MLB Trade Deadline: Winners and Losers
Winners (by Hunter Phillips)
San Francisco Giants
Reeling after the Midsummer Classic, the Giants went out and made three trades that instantly upgraded their roster. Particularly with their pitching staff, adding left-handed reliever Will Smith from Milwaukee and southpaw Matt Moore from Tampa Bay. Both will be much-needed additions to a staff that has been inconsistent towards the back end of the rotation and bullpen.
San Francisco also acquired utility-man Eduardo Nunez from Minnesota for a pitching prospect. Now that Matt Duffy is heading to Tampa (part of Moore deal), Nunez will presumably be the team’s starting third baseman. Nunez provides speed (fourth in MLB with 28 stolen bases) and a decent bat to the Giants.
GM Bobby Evans made the necessary moves during the deadline as his team battles the Los Angeles Dodgers for NL West supremacy. San Francisco had to give up some of their top prospects (Phil Bickford, Lucius Fox) in these deals, but it could be worth it come October.
New York Yankees
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the New York Yankees are obviously not making a run for the World Series in 2016. But with a new collection of highly-ranked prospects, the Bronx Bombers are looking very good moving forward.
GM Brian Cashman made a big statement early on by trading flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs. In return, New York received top prospects Gleyber Torres (24th on MLBPipeline.com) and Billy McKinney, along with veteran relief pitcher Adam Warren and outfielder Rashad Crawford. Cashman followed that up by trading Andrew Miller to Cleveland for four prospects, including two former first-round picks (Clint Frazier, Justus Sheffield). The Yanks weren’t done there, adding another top pitching prospect (Dillon Tate) for future Hall of Fame outfielder Carlos Beltran in a deal with Texas.
New York exits the trade deadline with arguably the best farm system in baseball with seven prospects in MLBPipeline’s Top 100. This will ultimately give Cashman and the Yankees flexibility in the future when they need to spend on free agents in key areas.
Chicago Cubs
There is no doubt about it: The Cubs are going all in. Despite owning the best record in baseball, Theo Epstein knew that the team’s bullpen needed an upgrade. And did they ever. As highlighted above, the Cubs made a blockbuster deal with the Yankees to acquire closer Aroldis Chapman. With the acquisition of Chapman alone the Cubs were significantly better. But Epstein continued to add arms, getting lefty Mike Montgomery from Seattle and Joe Smith from the Angels. Montgomery is a versatile pitcher who can eat innings out of the bullpen, or can spot start. And with Smith’s submarine delivery, he simply bolsters a bullpen that still includes Hector Rondon and Pedro Strop. Chicago’s chances of reaching that elusive World Series just got better.
Losers (by Mario Rossi)
Texas Rangers
Last year, the Rangers traded for Cole Hamels in a deal that sent Matt Harrison and five prospects to Philadelphia.
Not to be outdone (by themselves), Texas traded for Carlos Beltran (from the Yankees) and Jonathan Lucroy (Brewers) while giving up three first-round draft picks in RHP Dillon Tate (No. 4 overall in 2015 to New York), RHP Luis Ortiz (No. 30 overall in 2014) and OF Lewis Brinson (29th overall in 2012). The latter two prospects are headed to Milwaukee (pour one out for Mike), and leaves the Texas Rangers in a rather odd position. They have the best record in the American League, lead the AL West by six games, yet have shipped off layers of talent for a 39-year-old Beltran (albeit the best hitter on the Yankees this year) and Jonathan Lucroy (whose deal, in a vacuum, seems fair).
I thought that pitching would be a much higher priority for the Rangers, who might’ve had a chance to put together a package for Chris Archer or the soon-to-be-traded Rich Hill. With Derek Holland and Colby Lewis both on the disabled list for Texas, and a team ERA of 4.36 (22nd in the Majors), the moves for Beltran and Lucroy seem more like luxury trades instead of fortifying the rotation. One can find solace that Joey Gallo wasn’t part of either of the deals, however.
The Rangers made it to the World Series in back-to-back years, 2010 and 2011. And in the years since, their record hasn’t really taken a dive (401–354 including this year, a .531 winning percentage). Beltran will take the at-bats left open by Prince Fielder’s injury, but do these trades elevate the Rangers to World Series champions, or just assure themselves a place at the Divisional Round table? It’s World Series or bust for Texas. Unfortuantely, we’ve seen a rendition of this movie before.
Seattle Mariners
2015 was supposed to be the Mariners’ year. 2016 hasn’t fared much better. The deadline this year saw them trade Mike Montgomery, a lefty specialist (.208 average from left-handed hitters against him) to Chicago. They then proceeded to bring in reliever Drew Storen, albeit probably two years too late. At only a game above .500, Seattle also failed to trade for Cincinnati’s Zack Cozart, who would’ve complimented Robinson Cano (2B) and Kyle Seager (3B) very nicely.
Simply put: The Mariners haven’t made the playoffs since 2001, and there doesn’t appear to be a clear plan back. Their record since the Cano Era began (2014), Seattle is 163–161. They’ve seen Houston have a great 2015 season and the aforementioned Rangers take the lead of the AL West. But where does Seattle go from here?
Pittsburgh Pirates
Stuck once again behind the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh sold off closer Mark Melancon, starter Francisco Liriano and brought in Ivan Nova (a free agent after this year).
In regards to the Nova deal (no players going to New York have been named yet), I don’t see him as someone ready to thrive in his new divison. Nova has a terrible FIP (fielding independent pitching) this year of 5.08, while St. Louis and Chicago rank third and fourth respectively in the Majors in hits. Also of note is Nova’s ridiculously high home run rate, which will be met head-on with the Cardinals’ NL-leading home run barrage.
On paper, the Liriano trade doesn’t seem bad: Pittsburgh gets Major League-ready pitcher Drew Hutchinson as well as two good prospects, but the moves seem more or less like a shift of investments into younger players. At the end of the day, it seems with the two trades that Pittsburgh doesn’t have what it takes at the moment to contend with Chicago and St. Louis. It’s been a three-horse race for the NL Central spot and the Wild Card berths in years past, but now Pittsburgh has to assess how to get back on track.
