10 Biggest Takeaways from 2015 MLB Trade Deadline Week
You can let out that deep breath now. Major League Baseball's non-waiver trade deadline came and went Friday, thus putting an end to a week filled with trade madness of the highest order.
Need help processing everything that happened? Well, you're in luck. That's what we're here for.
Our weekly recaps typically center on what's taken place on the field, but this week we're going to focus strictly on what occurred on the trading front. We're going to look at the top 10 takeaways from the week that was, notably covering which teams did well and which clubs disappointed.
We'll go in order from least interesting to most interesting. Step into the box whenever you're ready.
10. Pirates Get the Award for Most Quietly Improved Contender
1 of 10
The Pirates were never really expected to make any loud trades this week, and they lived up to that. They were more like the Pittsburgh Dinghy Sailors than the Pittsburgh Pirates.
But don't let their quietness fool you. They may have gone about doing so quietly, but they made themselves into a better team than the one they were before.
After landing veteran third baseman Aramis Ramirez from the Milwaukee Brewers last week, this week saw the Pirates add right-handed reliever Joakim Soria from the Detroit Tigers on Thursday and slugging first baseman Mike Morse from the Los Angeles Dodgers and lefty starter J.A. Happ from the Seattle Mariners on Friday.
In Soria, the Pirates picked up a reliever with a 2.79 ERA to a bullpen that already has a top-five ERA at 2.87. In Morse, they added a guy whose strong track record against left-handed pitching makes him an ideal platoon partner for Pedro Alvarez at first base. And in Happ, they netted a solid innings-eater whose addition looks all the more important in light of A.J. Burnett's injured elbow.
With all this extra depth now in hand, the Pirates should at least hold onto their lead for the National League's top wild-card spot. But don't rule out their making a run at the NL Central title, as the St. Louis Cardinals' 5.5-game lead is hardly insurmountable.
Let this be a lesson to you, other teams: To position yourself to end the season with a bang, you need not be loud at the deadline.
9. The White Sox Decide They're in This Thing
2 of 10
The Chicago White Sox weren't thought to be a major seller at the trade deadline. But in Jeff Samardzija, they were supposed to provide the trade market with one of its top starting pitchers. It was all right there on the trade-deadline blueprint.
But here we are a day after the trade deadline, and Samardzija is still a South Sider. That's the result of something funny happening in recent days...
The White Sox got good.
After dropping five of their first six coming out of the All-Star break, the White Sox rebounded to win their next seven games. And they certainly look the part of a hot team. Since the All-Star break, their offense has come alive, and their starting pitching has been among the game's best.
Granted, the White Sox's record only stands at 49-52. But that's good enough to put them in the thick of the American League wild-card race. And when they look around, they can surely see that few other teams in the wild-card race are playing as well as they are.
Put it all together, and you get a team that Scott Merkin of MLB.com says has developed a "why not us?" mentality. That's sounding more and more like a good question. And by not selling at the deadline, the White Sox have positioned themselves to provide their own answer rather than give up on it altogether.
8. The Royals and Nationals Apply the Finishing Touches
3 of 10
Not many teams entered the final days before the deadline in need of just one more upgrade. The Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals, however, are two clubs that fit the description.
And both teams got the job done.
A few days after shoring up their rotation with Johnny Cueto, the Royals acquired super-utility man Ben Zobrist from the Oakland A's. He's filling in for the injured Alex Gordon in left field for the time being, but he should ultimately take over for the largely useless Omar Infante at second base.
As for the Nationals, they filled their need for a late-inning reliever by swinging a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies for veteran closer Jonathan Papelbon. The club's decision to have him supplant incumbent closer Drew Storen in the ninth inning is controversial, but there's nothing controversial about the notion that the back end of the Nats bullpen looks a lot better than it did before.
"That's kind of the whole point as to why we got Pap—to do what he is doing and do whatever it takes to give us the best chance to win," first baseman Ryan Zimmerman told MLB.com's Bill Ladson after Papelbon's Nats debut Thursday. "The last two times [Storen] came out in the eighth to do what he did, it obviously makes us a better team."
Neither the Zobrist deal nor the Papelbon trade was the biggest that went down this week, mind you. But no other deals that were made give off quite the same "finishing touch" vibe. With Zobrist's addition following Cueto's, the Royals now look like the American League's most complete team. With Papelbon in tow, the Nationals could look like the National League's most complete team once their roster welcomes back injured stars Stephen Strasburg and Denard Span.
So, be warned: If the Royals and Nationals meet in the World Series, we may look back on the Zobrist and Papelbon moves as the transactions that put them on a collision course.
