Major League Baseball

Dodgers trade for slugger Thome, righty Garland

Published Sep. 1, 2009 7:30 a.m. ET

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The Los Angeles Dodgers made a big push to lock up the NL West, acquiring slugging first baseman Jim Thome from the Chicago White Sox and right-hander Jon Garland from the Arizona Diamondbacks.


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The deals were announced by Los Angeles in the top of the eighth inning of Monday night's game against Arizona. Both trades were completed before the midnight EDT deadline required for postseason eligibility.

Thome, who has not played first base since playing one game in 2007, goes from a third-place team trailing Detroit and Minnesota in the American League Central Division to the first-place Dodgers, who came into Monday night leading the NL West by six games.

The deal also reunites Thome with Manny Ramirez, his teammate on the Cleveland Indians in the 1990s.

The 39-year-old Thome is hitting .252 with 23 home runs and 74 RBI in 106 games.

The White Sox get infielder Justin Fuller and cash considerations. Thome is owed $2,415,301 from his $13 million salary, and is eligible to become a free agent after the World Series.

The Dodgers will give a player to be named to the Diamondbacks for Garland, who is 8-11 with a 4.29 ERA. He gave up five hits and a walk over seven sharp innings in a 9-0 victory over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

Garland is due $1,161,202 from his $6.25 million salary. His contract includes a $10 million mutual option. He gets a $2.5 million buyout if the team declines and $1 million is he declines. Because he was traded, the Dodgers cannot offer him salary arbitration if he is a Type A free agent.

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