The Dodgers 4 Best Trades In Team History
The Los Angeles Dodgers are two-time defending World Series champions, built from a mix of deft trades, farm system gems, and the deepest wallet in baseball.
They're also unafraid to pull the trigger on a trade. For a team like the Dodgers, it's often about adding a big name to win now, in exchange for potential future standouts.
Some have worked, some have not.
Here are the five best trades in Los Angeles Dodgers history.
4. Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris for Manny Ramirez (2008)
This three-team trade added star power to L.A., sparking the "Mannywood" frenzy that vaulted the Dodgers to the top of a crowded L.A. entertainment scene.
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Ramirez hit .396 in 53 games in 2008, powered a playoff run with monster postseason numbers, and helped shift the franchise's momentum.
He spent only one-plus more season before going to the White Sox and Rays to conclude a long career.
LaRoche was OK in one of three seasons with the Pirates but finished with a sub-zero WAR in a six-year MLB career. Morris was a non-factor for the Pirates as well.
3. Bob Welch for Alfredo Griffin, Jay Howell and Jesse Orosco (1987)
The Dodgers had holes to fill for the 1988 season, and filled three of them by shipping veteran starter Welch in a three-team trade with the Athletics and Mets. Welch was a star for the A's. He even went 27-6 and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1990.
But the Dodgers won the '88 World Series.
Griffin was a critical defensive boost at shortstop. Howell posted a 2.08 ERA in 50 relief appearances in 1988 and a 1.58 ERA in 56 games in '89. Orosco proved to be a one-year reliever rental, but had a 2.72 ERA in 55 games.
The Dodgers had to give to get, but what they got was their second championship since 1965.
2. Players and Cash to the Red Sox for Pee Wee Reese (1949)
The Dodgers were still in Brooklyn when they acquired Reese from the Red Sox, then a 21-year-old up-and-comer still at Triple-A Louisville.
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Boston traded him because Red Sox manager Joe Cronin was also the team's starting shortstop and believed Reese was a threat to his status. He talked ownership into moving him at a bargain.
The Red Sox got cash and four players from the Dodgers. None of them made any MLB impact.
As for Reese, he was the heart and soul of a Dodgers team that made seven World Series appearances in his 16 seasons.
He was a 10-time All-Star and finished in the Top 11 in MVP voting nine times, all that despite missing three years in his prime while serving in the military during World War II.
Reese was famously a key supporter and mentor of Jackie Robinson when he integrated as MLB's first Black player in 1947.
1. Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong to the Red Sox for Mookie Betts and David Price (2020)
Betts was a bona fide superstar for the Red Sox. He won the AL MVP in 2018 and led the league in runs scored in '18 and '19. But Boston decided it couldn't afford Betts when contract time came up, and moved him.
Betts immediately led the NL in WAR in 2020 and again in 2023 and has been a leader and producer for the Dodgers' two World Series championships. He's still the everyday starting shortstop.
Price was at the tail end of his career but was a reliable bullpen piece in 2022, posting a 2.45 ERA in 40 games before retiring at age 36.
Verdugo batted .308 for the Red Sox in 2020, but his average dropped in each of his five seasons with the team. He never hit more than 13 home runs and left after four seasons, retiring in 2025 at age 29.
Boston should really stop trading with the Dodgers.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 2:37 PM.