Grading Hanley Ramirez, Cole Hamels and All the Latest Big MLB Moves

It's Christmas in July for Major League Baseball fans, and that means that the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline is right around the corner.

Over the past couple of days, there have been several moves that have kicked off the trade deadline season. Oh, and we're still early in the process, as there will be six more days until things get finalized.

Several of the bigger names on the market have either signed a huge extension or been dealt in hopes that teams can rebuild their farm systems (or add the missing piece to a World Series run).

Here's a look at the deals that have gone down so far, as well as a deal that may go down in the days leading up to the trade deadline.

July 20: Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays Complete 10-Player Trade

On paper, the trade executed by the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros on July 20 may look like a nondescript trade that involved 10 players. However, this trade benefited the Astros more than one might think.

The Astros basically got rid of junk that was holding them back in J.A. Happ (7-9, 4.80 ERA this season), Brandon Lyon (0-2, 3.25 ERA) and David Carpenter (0-2, 6.07 ERA).

In exchange for that, the Astros received a closer with experience in the American League West in Francisco Cordero (who is a free agent at the end of this season, but worth a shot if he decides to re-sign with the team, which is moving to the AL in 2013) and three minor league pitchers along with a minor league catcher.

Ben Francisco, who is hitting .240 with no home runs and two runs batted in, was thrown in the deal to Houston, along with a player to be named later.

The big kicker for the Astros here is that they get to replenish their farm system with young talent from one of the most copious systems in all of baseball (ranked fifth by Baseball America prior to this season).

The Astros won't be winning anytime soon, so even if Cordero leaves for greener pastures in the offseason, the team may benefit largely from some of the prospects it picked up in this deal.

As for the Blue Jays, they needed to find some pitchers and got some bodies to fill those roles. While it's possible that a change of scenery could help these guys, I just don't see the Jays making a push to win the AL East. That would make it a wash for the team north of the border.

Astros Grade: A

Blue Jays Grade: C

July 21: Houston Astros Trade Brett Myers to Chicago White Sox for 2 Prospects

The Chicago White Sox bullpen has struggled most of the season, so they decided to get one of the more underrated closers by acquiring Brett Myers (3.38 ERA, 19-of-21 in saves) from the Houston Astros.

The Astros received more minor league pitching in the deal in Matt Heidenreich (9-4, 3.95 ERA between High-A and Double-A this season) and Blair Walters (4-6, 3.96 ERA between Low-A and High-A), along with a player to be named later.

The move is a good one for the White Sox because they've struggled all season long in the closer position, as Addison Reed has become shakier in the recent weeks.

At its worst, the move gives the Sox a closing option if Reed continues to falter down the stretch. At its best, the Sox have added a guy that can be a quality setup man to get the ball to their closer in the first place.

If you add in the return of reliever Jesse Crain from the disabled list, the White Sox bullpen looks to be ready for battle as they head down the stretch in the American League Central.

White Sox Grade: A

Astros Grade: C+

July 23: Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to Detroit for Jacob Turner

The opening bell on the Miami Marlins' fire sale rang when Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante were traded to the Detroit Tigers for Jacob Turner and two minor leaguers.

For the Tigers, this could be a move that haunts them, as they gave up one of their top prospects in Turner.

The 21-year-old lefty was projected as the 22nd-best prospect by Baseball America prior to the 2012 season but has struggled in his cups of coffee (1-2, 8.28 ERA in six games) at the major league level.

But again, he's only 21. There is plenty of room for improvement, and if he makes those strides with the Marlins, it could bite the Tigers.

Still, the Tigers get a pretty good return for their investment. Anibal Sanchez (5-7, 3.94 ERA) will try to become this year's Doug Fister for the Tigers as a pitcher who pitched pretty well but never found himself in the win column with his previous team.

The Tigers also get Omar Infante (.287, eight HR, 33 RBI, eight errors at third base), who will try to make their defense look like it's not a drunken beer-league softball team.

It's possible that the Tigers will benefit greatly from this trade as they continue to push to win the division that many thought they would have wrapped up by May. However, determining the real winner of this trade will hinge on what Turner does with the Marlins.

Tigers Grade: B

Marlins Grade: B+

July 23: Ichiro Suzuki to the New York Yankees for Cash and Prospects

This is a move that seems a little interesting, but I don't think it will have much of an impact for the Yankees.

What general manager Brian Cashman is envisioning is that they'll get the Ichiro of old that routinely registered 200 hits a season and has blazing speed to help account for the loss of Brett Gardner (who is likely out for the season with an elbow injury).

The reality is that Ichiro is just not the same player that he used to be. The 38-year-old outfielder is hitting .261 with very little run production. Even worse, Ichiro's on-base percentage is a career-low .288, which means that even if he has the speed that the Yankees need, he can't get on first to use it.

The Mariners don't really come out ahead on this one either. They wound up giving up cash to get rid of Ichiro and then acquired two OK prospects for a guy that's past his prime.

I do think the Mariners needed to move on from Ichiro in order to rebuild, but they might have waited too long to do so.

In either case, I feel like both teams made a move for the sake of making one.

