Grading the Trade Deadline: The Buyers

Evaluating the teams that made an aggressive move (or two, or three) before the trade deadline:

"THE BIG MOVERS AND SHAKERS"

Los Angeles Dodgers: Under new ownership, the Dodgers were in on seemingly every trade candidate. They took a gamble on Hanley Ramirez's talent without giving up too much. Brandon League and Randy Choate were added to the bullpen, allowing them to trade excess relievers for an upgrade to Shane Victorino in left field. And they smartly refused to surrender a top pitching prospect for two months of Ryan Dempster, instead picking up Joe Blanton for essentially nothing via waivers. In fact, all of their improvements came without surrendering any top talent. The new Dodgers are becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Score: 9

Pittsburgh Pirates: Some good, some bad. The Good: buying low on two players that fell out of favor with their former teams. Gaby Sanchez can be a perfect platoon partner with Garrett Jones at first base, and new outfielder Travis Snider still has a ton of potential that wasn't fulfilled in Toronto. The Bad: giving up prospects of actual value for 2+ decline years of Wandy Rodriguez, and actually acquiring trash reliever Chad Qualls. Not sure why anyone would want to do that. Regardless, the Pirates are legitimate contenders for a playoff berth.
Score: 7

Chicago White Sox: Like the Dodgers, the White Sox improved without surrendering much of value. They bought low on Kevin Youkilis, whose OPS is up over 100 points with his new team, to plug their gaping third base hole. They added Brett Myers to the back of a strong bullpen. And they brought in Francisco Liriano for almost nothing, who had a 5.31 ERA with the Twins but had pitched much better of late. The improved White Sox are in play for the AL Central and a wild card.
Score: 9

Detroit Tigers: Their two biggest holes, probably, were at second base and in the rotation. The Tigers addressed both needs in one fell sweep by bringing in Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez from the Marlins. The price was quite high: a package headlined by elite pitching prospect Jacob Turner. It was a move Detroit simply had to make to remain a title contender.
Score: 8

"ONE KEY ACQUISITION"

Los Angeles Angels: They gutted the farm system for two months of Zack Greinke. This might be the biggest gamble anyone took at the trade deadline. The potential payoff rests in 1) Greinke's ability to help the Angels win the AL West and thus avoid the dreaded one-game playoff, and 2) whether the Angels can sign him to an extension. The reward could be a World Series title.
Score: 9

Texas Rangers: With Neftali Feliz and Colby Lewis out for the season and Roy Oswalt struggling mightily, the Rangers needed to do something. After importing Geovany Soto to take over at catcher, they snagged Ryan Dempster from the Cubs without giving up much in terms of prospects. Even if (when) Dempster's numbers suffer with the move to Texas, he was a necessary acquisition simply to replace what the Rangers have lost. It's just hard to believe that a mid-rotation starter and below-average catcher was all the front office got before the deadline, considering how desperately they want a World Series title this year.
Score: 5

San Francisco Giants: Bringing in Hunter Pence from the Phillies fills a big hole in the Giants' outfield and lineup, providing much-needed right-handed power. San Francisco has to deal with his escalating salary next season, and he isn't the star he's made out to be, but the Giants didn't give up much to acquire him: excess outfielder Nate Schierholtz, a catching prospect blocked by Buster Posey, and a Single-A pitcher. They also upgraded in the middle infield with Marco Scutaro, acquired from the Rockies for almost nothing.
Score: 8

"SOME SMALL ADDITIONS"

Atlanta Braves: Unlike the Dodgers, they were willing to give up a top pitching prospect (Randall Delgado) for two months of Ryan Dempster. When Dempster blocked that deal, the Braves instead went to the Cubs and got Reed Johnson and Paul Maholm for a pitcher further down the prospect totem-pole, Arodys Vizcaino. Johnson brings a right-handed bat to Atlanta's left-handed outfield; Maholm has been as hot as any pitcher over the last month and is under a reasonable contract for 2013. Johnson and Maholm may provide just as much value as Dempster would have, but at a much more reasonable price.
Score: 8

Toronto Blue Jays: We've come to expect brilliant moves from wunderkind GM Alex Anthopoulos. This deadline wasn't his best work. He unloaded multiple prospects to get the average J.A. Happ from the Astros. And he traded away his young left-field tandem, Travis Snider and Eric Thames, for relievers Brad Lincoln and Steve Delabar. Sure, the Jays bullpen needed a makeover, but...surrendering cost-controllable, high-upside players for a small improvement isn't what you shoot for.
Score: 3

Cincinnati Reds: With the best record in baseball, they didn't need a big addition. So why did they give up two solid pitching prospects to get Jonathan Broxton from the Royals? The Reds' bullpen is already dominant, and Broxton's 2.27 ERA isn't sustainable now that he doesn't strike guys out anymore. If Cincinnati was going to surrender real prospects in a trade, it should've been for a high-OBP guy for the top of the order.
Score: 5

New York Yankees: Like the Reds, they didn't need much of an upgrade, instead looking for their injured pieces (A-Rod, Andy Pettitte, Joba Chamberlain) to be the big additions for the playoffs. Ichiro Suzuki and Casey McGehee lengthen the bench and didn't cost much.
Score: 8

St. Louis Cardinals: They probably needed a starting pitcher. Instead, they traded away their first-round pick in 2010 for a homer-prone middle reliever, Edward Mujica. The Cardinals won the World Series last year after an aggressive trade deadline move; nothing of the sort this year.
Score: 3