Jimmy Rollins' marathon trade to Dodgers finally official

We wrote our goodbyes, said our farewells, and screamed into our pillows. And still, the trade wasn't official. It feels like weeks have passed since we first heard of the Phillies dealing their beloved shortstop to the Dodgers. In that time, confirmation of the trade has become something of a myth. Would it happen? Is there even a trade in place? Did Jimmy Rollins even exist? It became impossible to know.

But today, as the Dodgers' first trade with the Padres for Matt Kemp finally went through, we knew what would follow. The three-way deal was falling into place, and with Kemp's departure from L.A., Rollins would soon be headed to the Dodgers along with a reported $1 million in exchange for a pair of minor leaguers, one of whom came from San Diego, the other from the Dodgers.

Zach Eflin is a 20-year-old right hander and Tom Windle is a 22-year-old lefty. Here is Liz Roscher, days ago:

"Windle... was drafted by the Dodgers in the second round back in 2013. He spent all of 2014 in high A ball, started 26 games and pitched nearly 140 innings. In those 139 1/2 innings, he struck out 111 and walked 44. He ended up with a 4.28 ERA, which for a guy at high A ball is a meaningless stat.

Zach Eflin, who I really want to type as Elfin, isn't even officially a Dodger yet... How can the Dodgers trade a player that's on another team? That's the magic of Andrew Friedman!"

That magic is now complete, it seems. Windle is a

A graduate of Minnesota, Windle threw the first nine-inning no-hitter in the school's history against Western Illinois. Check out this sweet quote on his approach:

"My style of pitching is pretty simple. I trust what I have. When I'm out there I don't think too much. I just know I want to attack the batter."

Here's a special on him from the Big Ten Network, which I will allow to profile him so that I do not have to.

On a personal level, Windle remains skeptical of some of the driving laws in the midwest United States.

I guess they let dogs drive in Iowa pic.twitter.com/cJLyf8q

— Tom Windle (@tomwindle38) December 23, 2012

Eflin benefited from a sudden uptick in his velocity from the ages of 17-18. Scouts had clocked him in the high 80s, but a year later, he came back chucking closer to 96 m.p.h. This (which was due to a correction in his balance that had had him falling off the first base side of the mound) alone had buzz surrounding him entering the 2012 draft. Watch him pitch.

And so, we march into the future with these two, and presumably many more, new faces. Farewell, Jimmy. Let's say the code will be whenever you smile, you're telling us "Dodgers suck."

Ha ha. Nice.