MLB Trades: Impacts On Teams and Division Races

The MLB trade deadline has come and gone, but not before several major trades occurred. Although quite a few quality players switched teams, many of the deals seem to be very lop-sided.  Which of the big names (and not-so-big names) are making an impact so far?

July 7th: Cleveland Trades C.C. Sabathia to Brewers

Sabathia looks like he should've been in the National League his entire career. 5-0 in 6 starts, he already leads the league in complete games with three. This does not include his 8 1/3-inning performance in a win over Atlanta. In addition, Sabathia left the game while trailing only once, and this was due to an error. His ERA is less than 2.

Sabathia sparked an 8-1 start to the 2nd half, but the Brew Crew are now 5 games back of the Cubs, and are 2-6 in their last 8. One of those wins was Sabathia's, and he will now be the ace counted on to keep Milwaukee in contention, and keep Cheeseheads' minds off of the Brett Favre debacle.

July 8th: Cubs trade for Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin from Oakland

Harden is 1-1 in 4 starts. Advantage Brewers? Maybe not. Harden's loss was a 10-K 1 hitter in 7 innings (although the 1 hit was a home run). 

Harden beat the Brewers on 7/31 while giving up only 1 ER in 7 IP. He lowered his ERA to 1.18.

Gaudin, a "throw-in player" in the deal, was supposed to be a steal, but has a blown save in two appearences. Ironically, Chad was rewarded with a win in the blown save game.

Chicago has been on a tear recently, going 8-1 in their last 9 games (Harden and Gaudin each contributed a win - Hardin actually earning his). The road sweep of the Brewers helped up the Cubs' Central lead to 5 games, and a home series win over the Cardinals could help the Cubs cruise into September.

However, it's important to remember that Hardin is injury-prone (this is why the A's traded him, despite his talent). If he can pitch in October, however, he could be a difference-maker in a playoff series.

July 17th: A's trade Joe Blanton to the Phillies

Blanton is 1-0 with a 4.88 ERA in 3 starts. His last game, a win, was solid (7 IP, 1 ER). His previous two, not so much (8 IP, 7 ER). Philly is in the middle of a 7-1 stretch, however, and now lead the division by 2.5 games going into the critical home set with Florida.

Blanton is no Sabathia or Harden, but if he can regain his consistency from last season, he could help Philly hold off the Marlins.

July 20th: Brewers acquire Ray Durham from Giants

Durham was acquired cheaply, and was supposed to be part of a platoon 2B corps in Milwaukee. As a Giants fan, I'm a Durham fan also. He always played hard and seemed like a positive clubhouse influence. However, his average was probably not going to hover around .290 the whole season, and he has gone 4-21 with 5 K's with the Brewers.

Milwaukee may not get alot from Durham, but he came cheap and will not hurt the team's wild card chase much.

July 22nd: D-Back acquire Jon Rauch from Washington

Rauch has 3 holds for Arizona in 6 appearances, giving up 3 ER in 5.1 IP.  The D-backs are holding on to a slim lead in the NL West (only 1 game after losing the last 2 games at Dodger Stadium over the weekend).

With the Dodgers' acquisitions, the D-backs may need more than a setup-man to hold off LA. The division is all the D-backs have, since the wild card is likely out. Rauch will need to continue to get the game into the 9th for Brandon Lyon, but he alone will probably have little positive effect on the division race.

July 25th: Yankees acquire Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh

Marte earned a fairly meaningless hold against Boston (New York was up 7-3, and Marte only faced one batter). Overall, Damaso has a 5.40 ERA with the Yankees.

However, Xavier Nady is hitting over .380 with 3 HR's and 10 RBI in 26 at-bats. His career-high 6 RBI's in a 14-9 comeback win over the Angels.

The Yankees opened the 2nd-half with 8 straight wins, but are still 2.5 games behind Boston for 2nd in the East, and .5 games behind the White Sox for 2nd in the Wild Card. Nady should be a great addition even when he cools off, and Marte should get better as he adjusts to the AL. But the Yankees still have some starting pitching issues which might hurt them as they chase the Sox and Rays into late September.

