MLB Trade Deadline Review

Chicago White Sox sent pitcher Nick Masset and infielder Danny Richar to Cincinnati for outfielder and future hall of famer Ken Griffey Jr.
The Sox received possible defensive help with Ken Griffey. Griffey will probably be playing center field as well as designated hitter. He can provide additional power to a lineup that already contains Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye, and Jim Thome. The Reds however do receive a good pitcher in Nick Masset who does have one save in 32 games that he has pitched this year. Danny Richar was well liked by GM Ken Williams and was key in getting Griffey to Chicago.

Florida Marlins acquire pitcher Arthur Rhodes from the Seattle Mariners for pitching prospect Gaby Hernandez.
Seattle sent lefty reliever Arthur Rhodes to Florida. In this move Rhodes gets more innings since he was probably only going to be used as a lefty specialist in Florida. Rhodes has had a descent season. He has a 2.86 ERA in 38 games with Seattle. Rhodes is a veteran of the game entering Major League Baseball in 1991 with Baltimore. He did not pitch in the majors last year but he did in 2006 with Philadelphia and posted a 5.32 ERA in over 50 appearances. Seattle received Gaby Hernandez who was a good pitching prospect in Florida. Hernandez used to play in Triple-A Albuquerque and gave up a lot of runs in the hitters park that the Isotopes have, but with the move he is expected to do well in Seattle’s Triple-A Tacoma.

In a three-team trade involving the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquire outfielder Manny Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox receive Pirate outfielder Jason Bay. In return the Pittsburgh Pirates receive four prospects, third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers and outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen from Boston.

The Red Sox finally get the Manny Monkey off their back. Although Manny loved the Boston fans, he wasn’t being an all around player in Boston. He would lollygag around the bases and barely hustle in the outfield. He will probably play well for the Dodgers since he is getting a new start and he is being with a great manager in Joe Torre. The Red Sox got Jason Bay. Bay is a power hitter and could do some damage in the Red Sox lineup. He has 22 homers on the season with 64 RBIs in a depleted Pirates lineup. His numbers are bound to go up. The Pirates though do get some good prospects in LaRoche, Morris, Moss, and Hansen. LaRoche was bound to get traded because he wasn’t producing in LA and the Dodgers do not need three third baseman on their team since they acquired Casey Blake the other day. They also receive Craig Hansen who did play for the Sox and recorded two saves in 32 games but did put up a 5.58 ERA. Brandon Moss started the season in Boston and hit a home run while they were in Japan in March, but hasn’t produced good numbers since.