American League trade deadline winners and losers
The Oakland A’s add to an already-deep starting rotation, but did they give away an essential part in Yoenis Cespedes to do so?
Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
American League East
By Steven Goldman
Added: LHP Andrew Miller
Subtracted: Eduardo Rodriguez
Winners or Losers? If you consider adding 20 to 30 innings of lefty relief pitching to a team that needs a bat a big deal, then winners, sure. Otherwise, as good as Miller has been, he shouldn’t be much more than a marginal addition.
Added: Third baseman Danny Valencia
Subtracted: Catcher Erik Kratz, RHP Liam Hendriks
Winners or Losers? Everyone can use a platoon third baseman sometimes, especially one who has hit .331/.368/.508 in 500 career plate appearances against left-handers. Given the injuries to Toronto's offense, a little bit of that will go a long way. Brett Lawrie should be back in the near term, but Edwin Encarnacion and Adam Lind still have some rehab time ahead of them. They'll all help tremendously, but even with rookie Marcus Stroman really taking change of the Jays' rotation, another starting pitcher seems needed if the Jays are going to hold on to a wild card spot, let alone overthrow the Orioles or win a first-round series.
MLB Trade Deadline
MLB Trade Deadline
Added: INF Martin Prado, INF Stephen Drew, LHP Chris Capuano, 3B Chase Headley, RHP Brandon McCarthy
Subtracted: C/1B Peter O’Brien, INF Kelly Johnson, INF Yangervis Solarte, RHP Julio De Paula, LHP Vidal Nuno
Winners or Losers? The Yankees made only small upgrades, but gave away virtually nothing of long-term value to do it. That is not to say that O’Brien might not hit some home runs in the majors or De Paula might not harness his stuff someday, but these are replaceable pieces, and if the Yankees want to capitalize on what has been, so far, a lucky farewellJeterseason (one word intentional), even marginal upgrades could pay large dividends.
Added: LHP Drew Smyly, INF Willy Adames, INF Nick Franklin
Subtracted: LHP David Price
Winners or Losers? Can we skip this one? There’s almost no way to win a trade like this. You can cash a Price in for any number of lottery tickets, but he is the winning ticket and you know that most of those don’t pay off. Whether the Rays got enough is a question for the long term. Whether they should have bailed now, when they were playing a bit better, is more open to debate, but it’s a question with no right answer.
Added: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, OF Allen Craig, RHP Joe Kelly, OF Yoenis Cespedes, LHP Edwin Escobar, RHP Heath Hembree, INF Kelly Johnson
Subtracted: Emptied the closet.
Winners or Losers: They got Yoenis Cespedes for an eight-week rental on Jon Lester. That by itself makes this a win. The season hasn’t gone as the Red Sox had planned, but with these moves and the maturation of their young players, they should be in a good position heading into 2015. Further exposure for their young pitchers the rest of the way will provide a big clue as to whether that prediction is accurate.
Photo credit: Chris Cotillo
American League Central
By Kurt Mensching
Added: RP Joakim Soria, SP David Price
Subtracted: OF Austin Jackson, SP Drew Smyly
Winners or Losers: The Tigers added two terrific arms to the team -- at least, we’re pretty sure Soria is a terrific arm, though his poor start in Detroit leaves questions -- helping make a stronger rotation and a better bullpen. But the cost can potentially hurt them both now and in the future. Jackson will not easily be replaced in center field, and Drew Smyly had several years of team control remaining despite already being a useful contributor in the back of the rotation. Meanwhile, the rest of the division has cried uncle.
Trade deadline analysis
Trade deadline analysis
Added: SP Liam Hendriks, C Erik Kratz, SP Jason Frasor
Subtracted: 3B Danny Valencia, OF Jimmy Paredes, RHP Spencer Patton
Winners or Losers: The lowest-scoring team in the division did nothing to address that need, the only notable addition being Jason Frasor to the bullpen. Essentially the Royals stood pat, and the locals do not seem pleased. Meanwhile with James Shields set to be a free agent after this season, their trade of Wil Myers in the 2012-13 offseason appears to be a complete waste.