July 26th: Dodgers trade for Casey Blake from Indians

In 9 games with the Dodgers, Blake is hitting .364 with 4 doubles and a home run. He also hasn't committed an error yet at third.  It will be interesting to see if his defense becomes a liability during the stretch run. Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the Dodgers are within striking range of Arizona, and although Blake is not the biggest trade acquisition of the season for LA, his offense will provide a boost for the lineup. But his defense could be costly down the road.

July 29th: Angels acquire Mark Teixeira from Atlanta

The Teixeira era didn't last long in Atlanta, as the Braves made one of the best teams in baseball better.  So far, Teixeira has 5 walks, a home run, and 5 RBI in 5 games in his return to the AL West.  He is also only hitting .222, and left five on base in the loss to the Yankees on Sunday. But in that game, Teixeira did hit a 2 out grand slam off Edwar Ramirez which should have won it for the Angels.

LA has a double-digit lead in the West, which will give Mark a while to find his swing (if he hasn't already) and build confidence for the playoffs, which the Angels are almost a lock for at this point.

July 30th:Yankees acquire Ivan Rodriguez from Detroit

With the Tigers fading fast, the Yankees were able to find a good replacement for Jorge Posada. In 3 games, Pudge is hitting .333 with a home run.  He has allowed 3 SB's while only gunning down 1 runner. In fact, Rodriguez is on pace to set a career low in percentage of runners caught. But his offensive power is still very helpful, especially considering that Jose Molina was hitting .237.  

July 31st: White Sox acquire Ken Griffey, Jr. from Reds

Griffey is hitting .429 with 2 RBI's in 3 games with the ChiSox, with both of those RBI coming in his first three AB's with his new club. But Chicago lost 2 of 3 at Kansas City, and are now a 1/2-game back of the Twins in the Central. Griffey's first home games in  a Chicago uniform come during a critical 9-game stretch against Boston, Detroit, and KC. If there are a significant number suspensions from the brawl with the Royals in an ugly loss on Sunday, and if Joe Crede's back continues to act up, Chicago's offense will count on Griffey to help provide a boost to the offense. As a DH, Junior will find it easier to stay healthy, but it not a certainty that will put the Sox over the top and into the playoffs.

July 31st: Marlins trade for Arthur Rhodes from Seattle

What? The Marlins trading a prospect for a 38-yr-old reliever? So far, one batter faced, one K, one hold.

For Florida, who didn't execute any other trades, the upcoming series at Philly might make-or-break this season.  They are within 2.5 games of the Phillies, but also only .5 ahead of the Mets. Hanley Ramirez will be key to Florida's next few weeks, not Rhodes. Still, Rhodes is a decent pickup for a sub-.500 minor league pitcher.

July 31: Dodgers acquire Manny Ramirez from Boston, Boston acquires Jason Bay from Pittsburgh

Need a player? Get one from the Pirates. Hey, it worked quite well for the Giants. But is Jason Bay Manny? We'll see. In the long-term, he's much younger and not prone to moments of pure, well, Manny-ness.

So far, round one goes to LA.

Manny is hitting .615, with 3 HR's and 5 RBI in 3 games. He actually ran out an infield hit, too. (We'll see how long that lasts). The Dodgers, meanwhile, seem to be poised to close in the D-Backs, although much of this could come from the excitement of having Manny around.

Bay, meanwhile, is not doing badly either: .364, 1 3B, 1 HR, and 6 runs, including the game winner in the 12th on 8/2. He is also a better fielder than Ramirez.

However, Ramirez was near his career lows in batting average and OPS. And the distraction factor would probably have only grown, especially if the Sox fell behind the Yankees or slipped out of the Wild Card. Despite the perception that Boston lost the trade, which they might have in the short-term, losing Manny may be addition by subtraction.

All-in-all, because of the nature of Manny's effort levels and temperament, this trade may not be good for either team, or it could be mutually beneficial.  Right now, LA is looking like a winner, but if Bay keys a Boston run to the pennant, this trade might look like the Nomar acquisition.