At 4 PM on Tuesday, the non-waiver trade deadline passed and the never-ending flurry of rumors finally died down. Dating back to the Kevin Youkilis trade that kicked off the trading season several weeks ago, 27 of the 30 teams in baseball were involved in at least one deal. It's time to evaluate the moves that were made, starting with the third of the league that decided to sell.
"EVERYTHING YOU SEE IS ON SALE"
Philadelphia Phillies: Who had Philadelphia at 46-57 and in last place on August 1st? It's strange to see the Phillies in sell-mode. Kudos to GM Ruben Amaro for getting two bullpen arms from the Dodgers for impending free agent Shane Victorino. The return from the Giants for Hunter Pence wasn't great, and they shouldn't have overpaid to get him last year anyway, but at least Amaro dodged Pence's big 2013 salary. That helps the Phillies get under the luxury tax threshold. They lose points for not trading Joe Blanton or Juan Pierre.
Score: 6
Chicago Cubs: They almost didn't trade Ryan Dempster, which would've been a missed opportunity for the rebuilding team. Fortunately, the Rangers pounced in the final minutes before the deadline and got Chicago two solid prospects for Dempster. The Cubs also dumped Geovany Soto and did well in parlaying more veterans--Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson--into one of the Braves' most promising young arms, Arodys Vizcaino. They can still trade Alfonso Soriano in August and Matt Garza in the offseason. Theo Epstein's rebuilding is off to an excellent start.
Score: 9
Miami Marlins: Everyone hates the Marlins for holding another one of their patented "fire sales." That's not really fair, because they made sound baseball decisions. They were willing to move down in the draft to secure better prospects from the Tigers when dealing away Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante; then they got an even better pick back from Pittsburgh in exchange for the demoted Gaby Sanchez. Hanley Ramirez's bad attitude and bloated salary are no longer Miami's problem, and in return they got a major-league-ready starter in Nathan Eovaldi. And finally, they got back a surprisingly good prospect (third baseman Zack Cox) from the Cardinals for middle reliever Edward Mujica. Now they should plan on trading Josh Johnson, and perhaps others, in the offseason.
Score: 8
Houston Astros: General Manager Jeff Luhnow did an outstanding job dealing away his basically-useless MLB players for younger talent. Starters Wandy Rodriguez and J.A. Happ, relievers Brett Myers and Brandon Lyon, first baseman Carlos Lee, and third baseman Chris Johnson are all gone, adding quality prospects to a rebuilding farm system. Bonus: Luhnow has stripped his major league roster so completely that his team is now a near-lock to secure the #1 overall pick in the draft for the second consecutive year.
Score: 10
"WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MOVE THIS ONE ITEM"
Kansas City Royals: They didn't have much to sell, really, once Jonathan "I Was Traded For Melky" Sanchez was inevitably shipped out of town. One would've liked to see them trade (or even dump) terrible veterans Jeff Francoeur and/or Yuniesky Betancourt to open up playing time for more promising players, but no such luck. The big deal KC did make--trading closer Jonathan Broxton to the Reds for two young arms--was a shrewd one.
Score: 7
Milwaukee Brewers: Received a strong package of prospects from the Angels for the best pitcher on the market, Zack Greinke. Couldn't fool anyone into taking K-Rod off of their hands. About par for the course.
Score: 8
Colorado Rockies: This team won't be competing for the playoffs anytime soon. So why didn't Colorado clean house and trade away whatever they could? Because this is a dysfunctional franchise. There was no reason for them to keep their effective relievers (who could've brought back actual value if dealt) or their veterans, like Michael Cuddyer and Ramon Hernandez. And the guys they actually did trade away--Marco Scutaro and Jeremy Guthrie--didn't bring back anything significant. Another disappointing chapter in a miserable season.
Score: 4
Seattle Mariners: Letting Ichiro go to the Yankees will help Seattle avoid a potential PR nightmare in the offseason. Trading former closer Brandon League to the Dodgers for some spare parts leaves the emerging Tom Wilhelmsen as the sole accumulator of saves, which is the way it should be. Buying low on young Blue Jays outfielder Eric Thames, in exchange for a replaceable bullpen arm, was an underrated move. Should they have traded King Felix?
Score: 8
Minnesota Twins: Chose to hold on to most of their assets, like center fielder Denard Span. They did unload the enigmatic Francisco Liriano, which is about all one can ask for.
Score: 6
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