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Szymborski of ESPN Insider grades all the teams trade deadline actions.
And so ends one of the most entertaining trade deadlines I can remember. This time around, the rumored deals of big names quite frequently came to fruition, and we even finally saw deals consummated for a few players who had been the subject of whispers for years, such as Troy Tulowitzki.
Unlike the playoffs, an invitation-only event, the trade deadline is one in which all 30 teams get to participate. While players can still be traded after the July 31 deadline, August trades more commonly feature the less exciting and the more overpaid, because players must pass through waivers first.
With everybody in a transactin' mood, it's an important time for teams to fulfill their short- and long-term goals. How did each team do? Let's rank 'em all from best to worst.
1. Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays have the best run differential in the American League, but by mostly sticking around the .500 mark, they've underperformed this season. Toronto is in win-now mode more than most teams in baseball, so paying a heavy price for David Price, who shores up the team's weakest part, makes sense. The Tulowitzki trade, just as big as the Price trade, is one that will benefit the Jays beyond this season, so even if they've traded away some of their future, Tulo gives them some of that future back. Even if the Jays are right to think they're a better team than the one they've played like -- and I think they are -- they have ground to make up and need an excellent August/September run to have a shot at catching the Yankees. Ben Revere gives them another league-average outfielder, and while LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe won't make any big headlines, they will shore up the bullpen depth.
2. Kansas City Royals
From a pure value standpoint, the Royals would rank lower on this list. Kansas City gave up real prospects, including Sean Manaea and Brandon Finnegan, for short-term rentals (albeit top-notch short-term rentals) in Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. And with the AL Central not really in doubt, especially given that none of the division's also-rans made win-now moves, the Royals won't get as much value out of their acquisitions as would a team with its playoff status more in doubt. That being said, the Royals will be scarier in the playoffs. Zobrist will eventually replace possibly the worst near-All-Star in MLB history (Omar Infante if you're keeping score) and, because of the nature of the postseason, a top pitcher like Cueto will have outsized influence. Just as important, the team is new to being in the penthouse rather than in the basement, so solidifying all these new Kansas City fans as Royals loyals has a great deal of value to the future of the club. Even if K.C. is bounced in the ALDS, the fans will remember that when push came to shove, this franchise actually went for it rather than chickening out.
3. Houston Astros
The Astros weren't supposed to be here yet, but they're in a dogfight for the AL West division, a better position than most envisioned for them a year ago, even given the team's improvement. They do give up some prospects who have future value, and while Scott Kazmir is a rental, Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers can help the Astros beyond this season, an important thing for a team that's still on the upswing.
4. Philadelphia Phillies
When was the last time the Phillies appeared near the top of a list that was positive -- and not one talking about the worst contracts in MLB history? They didn't make a ton of trades, but they did finally trade Hamels. And while they didn't get anybody's No. 1 prospect, which was always unrealistic, Philly's farm system now has far more impressive depth than it did last week. The Phillies got another prospect for Jonathan Papelbon -- again, they were never going to get a giant package -- and made the smart decisions to use money (subsidies for Papelbon and Hamels and taking Matt Harrison's contract) to get better prospects.
He may not lead the Rangers to the playoffs this season, but Cole Hamels will help make Texas a better team in 2016 and 2017. Jasen Vinlove/USA TODAY Sports
5. Texas Rangers
The Rangers were in an awkward position. They're not really likely to be in the playoff hunt come September, but they have enough of their core coming back in 2016 and enough bright spots in 2015 (most notably Prince Fielder) that they wanted to be concerned for the middle term rather than the short or long term. Cole Hamels makes Texas a better team in 2016 and 2017, and the team can still retool around their top prospects such as Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara in the long term. And Yu Darvish will be back! That's not actually trade deadline relevant, but I like thinking about it.
6. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers didn't get the biggest names this trade deadline, but they filled up their rotation after Greinke and Kershaw nearly for free. Mat Latos is a terrific signing. He's been terrific since coming off the DL, with a 2.96 ERA and a couple of mph added to his fastball. Alex Wood likely doesn't have the endurance to ever be at the front of a rotation, but as a fourth or fifth guy, he's a terrific choice. In exchange for only one player they might miss -- in Hector Olivera, who doesn't have an obvious place on the roster -- the Dodgers turn their weakness (rotation depth) into a strength and even pick up a prospect in Jose Peraza, as well a couple of bullpen arms. The first trade deadline of the Andrew Friedman/Farhan Zaidi era was not a disappointment.
7. New York Mets
Up until the past few minutes, it looked like a disappointing trade deadline for the Mets, with only Tyler Clippard to solidify the bullpen and several other moves that collapsed in grand fashion. The Carlos Gomez trade fell through for reasons disputed in both camps, but after toying with Jay Bruce -- and after the Padres' deciding to hang on to Justin Upton -- New York picked up the last significant outfield option remaining, Yoenis Cespedes. Cespedes isn't a scientific hitter by any means, but he has game-changing power and is the player the team mistakenly thought they were signing in Michael Cuddyer. And, even more important, the Mets didn't pay a hefty price for Cespedes by giving any of their big prospects for the former Tigers slugger. While Cespedes is more a short-term rental than Carlos Gomez would have been, Cespedes better fits the power need, and Michael Fulmer is much less a part of the team's future plans than Zack Wheeler. Fulmer is having a breakout season at 22, but it's hard to see where he fits in the rotation and Luis Cessa looks like a Triple-A type. If you're in the pennant race and can address your largest weakness without giving up anybody who figures prominently into your plans, you've done a good job.
8. Detroit Tigers
The decision to pull the plug on the season is the right one, even if it's a tough one for owner Mike Ilitch, who really wants the Tigers to win a championship while he's still around to enjoy it. Yes, the Tigers can fight with the rest of the lumpenproletariat of the American League that hope to win 84 games and somehow sneak the second wild-card spot, but that's not the best use of team resources. Detroit has limited opportunities left with its current, shrinking core of players, and bringing in prospects now gives the franchise options in 2016 to improve the team, either by using the players or trading them for help in 2016. Draft-pick compensation is an option too slow for the Tigers. The absence of David Price and Yoenis Cespedes makes the Tigers a worse team in 2015, but the return they got for them might make Detroit better in 2016, when it has a better chance of actually mattering.
9. Oakland Athletics
While the A's are not technically eliminated from the playoff hunt, one of the hallmarks of the Billy Beane era is that he tends to be a realist. The idea that Oakland could be competitive in 2015 in a middling league was one that I agreed with at the time and still do -- they've outscored their opponents by 40 runs. But the record means it's not happening and it's better to get value for Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist than chase wacky dreams. The A's also picked up Felix Doubront for cash with minutes left at the deadline, but he's only there essentially to see if he can be the latest No. 5 guy the A's turn into a No. 3.
The Reds got good returns on both Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake.. Getty Images
10. Cincinnati Reds
Unlike the team above them, the Reds are a team that hasn't been known for reality-based moves the past few years. Cincinnati's plan -- that everybody stays healthy -- is a poor one, and the team has suffered from a wretched group of Plan B options. The Reds get knocked down a few spots for hanging on to Aroldis Chapman, but they did get real prospects for Cueto and a reasonable return for the very ordinary Mike Leake. If the Reds had traded Chapman and, even more, found a terrific package for Todd Frazier, who will be an over-30 free agent by the next good Reds team, they could've finished at the top of this list.
11. Washington Nationals
The one thing the Nationals actually need is something they couldn't acquire at the trade deadline: their current team to get healthy. When Dan Uggla has more plate appearances than Jayson Werth or Anthony Rendon, something has gone very wrong. Still, Washington acquired a very solid closer, and while Drew Storen can't be pleased about his demotion, the Nats do have an eighth-and-ninth-inning combo that will hold the leads they're given. Storen won't end up too badly in the end; teams today are far more willing to give deals to guys who pitch like closers even if they're not always closers (see: Andrew Miller).
