Dodgers Quick Hits: Dodgers Come up Clutch by Adding David Freese

The Dodgers squeezed in a last-minute addition last night before the deadline to add postseason eligible players.  The Dodgers added David Freese from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Dodgers acquired David Freese last night in a move that beat the buzzer on adding playoff eligible players via waiver trades.  The Dodgers traded minor league infielder Jesus Valdez to Pittsburgh.  Waiver trades can still happen but players acquired starting today would not be eligible for the playoffs.

This season Freese has hit .282 with nine home runs and 42 RBI’s. Freese has hit about the same against left and right-handed pitching with a .284 average against lefties and a .280 average against righties.  For his career splits, Freese has hit thirty-five points higher against lefties with an even .300 average.

Freese has some versatility on the corners as he can play first base and third base.  His best trait is his tendency to come up clutch.  When the Cardinals won their latest World Series in 2011, Freese was the NLCS and World Series MVP.

Freese came up clutch twice in the sixth game of the 2011 World Series.  First, he tripled in the tying runs with the Cardinals down to their last strike in game six.  Then in the eleventh inning, Freese hit a walk-off home run to force a game seven that the Cardinals ending up winning.  The Dodgers added a playoff proven clutch performer in David Freese.

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• The Dodgers also finalized a deal for Ryan Madson on Friday and gave up Double-A reliever Andrew Istler.  While Madson statistically is not having a good season, he has the kind of proven playoff experience that the Dodger bullpen could use.  Madson still averages 95 miles per hour on his fastball so the stuff is still there to succeed.
• It appears that Alex Verdugo will be one of the first September call-ups for the Dodgers as he posted on Instagram  that he was stuck in LA traffic.  Get used to it Alex.
• Ross Stripling successfully threw a bullpen yesterday but the Dodgers are not sure what the next step will be for Stripling.  With the minor league season winding down, there are less opportunities for him to go on a minor league rehab stint. The addition of Madson combined with the return of Josh Fields makes the Dodgers more willing to be cautious with Stripling.
• Kenley Jansen snapped his slump of bad innings by recording a save last night against the Diamondbacks.  That save was the type of confidence booster that Jansen desperately needed as he’s been struggling since his return from the DL.

• There is no doubt that Kiké Hernandez loved August as he hit .352 with a .987 OPS last month.  Kiké also continued his reverse split season with a home run off Zack Greinke last night which gives him 12 home runs this season off of right-handed pitchers.