Los Angeles Dodgers Make a Pair of Moves to Reset the Timeline

The Dodgers have reset the timeline following Tuesday's trade with the Miami Marlins

Jul 20, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Esteury Ruiz (27) rounds the bases after he hit a solo home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the fifth inning at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images | Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

If we didn't know any better, it would look as though Monday's trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Miami Marlins was an attempt to clean up the remnants of a party before your parents get back home. If you had been asleep from the beginning of 2025 to the beginning of 2026, things wouldn't look terribly different.

The Dodgers would still be the World Series winners, and there would be no hint of Esteury Ruiz anywhere on their roster. Heck, the guy they traded to the A's to land Ruiz on April 2, Carlos Duran, has already re-signed with the Dodgers.

And yet, some small changed have occurred. Ruiz is now a World Series champion, though he was left off the roster for the entirety of the postseason. Duran made his premature MLB debut when the A's needed a fresh arm in May, and that one game came in Sacramento and was accompanied by poor results.

On Monday, the Dodgers finished their cleaning, trading Ruiz to the Marlins in exchange for minor-league pitcher Adriano Marrero, an 18-year-old right-hander that spent this past season in the Dominican Summer League and held a 3.82 ERA.

Ruiz was acquired by the A's in the Sean Murphy trade back in 2022, and was actually the centerpiece of the deal. He's also the reason that the Milwaukee Brewers were brought into the deal at all, and it's the Crew that have actually fared the best in that transaction, landing William Contreras.

Ruiz received his chance with the A's immediately in 2023, getting into 132 games and stealing an AL rookie record 67 bags. He batted .254 with a .309 OBP, and was successful in 83.75% of his stolen base attempts.

Still, the A's front office believed he needed to get on base and drive the ball more often in order to have the impact they were looking for, and he was shuttled between Oakland and Las Vegas in an injury-filled 2024 campaign.

He was out of options in 2025, and that led to his trade to the Dodgers, where he served primarily as a pinch-runner. He made it into 19 games for the champs and earned just 21 at-bats on the year.

As for Duran, his stint in the big leagues was short because he was never ready for his debut. But the A's needed arms as they were in the midst of a 1-20 stretch that ended up tanking their season. His one appearance was against the Los Angeles Angels, a team that was working on a four-game sweep of the A's in that series.

Duran lasted 1/3 of an inning, giving up just one hit, but he also walked three and gave up three earned runs. What's funny is, he actually got the first batter he faced, Nolan Schanuel, to pop out to the catcher after a six pitch battle. He then walked Taylor Ward and Jorge Soler before giving up the single to Logan O'Hoppe to load the bases.

He then walked Jo Adell to bring home a run, but it was at that point that Duran was pulled for Hogan Harris. The lefty would give up a sac-fly and a single to bring home the other two scores.

Duran has plenty of potential with his 96 mile per hour four-seamer and a 95 mph sinker that both pair with his slider. His issue has always been his control. This past season with the A's Triple-A affiliate, he walked 51 batters in 58 1/3 innings, while striking out 59.

After bringing back Duran, the Dodgers now look as though nothing has changed, while the A's have nothing to show for trading Sean Murphy.