LOS ANGELES — The World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off a monster deal for ace Max Scherzer and All-Star shortstop Trea Turner, getting the dynamic duo from the Washington Nationals shortly before Friday’s trade deadline.

Washington acquired a pair of rookies, right-hander Josiah Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz, and two minor leaguers, righty Gerardo Carrillo and outfielder Donovan Casey.

Scherzer had been given permission to speak to the Dodgers to see if he would waive his right to veto any trade, a power he had as a 10-year veteran who has been with his team for at least five years.

“Today is heart wrenching as we say goodbye to two of the most accomplished players and two of the best people in our team’s history,” Nationals owner Mark Lerner said in a statement.

The deal came with the Dodgers three games behind NL West-leading San Francisco. Los Angeles owns the top spot in the wild-card race, 2 1/2 games ahead of San Diego.

There was speculation on Thursday that the Padres would be the winners in the Scherzer sweepstakes.

Instead, the Dodgers got real busy. They made a trade early in the day for longtime Kansas City left-handed starter Danny Duffy, then closed in on Scherzer, the biggest prize in this deadline frenzy.

The Nationals, who have fallen out of playoff contention, were equally active, making several trades in 24 hours.

Scherzer is 8-4 with a 2.76 ERA in 19 starts this season, and started the All-Star Game for the National League this month.

Scherzer posted a win for the Nationals on Thursday, when he pitched six innings of one-run ball at Philadelphia in the first game of a doubleheader.

A three-time Cy Young Award winner and eight-time All-Star, Scherzer joins a deep and talented pitching staff that includes Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Julio Urías, David Price and more.

Scherzer has a $35 million salary in the final season of a $210 million, seven-year contract and can become a free agent after the World Series.

The 37-year-old righty is a fierce competitor, often stalking around the mound in-between pitches, firing up himself and his teammates.

Scherzer is 183-97 with two no-hitters in a 14-year career with Arizona, Detroit and Washington. He signed a big contract with the Nationals with the goal of winning a World Series, and he helped bring the franchise its first championship in 2019,

Turner is a force all over the field, batting .322 with 18 home runs and 49 RB, along with 21 stolen bases. He is currently out of action after testing positive for COVID-19.

Turner, 28, was All-Star for the first time this season. He tied a major league record by hitting for the cycle for the third time in his career, doing it last month on his birthday.

Turner is a career .300 hitter in seven seasons who also has started in center field and second base in the majors. That would certainly appeal to the Dodgers, who employ a lot of versatile players.

He is earning $13 million this season, is eligible for arbitration next winter, and can become a free agent after the 2022 World Series.

• Washington also traded catcher Yan Gomes and utilityman Josh Harrison to the Oakland Athletics for three minor leaguers and sent left-hander Jon Lester to the Cardinals for speedy outfielder Lane Thomas.

Gomes has had a resurgent year as the Nationals’ starting catcher, batting .271 with nine homers and 35 RBI in 63 games. Harrison batted .294 with six homers and 38 RBI in 90 games.

Lester, 37, was 3-5 with a 5.02 ERA in 16 starts during his first season with Washington.

CUBS TRADES: The Chicago White Sox acquired closer Craig Kimbrel from the crosstown Cubs, a move that should give the AL Central leaders a fearsome bullpen for their playoff push.

The White Sox already had one of baseball’s best closers in All-Star Liam Hendriks. Now the South Siders add Kimbrel, who has a 0.49 ERA and 23 saves in 25 opportunities this season and leads NL relievers in strikeout rate and opponents’ batting average. Kimbrel ranks ninth in history with 371 saves in his 12 years in the majors.

The White Sox paid quite a price to get him: They sent second baseman Nick Madrigal, a budding star who is out for the season because of a torn right hamstring, to the Cubs along with right-handed reliever Codi Heuer.

Madrigal, 24, and Heuer, 25, are both second-year players. Madrigal, the fourth overall pick in the 2018 amateur draft, batted .305 with a .354 on-base percentage in 54 games this season. Heuer is 4-1 with a 5.12 ERA in 40 appearances in 2021.

• The Cubs also sent flashy shortstop Javier Báez and pitcher Trevor Williams to the Mets for outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, and dealt Kris Bryant to the Giants for two minor leaguers.

Báez, a two-time All-Star and 2020 Gold Glove winner, gives the NL East leaders an immediate fill-in for injured shortstop Francisco Lindor, who is sidelined by a strained oblique and isn’t expected back until at least mid-to-late August.

Báez, who can become a free agent after the season, is batting .248 with 22 home runs and 65 RBI. He has a .775 OPS and 13 stolen bases in 16 tries, but also leads the National League with 131 strikeouts. He has made 18 errors in 88 games.

Williams also is a significant part of the deal for the Mets, who were eager to reinforce a thin starting rotation depleted by injuries.

Bryant has started at least 10 games at five different positions this season – third base, all three outfield spots and first base. He’s hitting .267 with 18 homers, 51 RBI and an .861 OPS.

TWINS-BLUE JAYS: Toronto won the pursuit for All-Star pitcher José Berríos, acquiring the Minnesota right-hander for two minor leaguers.

The Twins got infielder/outfielder Austin Martin and righty Simeon Woods Richardson for their top pitcher.