Added: INF Zach Walters, OF James Ramsey, OF Chris Dickerson
Subtracted: SS Asdrubal Cabrera, SP Justin Masterson
Winners or Losers: The Indians aren’t technically out of the race, but they made clear that they’re looking at the future by giving up a shortstop and starting pitcher who will both be free agents at the end of the year. With a respected bat and glove to go along with some speed, James Ramsey was the marquee return, coming from the Cards in the Masterson deal. Zach Walters has stumbled a bit in his ability to get on base as he climbed the minor league ranks, but his power is likely for real and he can play either second base or third in the infield, giving the Indians some flexibility down the line. Neither seems like difference-making prospects, but it’s better than getting nothing in return.
Added: none
Subtracted: none
Chicago couldn't beat the Tigers at the trade deadline, but they did win 7-4 on the field against Detroit. Otherwise, it was a quiet July on the South Side. There were a few rumors around John Danks, yet not much else. The Sox still have Jose Abreu, anyway, so that's reason for fan interest.
Added: SP Tommy Milone, SP Stephen Pryor
Subtracted: OF Sam Fuld, DH Kendrys Morales
Winners or Losers: Tommy Milone's ERA of 3.55 in Oakland this year can be a bit deceiving, nearly three-quarters a run better than his 4.22 FIP. With a low strikeout rate and pretty low walk rate, he does have the appearance of a Twins pitcher, and he'll be around for a few arbitration years. That may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but the Twins got him for essentially nothing. Sam Fuld was DFA'd by the Athletics in April, signed by the Twins, and then traded back. Coming out of the bullpen, Pryor walks more than his fair share but strikes out a bunch. Pryor wasn't going to be part of their immediate future anyway. All in all, a boring Minnesota deadline.
American League West
By Grant Brisbee
Oakland Athletics
Added: SP Jon Lester, OF Jonny Gomes, SP Jeff Samardzija, SP Jason Hammel
Subtracted: RP Tommy Milone, OF Yoenis Cespedes, IF Addison Russell, OF Billy McKinney, P Dan Straily
Winners or Losers: The only premium prospect who went on or around the trade deadline was Addison Russell. The only All-Star traded by a front-running team was Yoenis Cespedes. The A’s got a lot of talent, but they also gave up more talent than anyone else, so it’s hard to give them an A+ and keep drawing pluses and hearts around the grade. There was risk. There was so much risk.
Buuuuuut. Samardzija will pitch better than Russell would have this year. Just a hunch. And while Cespedes was a beloved icon, he was a low-OBP slugger, not Mike Trout. Home runs are growing scarcer, and the A’s will miss him next year, but Jon Lester is really, really, really good. If you’re going to trade a good-but-flawed player, getting an outstanding one back -- with the playoffs in mind -- is the way to go.
I will say that trading Tommy Milone to the Twins for a player the A's lost on waivers earlier in the year seems, I don't know, punitive. There had to be more value out there for a league-average starter. Sam Fuld is the John Mabry of his time.
Grade on a scale of Marvel movies:
X2. Cost a lot. Was worth it. Made its money back and then some. Could lead to misery (Last Stand) or good things (Days of Future Past)
More on Trade Deadline
Added: RP Huston Street, RP Trevor Gott, RP Joe Thatcher, OF Tony Campana, RP Jason Grilli
Subtracted: IF Jose Rondon, IF Taylor Lindsey, P R.J. Alvarez, P Elliot Morris, OF Zach Borenstein, P Joey Krehbiel, RP Ernesto Frieri
Winners or Losers:
/puts farm system in envelope
/licks envelope
/puts stamp on envelope
/eats envelope
Now that’s how you catapult a farm system into the sun: with great conviction. Four of those prospects were in John Sickels’ top-10 list for the Angels before the season. The Angels’ system was in a bad way, mind you, so there’s a sense of scale that’s needed. Those four prospects would probably be in the 10-to-20 range for the Red Sox, and no one would have yapped about them trading them for a dandy closer and fancy LOOGY.
If the Angels get to the playoffs, and if Jason Grilli really is fixed, the Angels have a ridiculous bullpen. It's the kind of pen that makes managers feel comfortable with six-and-done outings from their starters, not unlike the Rangers and Cardinals in the 2011 World Series. As a rule, though, I generally hate prospect-for-reliever deals. There are too many Heathcliff Slocumbs, not enough Brad Lidges. I wonder what kind of starting pitcher the Angels could have rustled up with those six prospects.
