2011 MLB Trade Deadline: Red Sox, Cardinals and Other Trade Deadline Losers

It's been a busy past few days for baseball.  First, the Toronto Blue Jays got the ball rolling with what seemed like a curious trade with the Chicago White Sox for Edwin Jackson.  Then they turned around and sent him to St. Louis for Colby Rasmus in what looks like an absolute fleecing by the Jays (more on that later).

Not to be undone, the Mets shipped Beltran off to the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants in a deal that set off a domino effect among the other contenders.

Now, with today's flurry of trade action apparently complete, let's look at who's come out on top.

Too early?  Who cares?

Let the games begin.

As always, feel free to follow me on twitter @tdotsportwriter

Boston Red Sox

Get used to that image, Red Sox fans.  Rich Harden has allowed six home runs in only 29.1 innings of work.  I hear Fenway is a great hitter's park.

He's also so incredibly brittle that he makes Glass Joe from Mike Tyson's Punch Out look like George Foreman.

And the cost for this grapefruit-tossing delicate flower?  None other than the doubles hitting, OBP machine named Lars Anderson.

Hey Theo, remember the Jeff Bagwell trade?  You were still a virgin then, but that's no excuse.

UPDATE: Due to medical reasons surrounding Rich Harden (shocker!!!!) the trade has been voided.  Theo Epstien must now wear the cone of shame.

St. Louis Cardinals

Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos has been making a living off the ineptitude of other general managers since he was hired back in late 2009.

You can now add John Mozeliak to that list.

John, are you telling me you couldn't match Toronto's offer of John Fraser and Zach Stewart for Edwin Jackson?  I find that hard to believe.

Instead you decided to cave to Tony LaRussa and give up on budding star Colby Rasmus in exchange for Jackson (expiring contract by the way), a pair of middle relievers and Corey Patterson?  Are you trying to lose your job?

San Francisco Giants

Don't get me wrong, Carlos Beltran is a great addition for the Giants.  This year.

However, I seriously hope they win the World Series again because they paid an incredibly steep price for an oft injured 34-year-old with an expiring contract.

Zack Wheeler is one of the top young pitching prospects in baseball and projects as a top-two starter with ace potential.  The notion that he was expendable because of the big club's current rotation is ridiculous.

Brian Sabean is a pretty smart dude, but he whiffed on this trade.  Time will tell if this rivals the 2003 deal that sent Francisco Liriano, Boof Bonser and Joe Nathan to Minnesota for A.J. Pierzynski, but as of now it doesn't look good.

Houston Astros

With an incredibly affordable and team controlled contract that extends to 2013, Hunter Pence was neither a financial burden or at risk of leaving via free agency after the season.

So why did Houston trade their prized 28-year-old outfielder and face of the franchise?  Does Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr. have compromising photos of Astros GM Ed Wade?

The package that Houston received for Pence (highlighted by RHP Jarred Cosart and 1B/OF Jonathan Singleton) is brimming with potential, but as high as their ceilings are, so is their risk of failing to pan out.

It's an incredibly risky move to trade a young, high performing star player for prospects and, in my opinion, completely unnecessary.

I don't care how barren the Astros farm system is.  Trade players who are less important like Wandy Rodriguez, Michael Bourn, Carlos Lee and Brett Myers and add prospects that way.

If Toronto can trade Shawn Marcum for Brett Lawrie (currently the 10th best prospect in the game according to Baseball America), then I'm convinced the Astros grossly overpaid for these kids.

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians have one of the worst records in baseball since the All-Star Game and it's not because of their pitching (although they share part of the blame).

The Indians can't hit and neither can Ubaldo Jimenez.

At just 27 years old, Jimenez is a sublime talent with an incredibly affordable contract that can go as far as 2014 with team options.  However, there are significant red flags.

First, considering what I just wrote above, why was Colorado so desperate to get rid of him?  Second, his drop in velocity that began in the second half of last year hasn't been corrected.  Third, that violent arm action is just begging for a trip to to see Dr. Andrews.

See Jimenez's right elbow in this picture?  It's going to snap one of these days.

Admittedly, Indians GM Chris Antonetti did well to not include Lonny Chisenhall, but trading both Alex White and Drew Pomeranz (not official until after 08/16) is a massive hit to Cleveland's pitching depth. 

Both kids look like future aces so, for the Indians' sake, I hope Jimenez's arm holds together (I doubt it).

Now, how about getting yourself some offense?