The Los Angeles Dodgers have been the kings of the National League West in all but one year since 2013. They have won four National League pennants and even captured two World Series titles.
However, their stranglehold on the NL West may be starting to loosen a bit. Late on Sunday, the archrival San Francisco Giants made a blockbuster deal to acquire Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox.
The Dodgers have a two-game lead in the NL West over San Francisco, but that may not last much longer.
When listing the winners and losers of the deal, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report stated that Los Angeles was one of the losers.
"What San Francisco needed in order to be taken a little more seriously as a threat to the Dodgers was more offense, as the Giants entered Sunday having scored 89 fewer runs than Los Angeles," Miller writes.
"And, well, they got it."
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Devers was hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs, 58 RBI, a 2.3 WAR and a .905 OPS with the Red Sox before the trade to San Francisco.
The Dodgers are still a clear candidate to win yet another World Series title and should be taken seriously. But their road may have gotten a little bit tougher.
The Giants are breathing down their necks and just made perhaps the biggest trade of this year's deadline over a month before it arrived.
Now, the Giants are a threat to take down the Dodgers in the NL West and make a deep run into the postseason. Los Angeles will have to deal with Devers being in the division for the next several years.
But the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers is only getting better and more competitive, so while the Dodgers may be losing their hold on the NL West, these two teams should be going at it for years to come.
More MLB: Red Sox could trade another multi-time All-Star after Rafael Devers blockbuster