SoMnFan
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In the words of the immortal Kurt Russell in the classic Used Cars ...........
"A C? ..... #22? ....... THATS Too F@#$ing high!"
This year’s trade deadline was one of the most exciting and active in baseball history, with 43 trades and 29 teams making at least one. We saw more contract dollars and top-of-the-rotations starters being exchanged than ever before and some of the game's biggest names dealt, such as Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Johnny Cueto and Cole Hamels.
So now it’s time for my annual grades for all 30 teams and how well they did at the deadline:
Blue Jays1. Toronto Blue Jays
GM: Alex Anthopoulos
Grade: A+
Analysis: The Blue Jays had the best trade deadline in major league history. They acquired their Game 1 starter and a former Cy Young Award winner, David Price. They bolstered their bullpen with leadership and proven veteran arms in Mark Lowe and LaTroy Hawkins. They added speed and improvement in left field in Ben Revere and acquired the best all-around shortstop in baseball not named Correa, Troy Tulowitzki. The Blue Jays are now the favorites to get the second wild-card spot and are good enough to overtake the Yankees.
Royals2. Kansas City Royals
GM: Dayton Moore
Grade: A
Analysis: Like the Blue Jays, their biggest need was an ace and a Game 1 starter, and Johnny Cueto fills that role. He will also help the continued development of Yordano Ventura, who should now blossom in the second half. The acquisition of Ben Zobrist didn't get enough attention, but that was a huge move. He can fill in for the injured Alex Gordon in left field and then provide an upgrade in right field or at second base. Zobrist gives them protection at almost every position if there were to be another injury.
Astros3. Houston Astros
GM: Jeff Luhnow
Grade: A
Analysis: The Astros acquired two starting pitchers -- Scott Kazmir and Mike Fiers -- who will impact the 162-game season, and one who should play an even more important role in October. Kazmir gave up only one earned run in the month of July, and combining him with Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers Jr. at the top of the rotation gives the Astros a legitimate chance at a World Series run. Acquiring Carlos Gomez gives them one of the top five all-around center fielders in the game and will help Houston on both sides of the ball as well as providing even more high energy and enthusiasm in their clubhouse. Luhnow decided to go all in and did it without giving up their farm system or any of their top prospects, other than Brett Phillips.
Mets4. New York Mets
GM: Sandy Alderson
Grade: A-
Analysis: Alderson put the Mets in a strong position to compete with the Nationals for the NL East title or one of the NL wild-card berths. They needed a strong power bat, and they got it with Yoenis Cespedes, who has become a good left fielder with one of the game's best arms. He has power and is a good base runner. He is not an on-base percentage type of player, but he can be a big-game presence in crucial situations. The Mets improved their eighth inning dramatically with the addition of Tyler Clippard and built their roster depth with the Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson acquisitions.
Dodgers5. Los Angeles Dodgers
GM: Andrew Friedman/Farhan Zaidi
Grade: A-
Analysis: I thought the Dodgers should have been more aggressive in talks for David Price, Cole Hamels and Johnny Cueto, but I give them credit for trading none of their elite or good prospects. They did use their ridiculous financial advantage, throwing money all over the place in the three-way deal with the Marlins and Braves. They picked up all of Michael Morse's contract for this year and next and then dumped him. They were willing to pay most of the $62.5M signing bonus of 30-year-old Hector Olivera. However, when the dust cleared, they had improved the starting and relief pitching depth and put themselves in a stronger position to win the NL West.
Rangers6. Texas Rangers
GM: Jon Daniels
Grade: A-
Analysis: Daniels did a phenomenal job in getting the Phillies to not only pay down Cole Hamels salary, but to also get them to take the inflated contract of oft-injured Matt Harrison. Daniels also was able to keep two of his best prospects in Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara. Having control of Hamels for the next 3-4 years is what made this deal so good for the Rangers. When Yu Darvish comes back from Tommy John surgery, having him and Hamels at the top of the rotation should make Rangers legitimate contenders again starting next year.
Athletics7. Oakland Athletics
GM: Billy Beane
Grade: A-
Analysis: The Athletics traded three rental players (Tyler Clippard, Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist), and in return picked up two legitimate middle-of-the-rotation starters in Sean Manaea and Casey Meisner, a potential future All-Star catcher in Jacob Nottingham, and two back-of-the-rotation starters in David Mengden and Aaron Brooks. An impressive haul for the rentals.
