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Dodgers keep adding on with trade for Curtis Granderson

Curtis Granderson is the latest acquisition of the Dodgers. (AP)
Curtis Granderson is the latest acquisition of the Dodgers. (AP)

The rich got richer Friday night when the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson from the New York Mets.

The Dodgers made the deal official hours after defeating the Detroit Tigers for their league-leading 86th victory. The Mets included cash considerations in the deal and will receive a player to be named later or cash considerations to complete it.

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The Dodgers already deep roster got a pretty strong boost in the span of a few hours. Friday’s game marked the return of Adrian Gonzalez, who missed over two months with a back injury. Gonzalez started at first base and contributed a double in his return, but probably won’t have a full-time role down the stretch with Cody Bellinger playing out of his mind in his rookie season. Bellinger has spent the last two months manning first base in Gonzalez’s absence but can play the outfield as well.

The addition of Granderson adds to the logjam in the outfield, but his path to playing time seems more clear with Joc Pederson getting demoted to Triple A before Saturday’s game. Pederson is hitting just .214 with 11 homers after mashing 51 total homers over the last two seasons.

Though hitting only .228 himself — and just .207 since July 1 — Granderson will definitely bring experience and should bring a more composed approach at the plate. Also appealing are his skills as a two-way player capable of hitting the long ball and manning all three outfield positions.

Granderson joins Yu Darvish, Tony Watson, and Tony Cingrani as the Dodgers big trade additions. Darvish is the big name, but Granderson could easily prove to be the most important acquisition if he’s a stabilizing force in the outfield and provides the production manager Dave Roberts is looking for.

On a personal level, Friday’s trade was clearly bittersweet for Granderson. On one hand, he’s headed to the best team in baseball and will have a shot to win that elusive World Series ring. On the other, he clearly enjoyed his time and experiences in New York.

In his final Mets at-bat on Thursday, Granderson delivered a ninth-inning grand slam in a 7-5 loss to the Yankees at Citi Field. Loss aside, we couldn’t think of a better sendoff than that.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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