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| Andrew McCutchen and the Pirates have had a lot to celebrate this season. Making key moves at the deadline without trading key pieces of their present and future makes them the deadline's biggest winner. |
Winners
1. Pittsburgh Pirates
How They Made Good:
Pittsburgh is the biggest winner this year is two things. First, they are in a position to buy. Lastly, they made moves that while tasking minor risks. Bonus points for not parting with Starling Marte, Jameson Tallion or Gerrit Cole. They will also have a Top-10 draft pick next season for failing to sign Stanford's Mark Appel.
The Loot:
1. SP Wandy Rodriguez (from Houston) - Last week when I said that this July is an arms race, the Bucs already had their arm in Wandy. The price was two mid-level prospects in Rudy Owens and Robbie Grossman and a fringe prospect in Colton Cain.
2. OF Travis Snider (from Toronto) - They traded a good reliever for this man. Brad Lincoln has been an asset up to this point for the Bucs, but Pittsburgh is surprisingly loaded with relief arms this season. Snider can reward their faith in his once hyped talent by putting up some good offensive numbers down the stretch.
3. 1B Gaby Sanchez/P Kyle Kaminska (from Miami) - Giving up a player like Gorkys Hernandez makes this a low risk deal. Gaby Sanchez has 25 HR 100 RBI talent. A change of scenery may help the former NL rookie of the year candidate. Naperville Central grad Kyle Kaminska was also added to this deal for some apparent reason. Don't worry about him making any real impact in the big leagues. Ever.
4. RP Chad Qualls (from New York Yankees) - The Pirates dealt Casey McGehee to the Bombers for another struggling pitcher. Well if A.J. Burnett is any indication of what happens when struggling Yankee arms go to Pittsburgh, the Lincoln-Snider swap is a no-risk venture
Prognosis:
They will win the NL wild card and face the Atlanta Braves on National Television in Georgia. Where have I heard this one before?
2. Los Angeles Dodgers
How They Made Good:
They bought hard and they picked up two very marketable players.
The Loot:
1. 3B Hanley Ramirez (from Miami) - Don't get it twisted, Hanley Ramirez is still a superstar. Don Mattingly will get the best out of this kid and the front office will not fire him for it.
2. OF Shane Victorino (from Philadelphia) - The Flyin' Hawaiian brings his playoff experience to round out an outfield that already include two other bona fide studs in Matt Kemp and Andre Ethief
3. RP Brandon League (from Seattle) - This is the trade that made me salivate. If you read this blog or talk to me about baseball, you know I'm a fan of a quality bullpen. The Dodgers have had a solid bullpen this year and the addition of Mariner reclamation project Brandon League puts this team over the top.
Prognosis:
They will pull away from a dogfight of a division race in mid-September. I remarked in March when I wrote my (incomplete) MLB preview series, the Dodgers are a team that may just surprise a few people and not to be shocked if they make a title run. I still wouldn't be surprised if LA wins the whole damn thing.
3. Chicago White Sox
How They Made Good:
They filled the gaps in their roster and accounted for the loss of John Danks for the season. This year also makes the Sox look better in previous Trade Deadlines and offseasons. Adam Dunn, Jake Peavy and Alex Rios have been three big contributors to the success of the Sox. Oh, and don't forget about Youk.
The Loot:
1. Kevin Youkilis (from Boston) - Bobby Valentine was responsible for the shockingly good deal the White Sox got for Youk. For Zach Stewart and Brent Lillibridge, Los Medias Blancas picked up a rejuvenated stud with a chip on his shoulder.
2. Francisco Liriano (from Minnesota) - For a marginal price, the Sox got a live arm that has once no-hit them. Liriano has had tough luck this season. However, he pitched very well against his former team last night. If he can continue to pitch like he has, Liriano will round out a solid to rotation nicely. Fun fact: The Liriano deal was the first that the Twins and White Sox have made since 1986.
Prognosis:
The White Sox will outlast Detroit in what will be one of three division dogfights down the stretch. The question for whatever team wins this division is if they can do anything in the playoffs.
4. Texas Rangers
How They Made Good:
The Rangers picked up an arm to match Anaheim's acquisition of Zack Grienke.
The Loot:
1. Ryan Dempster (from Chicago Cubs) - Dempster gives the Rangers an arm to account for injured and ineffective pitchers. It also keeps pace with the Angels who picked up Zack Grienke, while reminding us why they have Los Angeles in their official name. That is crucial cause the Rangers appear the most unstable than they have since 2010. Dempster's clubhouse-friendly attitude will benefit the Rangers greatly.
2. Geovany Soto (from Chicago Cubs) - This gives the Rangers a better option than Yorvit Torrealba. Let's face it, Mike Napoli is a slugger as opposed to an everyday catcher. When Napoli is DH'ing or playing First Base, Soto is not the worst person you can use behind the backstop.
Prognosis:
Anaheim will take the division lead, Oakland may take the division lead at some point and Texas will finish with it. The Rangers will lose their third consecutive World Series. Can you say Buffalo Bills?
The Loot:
1. Ryan Dempster (from Chicago Cubs) - Dempster gives the Rangers an arm to account for injured and ineffective pitchers. It also keeps pace with the Angels who picked up Zack Grienke, while reminding us why they have Los Angeles in their official name. That is crucial cause the Rangers appear the most unstable than they have since 2010. Dempster's clubhouse-friendly attitude will benefit the Rangers greatly.
