Dodgers acquire Jim Thome and Jon Garland

The Dodgers were quite active while I was asleep, acquiring starting pitcher Jon Garland from the Diamondbacks and slugger Jim Thome from the White Sox just before the September 1st postseason roster "deadline" (which seems to have so many loopholes that it's much less of a deadline than it used to be).

Garland, a starting pitcher, fills a gaping hole on the team. He isn't an ace, but he is useful, and I'm quite pleased about this trade. Thome has had an awesome career, but he can't play in the field at all anymore, and we're reasonably set at first base (where he played for much of his career when he wasn't DHing) with James Loney. (Of course, Loney is going to need to pick up his OPS if he's going to remain our long-term solution at that position.) Thome will be a useful pinch hitter, but the acquisition of Garland is far more important. The Dodgers are currently playing the Diamondbacks, so in fact Garland had the interesting experience of walking from one side of the dugout to the other.

These trades give some very good news (and all the Rockies got was Jose Contreras, who I can't see being particularly helpful given that he usually implodes when he is on the mound these days) and certainly make a lot more sense than the move to get Belliard.

Update (9/02/09): I forgot to point this out previously, but an important comment is that if the Dodgers make the World Series, then Thome will be exceptionally useful to have in the DH spot when we play in American League ballparks.