Reds8. Cincinnati Reds
GM: Walt Jocketty
Grade: A-
Analysis: The Reds did really well, and in five years, they may have had the best deadline of any seller. They picked up four legitimate future starting pitchers for two rentals in Cueto and Mike Leake. The three left-handed pitchers -- Brandon Finnegan, Cody Reed and John Lamb -- could all be in their Opening Day rotation in 2017. Jocketty took advantage of the Royals' willingness to overpay to win now, and it should benefit the Reds for years to come. The Leake trade with San Francisco also brought back a solid arm in Keury Mella, though he’s further away with more risk.
Nationals9. Washington Nationals
GM: Mike Rizzo
Grade: B+
Analysis: Rizzo did a phenomenal job in getting the Phillies to pay all of Jonathan Papelbon’s contract this year down to the pro-rated major league minimum and then got Papelbon to defer $3M of the $11M he's owed in 2016. In return, they gave up Nick Pivetta, a Double-A power arm with below-average breaking and command. To team Papelbon with Drew Storen late in games enhances the Nationals' chances at both the division title and the postseason.
Tigers10. Detroit Tigers
GM: Dave Dombrowski
Grade: B+
Analysis: The impressive part of the trades with the Blue Jays and the Mets is that Dombrowski didn’t put either David Price or Yoenis Cespedes on the market until Wednesday. After he found out he didn’t have the farm system to get the pitching he needed, he went the other way. Daniel Norris and Michael Fullmer are can’t-miss rotation starters, while Matt Boyd, Jairo Labourt and Luis Cessa all have good arms. Taking advantage of the Pirates' minor league depth at shortstop to grab JaCoby Jones was also a shrewd move.
Giants11. San Francisco Giants
GM: Bobby Evans
Grade: B+
Analysis: Evans didn’t make a lot of deals, but he nailed the one he did make. Getting Mike Leake from the Reds was important to not only improve the middle of their rotation, but it also gives them a leg up in terms of signing him in free agency. In addition, they gave up only one prospect (Keury Mella) to get Leake, separating this deal from others.
Pirates12. Pittsburgh Pirates
GM: Neal Huntington
Grade: B
Analysis: The Pirates did really well in improving their bullpen with another closer in Joakim Soria and building depth for areas of weakness. They acquired two veteran starting pitchers in J.A. Happ and Joe Blanton to protect them from A.J. Burnett's elbow injury, and Aramis Ramirez's leadership and veteran presence should help the team down the stretch.
Cardinals13. St. Louis Cardinals
GM: John Mozeliak
Grade: B
Analysis: I thought the Cardinals did great in acquiring Jonathan Broxton and Steve Cishek, giving up little and just taking on their contracts. I thought they made a terrible trade in getting Brandon Moss from Cleveland, only because he’s hitting just .200 over his past 525 at-bats and just .170 since mid-June. In return, they gave up a really good pitching prospect in LHP Rob Kaminsky. For Kaminsky, I thought an Adam Lind or Yoenis Cespedes would have been a better fit. However, the bullpen additions will be huge for them down the stretch in terms of not over using the rest of the staff.
Phillies14. Philadelphia Phillies
GM: Ruben Amaro Jr.
Grade: B
Analysis: The Phillies finally traded Cole Hamels after two years of discussion, and they did it the right way by getting quality and quantity in return, even if it took spending of millions of dollars to get a strong package of players. I really like both OF Nick Williams and C Jorge Alfaro and think they are can’t-miss prospects if they stay healthy and develop properly.
Rockies15. Colorado Rockies
GM: Jeff Bridich
Grade: B
Analysis: The Rockies haven’t had a winning record in five years, and with Tulowitzki's long injury history and his enormous contract, it made sense to trade him now. The Rockies have long struggled to find pitching that could succeed at Coors Field, and with free agent pitchers not wanting to go there, they need to trade for the ones they can control. They got three really good pitching prospects in the trade with Toronto, with RHP Jeff Hoffman having the most upside.
Cubs16. Chicago Cubs
GM: Theo Epstein/Jed Hoyer
Grade: B
Analysis: The Cubs were able to fill their two biggest needs, with a starting pitcher (Dan Haren) and a relief pitcher (Tommy Hunter). Haren is having a great season and will definitely help their rotation, and Hunter has a power arm that manager Joe Maddon will know how to use effectively. The best part of their deadline is they didn’t move any of their top or good prospects and are continuing with their long-term plan.