Berríos is 7-5 with a 3.48 ERA in 20 starts this season and attracted interest from several contenders.

Toronto began the day at 51-48, 4 1/2 games behind Oakland for the second AL wild-card slot.

Berríos, 27, was Minnesota’s unquestioned ace, a two-time All-Star who has been as durable as any pitcher in the game. He’s eligible for free agency after the 2022 season.

Berríos has struck out 126 in 121 2/3 innings this season and has held opponents to a .213 batting average. He was 55-43 with a 4.08 ERA in six season with Minnesota.

Dealing Berríos will set a struggling rotation back even further, but the Twins had all the leverage with so many teams on the market seeking high-end starting pitching.

Martin, 22, was hitting .281 with a .424 on-base percentage and scored 43 runs in 55 games for Double-A New Hampshire. This is his first pro season.

Woods Richardson, 20, was 2-4 with a 5.76 ERA in 11 starts for Double-A New Hampshire. He is playing for the United States in the Olympics.

• Minnesota also sent left-handed pitcher J.A. Happ and cash to the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher John Gant and a minor-leaguer.

ORIOLES-RAYS: Baltimore traded right-hander Shawn Armstrong to Tampa Bay for cash.

The right-handed reliever has spent parts of seven seasons in the majors. Armstrong has an 8.55 ERA in 20 appearances with the Orioles this season and was with Triple-A Norfolk at the time of the deal.

The Rays have been both buyers and sellers ahead of Friday’s trade deadline, acquiring slugger Nelson Cruz from the Minnesota Twins and shipping right-hander Diego Castillo to the Seattle Mariners for reliever JT Chargois and a minor league infielder.

Tampa Bay entered Friday trailing first-place Boston by 1 1/2 games in the AL East and leading the AL wild-card race.

YANKEES-ANGELS: New York acquired Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney for minor league right-handers Janson Junk and Elvis Peguero.

Heaney is 6-7 with a 5.27 ERA in 18 starts this year.

BRAVES: Atlanta bolstered its depleted outfield by acquiring Eddie Rosario from the Indians and Adam Duvall from the Marlins.

The Braves sent infield Pablo Sandoval to Cleveland in exchange for Rosario, who is batting .254 with seven homers and 46 RBI in 78 games. Rosario has been on the injured list since July 6 because of an oblique strain.

Duvall, 32, is returning to Atlanta, where he played the last previous seasons. The former Sanford Mainer is hitting .229 and ranks among the top 10 in the National League with 22 home runs and 68 RBI in 90 games this season.

Miami got catcher Alex Jackson in return for Duvall.

PHILLIES-RANGERS: Philadelphia acquired pitchers Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy from Texas, getting the Rangers’ top starter and their closer in exchange for rookie right-hander Spencer Howard and two other pitching prospects.

Gibson (6-3, 2.87 ERA) was a first-time All-Star this season, but the 33-year-old right-hander lost his last three starts for Texas. Kennedy, 36, has 16 saves in 17 opportunities, and hasn’t issued a walk in his last 11 appearances, a span of 45 batters dating to June 4.

• The Phillies also received infielder Freddy Galvis from the Orioles for minor league right-hander Tyler Burch.

Galvis is a career .247 hitter in 10 major league seasons, the first six with Philadelphia.

BREWERS: NL Central-leading Milwaukee acquired relievers John Curtiss from the Miami Marlins and Daniel Norris from the Detroit Tigers.

Milwaukee sent minor league catcher Payton Henry to Miami and minor league pitcher Reese Olson to Detroit.

Curtiss, 28, is 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 35 games this season. Norris, 28, is 1-3 with a 5.89 ERA in 38 appearances, but the left-hander hasn’t allowed a run or a hit over his last five outings. Left-handed hitters are batting just .200 against him.

INDIANS: Cleveland sent reliever Phil Maton and catcher Yainer Diaz to AL West-leading Houston for speedy outfielder Myles Straw, then traded outfielder Jordan Luplow and right-hander DJ Johnson to the Tampa Bay Rays for minor league pitcher Peyton Battenfield.

METS: Jacob deGrom is being shut down for at two more weeks because of inflammation in his right arm, making it unlikely he’ll rejoin the NL East leaders before September.

Acting General Manager Zack Scott said deGrom was diagnosed with inflammation following a bullpen session Thursday.

Manager Luis Rojas said deGrom was clocked in the high 90s near the end of his session. But Rojas said the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner didn’t throw Friday, a deviation from deGrom’s normal healthy routine of throwing every day.

DeGrom is 7-2 with 1.08 ERA in 15 starts, striking out 146 in 92 innings, but he hasn’t pitched since July 7, when he allowed two runs and struck out 10 over seven innings against Milwaukee.

ASTROS: Left-handed reliever Brooks Raley was suspended for three games and fined by Major League Baseball for intentionally throwing at and hitting Seattle’s J.P. Crawford on Monday night.

Raley appealed the penalty announced by MLB on Friday, when Houston opened a weekend series at San Francisco – where Astros Manager Dusty Baker was set to manage against his former club but sat out an automatic one-game suspension because of Raley’s suspension.

Raley plunked Crawford in the back on a 3-1 pitch after surrendering Dylan Moore’s grand slam that helped the Mariners rally to an 11-8 comeback win.

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