Grade on a scale of Marvel movies: Thor. Not my favorite, but it had to happen set up everything else.
Added:
OF Jake Marisnick, P Francis Martes, IF Colin Moran, competitive balance pick
Subtracted:
SP Jarred Cosart, OF Austin Wates, IF Enrique Hernandez
Winners or Losers: It's not a boring trade, with one of the Hunter Pence prizes going to the Marlins for Marisnick, a buy-low outfield prospect. Austin Wates is a full sentence, but he's also old for a prospect, so the Astros did well to replace him with Moran. The thing about Moran is ...
... Look, I don’t know who any of these guys are other than Cosart and Marisnick, other than by reputation. I’m not going to pretend I’m Franklin P. Scoutrousers because I’ve looked at a few Baseball-Reference.com pages. I’ll bet you could sit down with the scouting directors of both the Astros and Marlins for 10 minutes, and you’d be convinced the deal is good for either side. They think they’re seeing something the other guys aren’t. All I know is that there aren’t enough of these trades around. More prospect-for-prospect deals, please.
Moran was a top-100 prospect; so were Cosart and Marisnick. The main pieces weren’t exactly at their peak value, so I get that part of the deal. It was a challenge swap. I think the Astros got a little more upside on their end, considering the youth of the assorted prospects. In three years, we’ll look back and laugh at this deal for some reason. “I can’t believe they traded (one of those guys). What a mess.”
Considering what the Padres got for Street and Thatcher, it's a little disconcerting that Chad Qualls was supposedly "untouchable" and that Tony Sipp is still on the team. The Astros already have a dreadful bullpen. Making it extra-dreadful isn't going to keep the current fans away.
Grade on a scale of Marvel movies:
Ant-Man. High hopes! No idea how it’s going to turn out.
Photo credit: Rob Foldy | Getty Images
Added: OF Austin Jackson, OF Chris Denorfia
Subtracted: 2B Nick Franklin, OF Abraham Almonte, P Stephen Kohlscheen
Winners or Losers: As far as player-for-player deals go, this is how it’s supposed to work. Denorfia shouldn’t have been worth more than a non-prospect outfield flier and a relief prospect, yet prices seemed really, really high this deadline. It would have been easy for the Mariners to pay too much. As is, they exchanged two future spare parts for one spare part to help right away.
The Jackson trade is also a win. An enigmatic young player going for an established talent is almost always a great deal, even when the young player has already had a productive season in the majors. The worst that could happen is that Jackson leaves after 2015, with the Mariners getting a draft pick for him. Well, no, the worst that could happen is Franklin becoming a star, with Jackson donning the Coat of .240/.290/.340 that Rick Griffin hangs in every locker and leaving quietly. But there’s no way that could happen to the Mariners, right? Right?
Right?
Grade on a scale of Marvel movies:
Captain America: The First Avenger. What more do you want? It’s not exactly a Kieślowski film, but it was never supposed to be.
Texas Rangers
Added: P Jake Thompson, P Corey Knebel, P Spencer Patton
Subtracted: RP Joakim Soria, RP Jason Frasor
Winners or Losers: The 2005 Giants were awful. Barry Bonds was hurt, and the rest of the roster was mostly devoid of talent. They did nothing at the deadline because they figured it was a blip. Then they did nothing at the 2006 or 2007 deadlines, figuring it was still a blip. It took a latrine fire in 2008 for them to make typical bad-team trades, three years too late. They probably missed out on at least one solid major leaguer with the prospects they didn't acquire.
That’s not to say this is going to happen to the Rangers; we’re talking about wildly different situations. But the point is that every surprisingly lousy team gets one blip card. They make minor moves at the deadline because the season’s a blip. The injuries are a blip. The down seasons are a blip. Blip blip blip. They’re right to think that, or at least hope for it. Considering the mix of youth and contracts on the Rangers, there’s no reason to melt the team down.
This is their season. Next year, though, if everything is still broken, the Rangers won't have that blip card. A couple of reliever-out trades makes sense right now. We'll see what the next 365 days will bring. I was a little surprised that Alex Rios didn't move, though, even if just for the Rangers to save a couple million. Feels like there's a secret website that reveals his true value, and no one's given me the URL.
Grade on a scale of Marvel movies:
The first Hulk. Had some good things. Mostly forgettable. Reboot it in a year, see what happens.
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