MLB Trades: A Complete Breakdown of the 3-Team, 11-Player Deal

Without a doubt, the St. Louis Cardinals came out on top in this three-team, 11-player deal.  Currently in first place in the NL Central, they increased their chances of winning the division significantly.

With pitching actually being the weak spot on this team, St. Louis was able to add a solid starter and some good relievers in this deal.  Edwin Jackson will certainly help this rotation that has surprisingly struggled at times.

Even though the Cardinals are losing Brian Tallet, Trever Miller and P.J. Walters from the bullpen, bringing in Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel will actually be an upgrade.  Brian Tallet was simply horrible, Trever Miller was mediocre and P.J. Walters had barely pitched this year.  Marc Rzepczynski was having a very good year with Toronto, and Octavio Dotel should be solid with St. Louis.

In somewhat of a surprising move, the Cardinals also traded Colby Rasmus.  He has had problems with the team's front office in the past, and his average had slipped, so maybe moving him was a good move.  Whoever the new center fielder is could actually be an upgrade.  Jon Jay might possibly be getting the job to himself at last.  If so, it's long overdue.

They could also go with the newly acquired Corey Patterson, who is a solid player.

St. Louis gained the most talent in this deal, and even though they lost Rasmus, Miller, Walters and Tallet, all of those players are replaceable.

With St. Louis coming out on top, it looks like Toronto finished second.  The Blue Jays got rid of some key pieces to their team, such as Jason Frasor, Marc Rzepczynski, Corey Patterson and Octavio Dotel.  The newly acquired P.J. Walters and Trever Miller will make up for the loss of Frasor, Rzepczynski and Dotel in the bullpen.

Toronto also lost a good outfielder in Corey Patterson, but obviously they are adding Colby Rasmus to offset it.  You would think that Rasmus would take over in center field, causing Rajai Davis to become a backup.  Davis would probably make a better platoon or bench player anyway.

The loss of Jason Frasor to Chicago hurts, as he has been a key piece to the Blue Jays for years.  As mentioned earlier though, Trever Miller and P.J. Walters will be solid additions to that bullpen.  Brian Tallet will not be, though.

Because Frasor was sent to Chicago, the Blue Jays received Mark Teahen.  This is one of the less-talked about players in this deal, but it is a solid move by Toronto.  The fact that Teahen wasn't the everyday third baseman for the White Sox was absurd, as he was a much better player than Brent Morel.  Regardless, Teahen has performed in the past and will be a solid player off the bench for Toronto and maybe a starter again someday.

Lastly, it looks like the White Sox certainly came out on the losing end of this three-team deal.  They are arguably playing the best they have all year, and Edwin Jackson has been a key piece to this recent success.  He has been great in his last few starts and has finally lowered his ERA down into the threes.  They have been using a six-man rotation and apparently he was the odd man out.

Zach Stewart will probably not pitch in their rotation this year and will most likely spend most of the year in the minors.

Third base also becomes weaker for the White Sox, even though Mark Teahen hadn't done much for them.  Brent Morel is horrible at third and should not be an everyday player.  Heck, Omar Vizquel should be given the job over Morel.

Chicago's biggest need is another bat in their lineup, but they didn't address that need at all.  Instead, they got bullpen help in this deal, even though their bullpen has been very good lately.  Jesse Crain has been great for them all year, and Matt Thornton, Chris Sale and Will Ohman have all bounced back after disappointing starts.  Even Brian Bruney has been pitching well since his recent call-up.

Jason Frasor is a very good pitcher and will help this bullpen tremendously, but they simply didn't need him.

This three-team deal shows that the Blue Jays have clearly given up on 2011, and that the Cardinals are doing their best to return to the playoffs after missing the postseason last year.  This deal doesn't change much for the White Sox, as they are losing a good starter in Edwin Jackson but also adding a very good reliever in Jason Frasor.

Overall, all three teams have to be reasonably happy with the outcome.  This three-team, 11-player deal was the first big trade of the trading season and certainly won't be the last.