12. Baltimore Orioles
Like a lot of teams in the American League, the O's are hovering around .500 and have a real shot at grabbing one of the wild cards. While Baltimore didn't get a big name and didn't drastically change its trajectory, Gerardo Parra does, in fact, give a weak position for the O's a considerable boost. While his OPS is likely to be closer to .730 than his .886 this season, O's left fielders have a .612 OPS this year. The swap of Tommy Hunter for Junior Lake is simply a serviceable reliever for a possibly future spare outfielder.
13. St. Louis Cardinals
In fairness, the Cardinals were in a tight position, with Matt Holliday's torn quad suddenly putting them in the last-minute market for an outfielder. But Brandon Moss doesn't match some of the sexier options such as Cespedes or Upton, and while Steve Cishek is a good bullpen piece and Jonathan Broxton has pitched much better this season than his ERA indicates, it's not a needle-mover. No top marks for coasting.
Was adding David DeJesus, David Murphy and Shane Victorino enough to help the Angels keep pace with the Astros? Getty Images
14. Los Angeles Angels
By adding David DeJesus, David Murphy, and Shane Victorino, the Angels are going to have a pretty sweet offense in 2010. All kidding aside, the first two are solid role players, and I guess that Victorino could at least theoretically contribute, but it's not much compared to the real gains the Astros made.
15. Chicago Cubs
Unwilling to part with their top prospects, considering that this is year one of their return to playoff relevance, the Cubs took a low-key approach, bringing in Dan Haren to eat some innings in a non-terrible fashion the rest of the season. Edwin Jackson was supposed to fill that role, but ....
Their moves won't have a significant effect on their playoff chances or their future outlook, so while the Cubs are a well-run organization, they're in the middle for the trade deadline.
16. Cleveland Indians
I like Rob Kaminsky of the Cardinals a lot, so trading away Brandon Moss, who will be 32 in September and has seen his yearly OPS+ go from 162 to 136 to 119 to 89, is a perfectly reasonable move for a team that's not really going anywhere this year. Other than that, Cleveland didn't accomplish much, outside of some confusing Carlos Carrasco rumors.
17. Milwaukee Brewers
The Brew Crew did finally say goodbye to Carlos Gomez, one of their best acquisitions in team history. It was a necessary move, as this Brewers team is not well situated to compete in 2016, given its weak major league roster and a bottom-tier farm system. Milwaukee should have been more aggressive, however, in finding a new home for Jonathan Lucroy and getting this actual rebuild process going. And it is a rebuild process. The only question is if Doug Melvin & Co. will enter into it voluntarily -- or whether reality will drag them in kicking and screaming.
18. Chicago White Sox
Jeff Samardzija was one of the exceptions this year -- a player with trade rumors swirling around him who actually stayed put. Given that the White Sox still aren't giving up for 2016 and don't want to empty out an improving farm system, it's perhaps not so bad that they didn't do anything here. Samardzija, with a better FIP than his ERA suggests, is still a good candidate for a qualifying offer -- and with the Shark market not all that exciting, they might simply prefer that pick. Chicago will have fewer excuses if it has a quiet winter.
19. New York Yankees
A very quiet deadline for the Yankees, though they did at least dip their toes into the Aroldis Chapman and Craig Kimbrel markets, so there was at least some effort made. Some of the team's problems, such as the continued insistence of using C.C. Sabathia in the rotation, aren't really fixable in deadline trades. The Yankees stood pat, but with a significant cushion in the division, so it wasn't the worst decision in the world -- but far from the best.
20. San Francisco Giants
While the Giants didn't give up much to get Mike Leake, they didn't get that much of a boost either -- certainly not as much as their eternal rivals, the Dodgers, did. ZiPS projects Leake to have an ERA just short of 4 in San Francisco, which is not that much different than the Giants' other non-Bumgarner starters. In a division that includes the extremely aggressive Dodgers, a team needs to do more than this with the pennant up for grabs.
21. Tampa Bay Rays
Well, at least they didn't trade away any stars. In an unusually quiet Rays deadline, the Rays simply traded David DeJesus for an arm -- in Eduar Lopez -- that has a nice, hard cutter but issues with consistency. As lotto tickets go, Lopez isn't a bad one.
