Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

In this case, the term trade deadline refers to the non-waiver trading deadline. Trades can still be made until August 31, however the players must make it through waivers first. Essentially, the biggest difference is that another team can make a claim to block a team above them from getting the player. Trades will still go down in August, and sometimes those moves make a huge difference for the teams involved (for instance, the Giants getting Cody Ross last year). That being said, the biggest moves come in July. As such, there are winners and losers at the deadline. Now, a look at the top three winners and losers.

Winners

1. Toronto Blue Jays: The Blue Jays made a major move in acquiring Colby Rasmus for Edwin Jackson (acquired in a move earlier that day) and a couple of relief pitchers. Rasmus is a major talent who clashed with Tony LaRussa’s totalitarian approach to the game. Getting out of St. Louis will give him a fresh start, and gives Toronto a middle of the order bat to protect Jose Bautista. With the addition of a second wild card team in 2012, the Blue Jays are setting themselves up to make a run at the postseason next year.

2. Texas Rangers: The Rangers desperately needed bullpen help, as everything before Neftali Feliz could go napalm at any given moment. Recognizing that, they made two moves to solidify their options. First, they acquired Mike Adams, a pitcher who throws hard and has been a dominant setup man for the Padres. Second, they essentially traded a bag of used sweatsocks to Baltimore for the vastly underrated Koji Uehera. Uehera throws strikes, doesn’t walk people (8-1 K/BB ratio this year) and has been dominant this season while pitching the the AL East. These moves may be enough to put the Rangers back into the World Series this year.

3. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers biggest move was actually made during the All-Star break when they acquired Fransisco Rodriguez from the Mets. This cleared up their eighth innning problem, and made the bridge to get to closer John Axford less terrifying if you happen to be a fan of the team. They also acquired Jerry Hairston Jr. from Washington as a solid pinch hitter/utility player. Now if only they could find a way to get rid of Yuniencky Betancourt…..

Losers

1. New York Yankees: Ok, you are Brian Cashman. You have a payroll of over $200Million. You have a team that basically prints money. Your pitching staff includes C.C. Sabathia, a roll of duct tape, a worn out pitching machine, and the corpse of Phil Hughes. Pitchers of the caliber of Ubaldo Jimenez are available. So, what would the logical move be? Definately not what the Yankees did, which is to stand pat. Apparently a solid pitcher with a reasonable contract that is locked up through 2013 was not considered an upgrade over Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. Have fun in October with four starters that may as well be throwing batting practice.

2. Chicago Cubs: Here’s another team that did almost nothing, but is in the opposite boat of the Yankees. The Cubs are going nowhere, and pretty much haven’t for most of the past 100+ years. While they did make one minor move in trading Kosuke Fukudome to Cleveland, they still have a lot of aging veterans that would have provided at least some return. Instead, Jim Hendry (who may be one of the worst baseball GMs who does not get constantly lambasted due to being with the Cubs) sat still and moved none of them. What, exactly, was he waiting for? Was he completely unaware that the trading deadline was approaching? What value does he have on these players? To quote Vizzini from the Princess Bride – his not making more moves was ‘Inconceivable!’

3. Los Angeles Dodgers: Know how in every fantasy league there is that one person that you can constantly rip off on trades? Well, Ned Colletti is essentially that guy in Major League Baseball. He managed to give up one of his top power hitting prospects to fascilitate a trade between the Mariners and the Red Sox, and basically got back a possibly fourth outfielder and organizational depth. I wonder how many times Theo Epstein and Jack Zduriencik had to hit the mute button to keep from laughing during their phone call. Yes, the Dodgers are in limbo given the disaster that is/was the McCourt ownership, but that still does not excuse blatant stupidity.