August 25th, 2016 at 10:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Prior to Wednesday night, if you had been tasked with finding 10 Dodger fans who were happy with the trade that brought outfielder Josh Reddick and left-hander Rich Hill to the Dodgers in exchange for Dodgers former number one draft pick Grant Holmes, MLB-ready right-hander Jharel Cotton and rib resection surgery-recipient right-hander Frank Montas, your task may have been a difficult one … perhaps even impossible. Heck, even finding one or two might have not have been doable. But after Wednesday night’s Dodgers debut of Hill, who hasn’t pitched in a live game in over six weeks due to a lingering blister on his left middle finger, that seemingly lopsided trade just became a brilliant one – and it has absolutely nothing to do with Josh Reddick.
It’s no secret that the 29-year-old Reddick, a former 17th-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox in 2006, has, to this point, been an absolute bust. Since being acquired by the Dodgers at the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline, the Savannah, Georgia native is 10 for 17 (.143) at the plate with an on-base percentage of .211, a slugging percentage of .157 for a non-MLB caliber OPS of .368. And while it’s difficult not to feel bad for the extremely personable Reddick, he simply isn’t getting it done at a time when the Dodgers absolutely must get it done.
Perhaps the only guy with a more difficult job than Reddick right now is Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who has to try to keep the struggling outfielder confident during his brutal slump.
(Video capture courtesy of ESPN)
Although you don’t have to look very hard or very far to find criticism of the Reddick acquisition, he has been absolutely blessed that the rest of the Dodgers lineup has been tearing it up at the plate since his arrival, especially Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner, who is 23 for 70 (.329) with six home runs, seven doubles, one triple and has driven in 14 runs since August 1.
And then there’s Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, who extended his MLB-best hitting steak to 17 games on Wednesday night – a streak in which the popular 34-year-old San Diego, California native is 28 for 68 (.412) with six home runs and 22 RBIs. Were it not for this – and the fact that the Dodgers have caught and passed the San Francisco Giants for first place in the NL West – Reddick’s personal safety may have been in jeopardy among angry Dodger fans. (Yes, I’m kidding).
With Giants outfielder Angel Pagan having gone 0 for 3 with a walk on Wednesday night, Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez now has the longest hitting streak in the majors at 17 games after his fifth-inning single off of Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
But on Wednesday night, Rich Hill made the trade all worthwhile when he gave the Dodgers six scoreless innings and allowed only five hits, while walking none and striking out three. It was, as they say, just what the doctor ordered.
“This is the first chance that I’ve had to see [Hill] up close and personal and as much energy as there was in the ballpark tonight with the fans, Richie even raised that level of intensity and focus,” Roberts said after the Dodgers exciting 1-0 win over the Giants. “To see him take the mound with so much intensity certainly raised our level. To get six innings and not having pitched in over six weeks … the command wasn’t perfect but just the will, he just willed himself through six innings and we came out of it unscathed and it gave us a huge boost.”
It’s probably safe to say that Dodger fans felt a lot better about the Oakland trade on Thursday morning than they did on Wednesday morning because of Hill’s brilliant performance in his Dodgers debut.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
For those who were at the game or watched it on TV, it was impossible not to notice how incredible Hill’s curveball was. It may not quite raise to the level of Clayton Kershaw’s “Public Enemy Number One” (as the great Vin Scully calls it) but it’s hard not to at least give it a solid Public Enemy 1.5.
“I thought it was very effective, it came out of my hand great,” said Hill. “The two breaking balls were good with Yasmani calling them when we did and mixing the pitches when we did, the game plan worked out well.”
Was the blister issue on his mind during his Dodgers debut?
“None. It’s a hundred percent. There’s no issues there,” Hill said.
As for his overall health, Hill couldn’t be happier.
“Everything felt solid, mentally felt great, body feels good. Just to be able to consistently stay pitch-to-pitch in the moment is extremely advantageous,” Hill said. “And again, the play from the guys behind me was incredible and [Yasmani Grandal] did a great job back there … stuck to the routine and it worked out in our favor.”
By every appearance, there is nothing to even remotely suggest that the Dodgers brass or Dave Roberts plan to bench Reddick, at least not right now. But if Rich Hill can continue to pitch the way that he did in his Dodgers debut on Wednesday night, and if the rest of the Dodgers offense stays as hot as they have been during Reddick’s horrible slump, then it appears that the trade with the A’s may have worked out a lot better than even the biggest skeptic thought it would.
Posted in 
Like Vin said, “Hill was more like a mountain” and he was. That was sure exciting to watch him pitch last night. A blisterless Hill had one of the best starts, for the Dodgers, we’ve seen in a while.
As far as the other half of that trade, I guess Reddick will wake up sooner or later, if Roberts sticks to him.
I think Hill was always the primary target for the trade. He was the best pitcher available at the trade deadline. Forget Sale, Quintana, Teheran, or Archer. They were never available. Rich Hill was the target. As bad as Riddick is currently playing, his BA WRISP with the A’s this year was north of .300, better than any Dodger. It was a gamble that has not paid off…yet.
I do not think that criticism of the trade was warranted simply because of the talent that was traded away. Jharel Cotton is ML ready, and he will undoubtedly get called up in September. But he is not a difference maker this year, and the Dodgers have many back of the rotation pitchers in their system to replace Jharel in future years. Rich Hill can be a difference maker this year. I always thought that Montas was the key in the Cincy/ChiSox trade, and I was unhappy about his inclusion in the Hill/Riddick trade. But I have not seen any of the medical charts on Frankie, so I do not know how his health will rebound. Will he still be able to hit 100 on the gun in the future? Billy Beane has always been a gambler for low risk high reward players, and Frankie Montas fits that mold. I also have not seen the most recent Dodgers scouting reports on Grant Holmes. He certainly has not pitched well since the trade. I do not know if the Dodgers were less than pleased with his progress. But with Walker Buehler and the other arms lining up behind him at the lower levels, he is certainly replaceable. Rich Hill is needed this year.
The Dodgers needed the 2016 version of Rich Hill down the stretch, and paid a premium. Will his next start emulate his last? Will the blisters reappear? We do not yet know. But IMO, last night’s start against the hated Giants was worth the trade. More so because of the many Giant fans I watched the game with. But in 2020, if Grant Holmes turns out to be another Bob Welch, I might have another opinion.
I think you are right AC. All trades are calculated risks. The Puig issue and Ethier injury made Reddick a player in the trade. I doubt he will be back next year.
Hill was the target and as you say might just be s a difference maker.
I like Jharel Cotton very much. He leads the PCL in K’s by quite a margin and leads the league with a 1.09 WHIP. He is hard to hit with 98 hits in 123 innings. He is the one He missed a perfect game on August 8 by one hit. However, you have to give something up to gain what you want.
This is about Hill and I liked what i saw last night. He has a most interesting delivery and mix of pitches plus I think he is a bit unflappable.
I can’t say I was happy with the trade, nor unhappy yet. I was more in a wait and see mode.
Honestly, who could have anticipated that a blister would drag on so long? How could they know that Reddick would go into a slump?
Not only did was Hill in complete control of the game, his whole persona was of one who’s used to pitching like that. We now have our ace until Clayton is ready to reclaim his rightful place. Then, at least for the remainder of this season, we have them both.
Another subject: Was I the only one who breathed a sigh of relief when Lib replaced Baez?