The Los Angeles Dodgers made a serious pitch to defend their World Series title with a blockbuster deal that will send Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer and All-Star shortstop Trea Turner to L.A. for their two best prospects plus two mid-level ones.

Scherzer and Turner are joining one of the most loaded rosters baseball has ever seen as the Dodgers look to put themselves back in the driver’s seat for their fourth National League Pennant in five seasons and the franchise’s eighth World Series title.

The two teams began finalizing the groundbreaking trade Thursday night. The Dodgers acquire Scherzer and Turner while the Nationals get C Keibert Ruiz, RHP Josiah Gray, RHP Gerard Carrillo, and OF Donovan Casey.

Scherzer will join a Dodgers rotation dealing with injuries as Dustin May has been lost for the season after having Tommy John surgery and Klayton Kershaw is continuing to rehab his forearm and hasn’t made a start since July 3. Trevor Bauer has been on administrative leave since July 8 for sexual assault and abuse allegations.

Sherzer, 37, will bring much-needed depth to the rotation as the regular season winds down to its final two months. Sherzer has won the Cy Young three times and is one of only five pitchers to win the award in both leagues. Scherzer has also led both leagues in wins two times each and pitched two no-hitters in 2015.

Turner, 28, is currently slashing .322/.369/.521 with 18 home runs, 49 RBI’s, an OPS+ of 146, and a 4.1 WAR. Turner was voted to his first career All-Star game this season.

Turner will play second base for the remainder of the season as shortstop Corey Seager looks to return from injury this weekend after missing two months with a fractured bone in his right hand.

Seager will enter free agency this offseason and his possible departure could make Turner the Dodgers shortstop of the future. The Dodgers will have Turner under team control until 2023.

Both Scherzer and Turner were key pieces on the Nationals 2019 World Series Championship team. The Dodgers make the move as they look to keep pace with National League West Divison rivals San Francisco Giants and San Diego Padres. The Dodgers trail the Giants by three games and sit 2.5 games up on the Padres with a record of 62-42. The Padres were closing in on Scherzer before the Dodgers made the Nationals their final offer, the late move could have tremendous effects on both teams come October.

Ruiz and Gray are the Dodgers’ two best prospects as the Nationals look to rebuild two years after bringing Washington D.C. its first World Series title since 1924. Both of whom are top 100 prospects in all of baseball. Ruiz, 23, has hit 16 home runs in 52 Triple-A games this season and is a solid defender behind the plate. Gray, 23, who throws a fastball clocking in the mid-’90s, along with two breaking balls, and a changeup has a 2.87 ERA and an 11.0 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four Triple-A appearances.

Carillo,22, is the Dodgers 17th ranked prospect and throws a mid-90s fastball and slider, Carillo has a tendency to walk a lot of batters and will likely move to the bullpen prior to his debut.

Casey, 25, is slashing .296/.362/.462 with 11 home runs and 15 steals with a 30 percent strikeout rate in Double-A this season.

The move is a win for both teams as the Dodgers aim for another championship and the Nationals look to build for the future so they can compete with National League East Division rivals New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and Philadelphia Phillies.