Yankees Grade: D

Mariners Grade: C-

July 24: Wandy Rodriguez to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Prospects

It's been a long time since the Pittsburgh Pirates have been in contention, so if they're going to go for it, why not?

The Pirates acquired Wandy Rodriguez (7-9, 3.79 ERA) from the Houston Astros for three prospects on July 24. The move gives the Pirates a third solid starter in their rotation to join A.J. Burnett and James McDonald.

What's interesting about this move for Pittsburgh is that Rodriguez is a pricey acquisition, as he's owed $30 million over the next two-plus seasons (assuming he exercises his $13 million option in 2014).

While the Astros did contribute cash to help lower that tag now, it's the kind of move that the Pirates haven't made since their last playoff appearance (and winning season) in 1992.

For the Astros, it's yet another move for the future that makes sense. Rudy Owens (8-5, 3.14 ERA) is an All-Star in Triple-A right now, and Robbie Grossman (.266, seven HR, 36 RBI at Double-A) was named the eighth-best prospect in the Pirates organization before the season, according to Baseball America.

Along with pitcher Colton Cain (3-5, 4.20 ERA at High-A), the Astros once again have stockpiled assets to help rebuild their franchise.

Pirates Grade: A

Astros Grade: A

July 25: Cole Hamels Signs Massive Extension with Philadelphia Phillies

Many people thought that Cole Hamels would be the most targeted name on the free-agent market, but not anymore.

The Philadelphia Phillies stepped up to the plate and signed Hamels to a six-year, $144 million extension that not only keeps Hamels from reaching free agency this winter, but effectively takes him off the trade market.

To me, this seems like the Phillies felt like they had to reach a decision. They could sign Hamels (11-4, 3.23 ERA) to an extension, but they would need to create some salary space to do it. That likely means the departure of Cliff Lee is imminent.

It's not that Lee has been awful for the Phillies (1-6, 3.95 ERA), but he's 33 compared to Hamels being 28.

What the Phillies are starting to realize is that their window of opportunity is closing, and a younger ace such as Hamels will be more of a valuable asset moving forward.

This means that things will get interesting depending on whether the Phillies want to move Lee.

A team such as the Texas Rangers, who have the top farm system in baseball according to Baseball America, could offer some of their talented prospects to reacquire Lee and give the Phillies the young guns they need to rebuild.

Phillies Grade: A

July 25: Miami Marlins Send Hanley Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers

Once considered one of the brightest young stars in baseball, Hanley Ramirez's stock has taken quite the tumble in the past couple of seasons. That fall from grace was completed when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday morning.

Ramirez was traded to L.A. for starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (1-6, 4.15 ERA) and minor league arm Scott McGough. Not exactly the haul the Marlins would have gotten if they had decided to trade Ramirez before signing him to a six-year, $70 million extension four seasons ago.

It's hard to tell what has caused the decline of Ramirez in Miami, but all we know now is that he has to be a valuable member of the Dodgers, who are currently without the services of Dee Gordon.

Ramirez will likely fill in for Gordon, who is out six weeks with a dislocated thumb, at shortstop. With shortstop being his natural position, it could be that Ramirez could become more comfortable and in turn produce better numbers at the plate than he was as the Marlins third baseman (.246, 14 HR, 48 RBI).

The only problem for the Dodgers is that I think they nabbed the wrong Ramirez. Juan Uribe isn't doing anything special at third base, and a hot hitter (such as Milwaukee's Aramis Ramirez) for the hot corner would have paid more dividends batting next to Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier.

I don't think the Dodgers are done adding, so there is still a possibility the Dodgers field an all-Ramirez left side of the infield.

Marlins Grade: C+

Dodgers Grade: C

In the Near Future: Ryan Dempster to Atlanta for Randall Delgado?

For the most confusing part of the trade deadline, we head to Atlanta, where the Ryan Dempster deal is still not done and may be dead, as Atlanta general manager Frank Wren told The Rude Awakening on 680 AM The Fan in Atlanta (via ESPN Chicago):

"

I think it's very highly unlikely. We put parameters on the deal that expired (Tuesday). We were moving on from the time we heard that there was the potential of another club being really where he wanted to go. And he had a lot of personal reasons for that.

"

The ESPN Chicago report later states that Dempster may really want to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Because he has a no-trade clause in his contract, the Chicago Cubs may be hamstrung as far as their ability to shop the hottest pitcher in baseball (5-4, 2.11 ERA).

If this trade does get done, it's a good one for both the Braves and Cubs. The Braves would get some starting pitching into their struggling rotation (which is currently relying on Ben Sheets), and the Cubs would get one of the top prospects in baseball with pitcher Randall Delgado.

If the deal does not get done, the Braves will have to look elsewhere for a pitcher (such as Milwaukee's Zack Greinke or the Cubs' Matt Garza) to solidify their rotation.

Meanwhile, the Cubs could try to trade Dempster to the Dodgers, but they would likely ask for another top prospect in Zach Lee (No. 62 prospect, according to Baseball America) in return.

Potential Cubs Grade: A

Potential Braves Grade: A