At the 2015 trade deadline, the Oakland A’s were 45-59, 13 games behind the division-leading Astros. The Dodgers were leading the NL West with a 58-45 record, but the Giants were only 1.5 games back and closing. The Dodgers needed another starter and a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder / bench bat with some power, and Oakland’s Rich Hill and Josh Reddick were both free agents at the end of the year.
Rich Hill was injured in 2013 and 2014, but was pitching to a 2.25 ERA with Oakland in 2015 (albeit with a 3.56 xFIP). He was considered one of the top rental arms at the 2015 deadline.