Another trade deadline has come and gone, with some teams very active and others largely bystanders. This post is for discussion of which teams helped or hurt themselves the most and whether standing pat is a defensible strategy for contenders in today’s game.
Here are the deals that have gone down over the past two weeks.
August 1, 2016
- The Minnesota Twins traded Fernando Abad to the Boston Red Sox for Pat Light.
- The New York Yankees traded Carlos Beltran to the Texas Rangers for Nick Green (minors), Erik Swanson (minors) and Dillon Tate (minors).
- The Cincinnati Reds traded Jay Bruce to the New York Mets for Max Wotell (minors) and Dilson Herrera.
- The Toronto Blue Jays traded Jesse Chavez to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Mike Bolsinger.
- The Houston Astros traded Scott Feldman to the Toronto Blue Jays for Lupe Chavez (minors).
- The Houston Astros traded Josh Fields to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Yordan Alvarez (minors).
- The Tampa Bay Rays traded Brandon Guyer to the Cleveland Indians for Nathan Lukes (minors) and Jhonleider Salinas (minors).
- The Toronto Blue Jays traded Drew Hutchison to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Reese McGuire (minors), Harold Ramirez (minors) and Francisco Liriano.
- The Milwaukee Brewers traded Jeremy Jeffress and Jonathan Lucroy to the Texas Rangers for Lewis Brinson (minors), Luis Ortiz (minors) and player to be named.
- The Tampa Bay Rays traded Matt Moore to the San Francisco Giants for Lucius Fox (minors), Michael Santos (minors) and Matt Duffy.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Jon Niese to the New York Mets for Antonio Bastardo and cash.
- The Minnesota Twins traded Alex Meyer, Ricky Nolasco and cash to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Alan Busenitz (minors) and Hector Santiago.
- The New York Yankees traded Ivan Nova to the Pittsburgh Pirates for two players to be named.
- The Tampa Bay Rays traded Steve Pearce to the Baltimore Orioles for Jonah Heim (minors).
- The Miami Marlins traded Colin Rea to the San Diego Padres for Luis Castillo (minors).
- The Oakland Athletics traded Rich Hill and Josh Reddick to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jharel Cotton (minors), Grant Holmes (minors) and Frankie Montas.
- The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim traded Joe Smith to the Chicago Cubs for Jesus Castillo (minors).
- The Milwaukee Brewers traded Will Smith to the San Francisco Giants for Phil Bickford (minors) and Andrew Susac.
- The Seattle Mariners selected Mike Freeman off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks.
July 31, 2016
- The Arizona Diamondbacks traded Tyler Clippard to the New York Yankees for Jose Campos (minors).
- The Chicago White Sox traded Zach Duke to the St. Louis Cardinals for Charlie Tilson (minors).
- The Seattle Mariners traded Wade Miley to the Baltimore Orioles for Ariel Miranda.
- The New York Yankees traded Andrew Miller to the Cleveland Indians for J.P. Feyereisen (minors), Clint Frazier (minors), Ben Heller (minors) and Justus Sheffield (minors).
July 30, 2016
- The New York Mets signed Justin Ruggiano as a free agent.
- The Oakland Athletics traded Billy Burns to the Kansas City Royals for Brett Eibner.
- The San Diego Padres traded Matt Kemp and cash to the Atlanta Braves for Hector Olivera.
- The Pittsburgh Pirates traded Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals for Taylor Hearn (minors) and Felipe Rivero.
July 29, 2016
- The Baltimore Orioles signed Logan Ondrusek as a free agent.
- The San Diego Padres traded Andrew Cashner, Tayron Guerrero, Colin Rea and cash to the Miami Marlins for Luis Castillo (minors), Josh Naylor (minors), Carter Capps and Jarred Cosart.
July 28, 2016
- The Toronto Blue Jays released Tony Sanchez.
- The Minnesota Twins traded Eduardo Nunez to the San Francisco Giants for Adalberto Mejia (minors).
July 27, 2016
- The Texas Rangers signed Craig Breslow as a free agent.
- The Atlanta Braves traded Dario Alvarez and Lucas Harrell to the Texas Rangers for Travis Demeritte (minors).
July 26, 2016
- The Texas Rangers released Justin Ruggiano.
- The Toronto Blue Jays traded Drew Storen and cash to the Seattle Mariners for Joaquin Benoit.
- The San Diego Padres traded Melvin Upton and cash to the Toronto Blue Jays for Hansel Rodriguez (minors).
July 25, 2016
- The Philadelphia Phillies returned Daniel Stumpf (earlier draft pick) to the Kansas City Royals.
- The Texas Rangers released Cesar Ramos.
- The New York Yankees traded Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for Rashad Crawford (minors), Billy McKinney (minors), Gleyber Torres (minors) and Adam Warren
July 24, 2016
- The Toronto Blue Jays signed Scott Copeland as a free agent.
- The Baltimore Orioles signed Tom Gorzelanny as a free agent.
July 23, 2016
- The Cleveland Indians signed Joe Thatcher as a free agent.
- The Texas Rangers selected Matt Duffy off waivers from the Houston Astros.
- Michael McKenry of the St. Louis Cardinals granted free agency.
- The Atlanta Braves signed Michael McKenry as a free agent.
July 22, 2016
- The Washington Nationals signed Justin De Fratus as a free agent.
July 20, 2016
- The Texas Rangers purchased Scott Carroll from the Chicago White Sox.
- The Seattle Mariners traded Jordan Pries (minors) and Mike Montgomery to the Chicago Cubs for Paul Blackburn (minors) and Dan Vogelbach (minors).
July 19, 2016
- The Cincinnati Reds selected Abel De Los Santos off waivers from the Washington Nationals.
July 18, 2016
- The Miami Marlins released Craig Breslow.
- The Kansas City Royals selected Nick Tepesch off waivers from the Oakland Athletics.
From the above, can probably group teams as follows:
- Strong buyers: Indians, Rangers, Cubs
- Buyers: Blue Jays, Marlins, Orioles, Giants, Dodgers, Mets
- Active but posture uncertain: Mariners, Angels, Astros
- Sellers: Athletics, Reds, Twins, Brewers, Rays
- Strong Sellers: Yankees, Padres, Pirates
- Mostly On the Sidelines (selected teams): Nationals, Tigers, White Sox, Cardinals, Red Sox
Seeing the Yankees as strong sellers will take some getting used to, but their actions make sense for a team that had too many clubs ahead of them to have a reasonable expectation of claiming a division title. New York stood at .500 on deadline day, the first time in a generation (since 1992) that the Pinstripers have not held a winning record at that juncture. The prospects acquired in their various deals could stand New York in good stead as they attempt to build a club with a core of young stars, something that’s been missing for most of this century.
Surprises include the Astros not trying to upgrade to reel in the Rangers who were very active in their quest to maintain their division lead. Discerning Seattle’s intentions was a bit difficult, as was the Angels failing to be more aggressive in acquiring prospects to build around Mike Trout. Trout is under contract only through 2020, so the Angels may be figuring that’s not enough time to rebuild and will instead again be active in the post-season free agency market as has been their wont (and, often, their lament).
The Nationals and Red Sox were contending teams that chose to stand pat for the most part. Boston had earlier acquired Drew Pomeranz to bolster their pitching rotation, while Washington did make one key acquisition of Mark Melancon for their bullpen. Further updates may have been seen as not worth the risk to team chemistry, though Boston might still find themselves a bit short in starting pitching come September.
Your turn now. Which teams do you think most benefited from their trades, and which let opportunities slip by?