Indians17.
GM: Chris Antonetti
Grade: B
Analysis: The Indians didn’t have much to sell, but they did well with what they had to move. In particular, I loved the trade with the Cardinals for LHP Rob Kaminsky, a can’t-miss middle-of-the-rotation starter if he stays healthy and reaches his potential.
Braves18. Atlanta Braves
GM: John Hart
Grade: B-
Analysis: With Hector Olivera, the Braves landed a big bat to put with Freddie Freeman in the middle of their lineup, and they were able to dump Bronson Arroyo's contract in the meantime.
Orioles19. Baltimore Orioles
GM: Dan Duquette
Grade: C+
Analysis: Duquette loves picking up undervalued players like he did last year in Jimmy Paredes, and he did it again with Gerardo Parra -- a good defensive player who is finally coming into his own at the plate.
Brewers20. Milwaukee Brewers
GM: Doug Melvin
Grade: C+
Analysis: The Brewers did what they had to do in sell mode and did extremely well, highlighted by outfielder Brett Phillips, acquired in the Gomez deal from Houston. He has a chance to be an All-Star someday. The best deal they almost made for the Mets' Zack Wheeler fell through over medical issues.
Angels21. Los Angeles Angels
GM: Bill Stoneman
Grade: C
Analysis: The Angels needed to improve left field, and they acquired three fourth outfielders to do it in Shane Victorino, David Murphy and David DeJesus. Murphy can hit right-handed pitching and is a good clubhouse influence. But they should have spent more time trying to land Yoenis Cespedes, Jay Bruce or Justin Upton. The good part is the Angels didn’t give up much in any of their deals, but instead were willing to take on significant money.
Twins22. Minnesota Twins
GM: Terry Ryan
Grade: C
Analysis: If you can't improve by a foot, then sometimes an inch can still help. The Twins got a solid bullpen piece in Kevin Jepsen. However, they finally have a chance to get to the postseason, and they did so little when it matters so much.
Rays23. Tampa Bay Rays
GM: Matt Silverman
Grade: C
Analysis: The Rays are once again in the wild-card race and once again in need of improving their lineup. Silverman, however, moved David DeJesus' contract to the Angels and traded a solid bullpen arm (Kevin Jepsen) for more future prospects. It was disappointing in that they have a chance to win, but didn't go for it. However, Silverman did get three pitching prospects.
Marlins24. Miami Marlins
GM: Mike Hill
Grade: C
Analysis: They get an “A” for business, dumping between $16-18 million in the Dodgers' deal, and get a “D” for baseball. The return on all of their deals didn’t include anyone who wasn’t a mid- or low-level prospect.
Mariners25. Seattle Mariners
GM: Jack Zduriencik
Grade: D
Analysis: The Mariners finally cut ties with Dustin Ackley, and took advantage of A.J. Burnett's injury with the Pirates to add two quality arms to their system.
Red Sox26. Boston Red Sox
GM: Ben Cherington
Grade: D
Analysis: They missed out on Cole Hamels, who would have given them the top-of-the-rotation starter they needed to rebuild for next year. They were able to save money in dealing Shane Victorino to the Angels, but didn’t take advantage of the opportunity to improve the team for the future.
White Sox27. Chicago White Sox
GM: Rick Hahn
Grade: D
Analysis: The White Sox were caught between being a buyer and seller, so they basically stood pat. Credit the players for putting a five-game winning streak together and saving Jeff Samardzija from being traded, although they should have.
Padres28. San Diego Padres
GM: A.J. Preller
Grade: D
Analysis: The Padres were everywhere in trade talks, and many contenders were hopeful of landing Craig Kimbrel, Tyson Ross and Justin Upton. Despite all the aggressive talks, however, the Padres didn’t think there was enough value coming back and instead traded for a bullpen piece, Marc Rzepczynski. They missed a great opportunity to put this team back on track for the future.
Yankees29. New York Yankees
GM: Brian Cashman
Grade: D
Analysis: The Yankees needed another starting pitcher and could have considered an upgrade at second base but got neither. With Michael Pineda on the DL, CC Sabathia looking like it’s time to go to the bullpen and Masahiro Tanaka a health question come late September, I thought at the very least they would make a run for a middle-of-the-rotation type of starter.
Diamondbacks30. Arizona Diamondbacks
GM: Dave Stewart
Grade: F
< Message edited by SoMnFan -- 8/2/2015 9:19:59 PM >
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