2012 MLB Trade Deadline: Full Transaction Round-Up

The trading deadline is gone. The frenzy, over. Like a wild party that raged through the night, now we get to step back and see who threw up in which flowerpot.

And that means judging trades immediately, slapping “winners and losers” labels on teams. In the interest of playing nice, let’s just focus on the winners today. The losers are still happy with their trades, and I don’t want to be that guy. My five favorite trades of the deadline:

Anderson once ranked among the best hitting prospects in the minors, and first reached the majors in 2010. But he’s gotten little action in the majors, and meanwhile his hitting in the minors has fallen off. This year with triple-A Pawtucket, Anderson’s batted just .259/.359/.415 in 91 games, but he’s still just 24 and might rebound.

Wright was a second-round draft pick by the Indians in 2006, but turned to the knuckleball in 2011 when it seemed his career had stalled despite his low-90s fastball. Wright has spent this season in Class AA, and sports a 2.49 ERA in 20 starts but has a subpar 1.63 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which suggests he’s still got a lot of work to do.

The Hunter Pence trade we’ve been waiting on to become official is now official. The Philadelphia Phillies have sent Hunter Pence to the San Francisco Giants. The San Francisco Giants have sent Tommy Joseph, Nate Schierholtz, and Seth Rosin to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Don’t believe me? Here, read this official tweet that says the exact same thing:

For all news and information regarding the Seattle Mariners, please visit Lookout Landing or stop by SB Nation Seattle. For updates on the Los Angeles Dodgers, check out True Blue LA or SB Nation Los Angeles. To keep up-to-date with the Toronto Blue Jays, head on over to Bluebird Banter.

Snider was the Blue Jays’ first-round draft pick in 2006, and has gotten extended trials with the big club. But he’s not done much with those trials, entered this season with a .248/.307/.423 line in 232 major-league games, and has spent most of 2012 in Class AAA. But he’s still only 24, and absolutely murdered the baseball while playing with Las Vegas this season. The Jays finally summoned him back to the big club a couple of weeks ago, and in nine games he’s struck out 13 times but hit three home runs.

Lincoln’s also a 2006 first-round draft pick, going 10 spots ahead of Snider at No. 4 overall. He’s spent most of his professional career struggling with injuries, and entered this season with a 5.74 ERA in just 100 career major-league innings. But he’s pitched exceptionally well this season, largely in relief, with 60 strikeouts, only 19 walks, and a 2.73 ERA in 59⅓ innings. Lincoln’s been much better as a reliever than as a starter this season, but the Blue Jays are desperate for starting pitchers and might at least consider trying him in that role again.

Johnson is hitting over .300 for the second straight season, and he has a .308/.354/.461 career line in 412 at-bats over his Cubs career.

Vizcaino, 21, was one of the Braves’ top prospects, and Baseball America ranked him among the top-100 prospects in each of the past three seasons. The right-hander had Tommy John surgery before the 2012 season, though, and he is out for the season.

What makes the deal seem odd is that as poorly as Torrealba’s hit this season, Soto’s hit even worse:

Meanwhile, the initial reports have the Rangers sending right-handed starting pitcher Jacob Brigham to the Cubs. Brigham is 24 and pitching this season in the Class AA Texas League. He didn’t rank high among the Rangers’ prospects this spring, due to control issues. But he’s got a big arm and might thrive someday as a two-pitch reliefer.

Alas, Johnson’s not a good fielder, either. But he’s a Known Quantity, and apparently considered a tonic for a club with a big question mark at third base. It’s been a disappointing season for the Diamondbacks, but a) they entered Sunday just 4½ games out of first place, and b) they’ve got the best run differential in the National League West, so it’s too early to give up on this season.

Rodríguez is just 7-9 with a 3.79 ERA, but don’t let those numbers (especially the wins and losses) fool you; he’s a solid pitcher who’s been wonderfully consistent (if not consistently wonderful) over the last few seasons.

Performance aside, this might turn into a costly move for the Pirates, depending on how much money the Astros send along. Because Rodríguez is guaranteed $13 million in 2013, and at least a $2.5-million buyout in 2014.

But this is 2012, not 2001 or 2003, and time marches on for every player. Not even someone who appeared as invincible as Ichiro Suzuki can play forever. Ichiro’s contract expires at the end of this season and he’ll head to free agency; who knows whether, or where, he’ll play in 2013.

There is strong speculation that the Marlins and Tigers are nearing completion on a trade.

The Marlins would be parting with Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante in a deal that would send pitching prospect Jacob Turner to Miami.And Jon Morosi says the deal is done:

Also, the Tigers, who just signed Prince Fielder for nine years, were awarded a pick in the competitive-balance lottery. Just clearing that up.

These are the sorts of things that used to happen in the 1950s, when teams routinely made multiple-player deals in order to turn around sagging fortunes, or just make some news.

You’ll notice there are only nine names in that tweet; the 10th player in the deal is a player to be named later, who will go from Toronto to Houston.