Editorials

Dodgers: Dave Roberts Speaks on Trade Deadline Experience

While Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has already survived a few trade deadlines as a the manager, there is still one trade he remembers vividly. His own.

He was in the middle of a fine season with the Dodgers in 2004. While he was losing playing time in an overcrowded outfield (sound familiar?), he still slashed a respectable .253/.340/.365 while adding 33 stolen bases for the boys in blue. On July 31, 2004, he got the unexpected call — he’d been traded to the Boston Red Sox.



The Dodgers were in first place in the NL West and sitting at a respectable 60-43 on the day he was “blindsided,” as he put it, by the trade. Doc spoke about the trade with Bill Plunkett of the OC Register.

It was a surprise. Emotional. Worked out great, but I wasn’t happy to leave Los Angeles.

While the trade obviously worked out for him —

— He still thinks about that day and relates it to his players.

You’re talking about players and lives being uprooted. There’s anxiety because you don’t know. You hear your name circulating — and your role on this team, another potential team.

There are a lot of things you try to drown out, but guys are humans. It seeps into your thought, but when it does happen, some players are excited because they go to a contender. Some players are disappointed. It’s always tough, though. It’s a tough time of year.

Importantly, however, Roberts notes that his team isn’t being distracted by this time of year, “guys are doing a really good job focusing on the job at hand.”

Last night the Dodgers won their MLB-best 70th game and are primed to get better at the deadline. And Dave Roberts is ready for whatever comes his way.

Clint Pasillas

Clint Pasillas has been writing, blogging, and podcasting about the Los Angeles Dodgers since 2008. Under Clint's leadership as the Lead Editor, Dodgers Nation has grown into one of the most read baseball sites in the world with millions of unique visitors per month. Find him online on Twitter/X or his YouTube channel!

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