade season.
Let's grade it.