2. Geovany Soto (from Chicago Cubs) - This gives the Rangers a better option than Yorvit Torrealba. Let's face it, Mike Napoli is a slugger as opposed to an everyday catcher. When Napoli is DH'ing or playing First Base, Soto is not the worst person you can use behind the backstop.
Prognosis:
Anaheim will take the division lead, Oakland may take the division lead at some point and Texas will finish with it. The Rangers will lose their third consecutive World Series. Can you say Buffalo Bills?
5. Kansas City Royals
How They Made Good:
By not touching their jaw-dropping stockpile of young talent.
The Loot:
1. Donnie Joseph/J.C. Sulbaran (from Cincinnati) - This was a result of trading Jonathan Broxton. Any return you get on a reclamation project is a good thing. Joseph has real major league potential. He is a late bloomer, having started this season at AA Pensacola at age 24. I will point out that Pensacola's team is named the Blue Wahoos. I find that very funny.
Prognosis:
4th Place. Their record is bad enough now that the fans cannot even blame their early 12 game losing street. They will be the envy of baseball in 3 calendar years.
How They Made Good:
By not touching their jaw-dropping stockpile of young talent.
The Loot:
1. Donnie Joseph/J.C. Sulbaran (from Cincinnati) - This was a result of trading Jonathan Broxton. Any return you get on a reclamation project is a good thing. Joseph has real major league potential. He is a late bloomer, having started this season at AA Pensacola at age 24. I will point out that Pensacola's team is named the Blue Wahoos. I find that very funny.
Prognosis:
4th Place. Their record is bad enough now that the fans cannot even blame their early 12 game losing street. They will be the envy of baseball in 3 calendar years.
Honorable Mention: Giants, Cardinals, Angels, Tigers
Losers
1. Miami Marlins
How They Lost
-They are the biggest losers because they bought and their ship sunk. Since acquiring Carlos Lee, the Marlins have shipped off five major leaguers for prospects. If Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob Turner pan out, that will take a little bit of the sting out of this season.
2. Cleveland Indians
How They Lost
-They were only window shopping. The Tribe neither bought nor sold. While the White Sox and Tigers picked up key pieces and upped the ante in the AL Central, the Indian stood pat. As of 2:12 PM on August 1st, they are 6 games out of first place. That is do-able. It would help if they would have acquired some pitching. They picked up Lars Anderson and Brent Lillibridge from the Red Sox. Lars Anderson is essentially a Matt LaPorta that was never traded for C.C. Sabathia. Brent Lillibridge is the ham sandwich that the Red Sox got for Kevin Youkilis.
3. Boston Red Sox
How They Lost
-Bobby Valentine. The Red Sox have been getting ripped off in trades since the winter (i.e. Josh Reddick and Kevin Youkilis didn't net a good return). Since most of my readership is college kids, I might as well just tell you guys that the Boston Red Sox were fucked in the street, figuratively speaking.
4. Milwaukee Brewers
How They Lost
-With the Brewers selling this deadline, their run as a relatively stable NL Central team is over. They now find them self in the state that they were in 2003 when they finished 68-94. Ryan Braun stars as Richie Sexon. Co-starring is Yovani Gallardo as Ben Sheets. Fun Fact: Rickie Weeks was a September call-up that season.
5. Minnesota Twins
How They Lost
-Josh Willingham, Justin Morneau, Matt Capps and Denard Span are all Twins. Meanwhile, their farm system is a shell of what it used to be and that is even more detrimental in a small market.
Dishonorable Mention: Phillies, Mets, Diamondbacks
The Jury Is Still Out On...
The Chicago Cubs
In the last month and a half, the Cubs called up first basemen Anthony Rizzo. Rizzo has a bat that makes him worthy of more than the 71 Overall rating he currently fields in MLB 2K12. It's also a bat the Cubs can turn into a cornerstone of their lineup.
The Cubs made three major deals that furthered the stripping of the team that made playoff runs in 2007 and 2008. Those deals sent Ryan Dempster and Geovany Soto to Texas as well as sending Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm to Atlanta. The Cubbies picked up Jaye Chapman, Arodys Vizcaino, Kyle Hendricks, Jacob Brigham and Christian Villanueva.
Chapman and Vizcaino are two near-major league arms the Cubs picked up in the deal that sent Maholm and Johnson to the Braves. The early prognosis is that the Braves overpaid for the two, which will further facilitate the rebuilding of the Cubs.
The Cubs picked up Kyle Hendricks and Christian Villanueva for Ryan Dempster. Hendricks is a 22-year old arm bouncing between High A and Double A. Hendricks's teammate, Villanueva was hitting the ball nicely at High A Myrtle Beach before the trade. Both should be major leaguers before the end of 2013. I would call this a toss up, but the Cubs got 2 potential major leaguers for a 35-year old pitcher that got his second wind. That's a victory.
The Cubbies also acquired minor league pitcher Jacob Brigham in the deal for Soto. That deal took a 4.3 million dollar contract off their books.
The Cubs have traded in four major leaguers for potential pieces for their next run. Why is the jury still out on them? Well the jury is still out on every team. The jury will be out for every move Theo makes until the Cubs succeed or fail.
The good news for Theo that if he wins 2 titles on the North Side and leaves the club in shambles, he will be somewhere between a hero and a god in Chicago.
Forever.