Reliever Kevin Jepsen gives the Twins some much-needed help for their beleaguered bullpen. Scott Cunningham/Getty Images
22. Minnesota Twins
Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? While it's not precisely correct to say that the Twins did nothing -- they acquired Kevin Jepsen and they signed Michael Bowden, who was a prospect eight to 10 years ago -- for all intents and purposes, they didn't do anything to change the contours of the wild-card race. Minnesota rightly doesn't want to give up any of its prime prospects with its window of contention still opening, but a more creative team could at least have done something, even a fairly minor move, to shore up its weak spots. They tell you to dress for the job you want, but the Twins showed up this deadline dressing more like a 90-loss team than a team that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today.
23. Arizona Diamondbacks
While it would be unfair to penalize the team for thinking it actually needed to go after Aroldis Chapman -- a top, expensive, closer being as useful to a sub-playoff team as a computer to a cat -- Arizona also didn't do anything else. But at least the Diamondbacks didn't sell any more of their prospects to the Braves for $10 million.
24. Pittsburgh Pirates
Did all of the NL Central contenders agree to have a low-key trade deadline so that they could all keep their prospects? Aramis Ramirez's second stint with the Pirates will be much less successful than the first one. Joakim Soria's 2.85 ERA looks good on the surface, but he hast a 4.81 FIP behind it, with his 7.9 K/9 plummeting from previous seasons. The Pirates even found a roster spot for Joe Blanton for some reason, but the Royals are the team that likely got the only good month out of Blanton in the past decade. The Pirates are overwhelmingly likely to get at least the home-field advantage for a wild-card spot, but it would have been nice if they did something more to threaten the Cardinals now that they are without Matt Holliday.
25. Colorado Rockies
The Rockies get points for finally realizing they need to trade Troy Tulowitzki, but they also came to the conclusion that Jose Reyes and his contract can easily be flipped this offseason if they trick suitors with a couple of Coors-inflated months. This isn't 1995. Colorado also did precisely nothing else that would suggest it has come to the terms with the fact that the team is built to win 75 games a year for the foreseeable future and instead retained the rest of their veterans.
26. San Diego Padres
After last winter's excitement, we all kind of hoped that Padres general manager A.J. Preller would give us a very exciting trade deadline, given that the team is not making the playoffs this year and they at least have one huge free -gent-to-be in Justin Upton. Instead, the team was involved in more rumors than trades, that latter number being zero. The bold approach to last offseason was the right one, even if a few of the moves were terrible ideas (Matt Kemp to the courtesy phone, please), but San Diego shouldn't compensate by being passive. Sometimes your first try doesn't work, even if the idea is good.
27. Atlanta Braves
While they traded a lot of players they should have, the Braves appear to have done it all in one trade. Atlanta has made noise about Hector Olivera being an offensive building block going forward, but that's a lot of faith in a player with limited playing time over the past two seasons, limited experience outside of Cuba, who is coming off a UCL tear and will be 31 at the start of next season.
28. Seattle Mariners
Well, they traded away Dustin Ackley for a fringe reliever (Jose Ramirez) and a fourth-outfielder prospect (Ramon Flores), so I guess that's something. The disappointing Mariners continued to disappoint this July by getting nothing accomplished of value, doing nothing to help the 2016 team not be equally as disappointing.
29. Boston Red Sox
In past lousy Red Sox seasons, Boston has been aggressive at trading players to restock the cupboard for future seasons. This year, its big move was to trade the nearly done Shane Victorino for Josh Rutledge, a player who will likely bounce between at Triple-A and being a middling role player in the majors for the next five years or so. The Red Sox did nothing to help 2016, and while not theoretically eliminated in 2015, their season is over for all intents and purposes.
30. Miami Marlins
Well, they saved money. While I'm not a general manager, nor will I ever be one, I'm under the impression that one of the things that general managers do when trading players of value is to actually ask for something in return. Trading Mat Latos and Dan Haren and not really getting a single prospect on the other team's radar isn't exactly getting value. Maybe Dan Jennings plans on inserting himself into the rotation, too.
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