.png?w=256)
7. The Dodgers Over-Promise and Under-Deliver
4 of 10
With all their cash, all their prospects and all their intense desire to win, the Los Angeles Dodgers were supposed to give deadline week a butt-kicking worthy of Liam Neeson.
But what actually happened? Well, let's just say it wasn't so much a Neeson-esque butt-kicking.
Yes, the Dodgers did make a trade, pulling off a three-team deal with the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves that landed them two starters in Mat Latos and Alex Wood and two relievers in Jim Johnson and Luis Avilan. Latos is the prize of the deal, as the Dodgers are getting him at the perfect time.
But relative to the deals the Dodgers could have made, that trade comes off as a bit "meh."
Most everyone was expecting the Dodgers to land Cole Hamels or David Price. Joel Sherman of the New York Post at one point said they were focused on the former. Meanwhile, Bob Nightengale of USA Today said rival executives were "absolutely convinced" the latter would end up in Los Angeles.
Instead, Hamels went to Texas, and Price went to Toronto. And when the clock struck 4:00 p.m. ET on Friday, that one three-team trade ended up being all she wrote for the Dodgers at the deadline.
When asked Thursday to explain why he didn't land any big names, Dodgers President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com his goal is "creating something that can be sustained for many years" rather than simply trying to win in 2015. So that's why none of the club's top prospects were shipped off to Philadelphia for Hamels or to Detroit for Price.
That's not a bad idea, but it's questionable if it's the right one. The Dodgers are a good team that became an even better team in that trade with the Marlins and Braves. But had they acquired Hamels or Price, they would have instantly become the favorites to represent the Senior Circuit in the World Series.
Of course, the odds of that happening are still pretty high. But right now, Dodgers fans have the right to feel a little peeved about said odds not being as good as they might have been.
6. The Yankees Warm Up with Dustin Ackley and Stop There
5 of 10
Like the Dodgers, the New York Yankees were also viewed as a heavyweight to watch this week. If they wanted to, they could have secured some of the best players in baseball.
Instead, the Yankees acquired one of the worst players in baseball and left it at that.
The player the Yankees obtained is former top draft pick Dustin Ackley, who they got in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. In him, the Yankees are getting a guy who hasn't posted an OPS over .700 since his rookie season and who's no Ben Zobrist with his defensive versatility.
Given all this, Ackley looks like subtraction by addition. And that the Yankees landed on him and only him borders on comical, as word was they were chasing much bigger and much better names.
For example, Bob Nightengale had it on good authority the Yankees were going to be part of a bidding war for Price. They were also in on two elite relievers, as ESPN.com's Jayson Stark had them chasing Craig Kimbrel and Nightengale had them going after Aroldis Chapman.
With their rotation as volatile as any in baseball, the Yankees could have used Price. If not him, either Kimbrel or Chapman would have been an awesome Plan B. Either could have made what's already an elite Yankees bullpen ever scarier, especially come playoff time.
That the Yankees moved on none of the above is a sign of the times. They finally have some good things going on down in their farm system, and Joel Sherman says the Yankees have responded to that by "trying to win now without infringing on the future too much."
In their defense, such an approach is long overdue. But adhering to this philosophy at the deadline could backfire. Their six-game lead in the AL East looks sturdy, but it doesn't look nearly as comfortable as it did after the moves the Blue Jays made this week.
But hey, we'll have more on that later.
5. The Padres Didn't Sell, and That's Shocking...Or Is It?
6 of 10
This was supposed to be the week the San Diego Padres finally said "Oh, the hell with it!" and started passing out trades like Wes Welker passing out hundreds at the Kentucky Derby.
Seriously, everyone was supposed to go. Justin Upton. James Shields. Craig Kimbrel. Tyson Ross. Andrew Cashner. Joaquin Benoit. Ian Kennedy. They were all available—and very available at that.
But in the end, here's how many of them are changing addresses: zero.
Why didn't the Padres make any moves? According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, it's because general manager A.J. Preller believes his team actually has the goods to make the postseason this year. And he's not crazy to think so. A recent hot stretch has propelled the Padres to 50-53, and they're facing an easy schedule in the near term that could take them even further.
But that's not the only reason for San Diego's inactivity.
Another is the Padres were sellers who seemingly couldn't find good deals on what turned into a buyer's market. It certainly didn't help that this year's market focused mostly on rentals, and the only good rental the Padres had to offer was Upton.
And while you can argue the Padres should have lowered their asking prices and traded their pieces just to save money, actually think about that for a second.
Yes, the Padres could have blown up this year's team and saved a whole bunch of money and added a lot of young talent in the process. But in doing so, they would have destroyed the goodwill they established among fans with their winter splurge. Given that this goodwill has led to spikes in attendance and TV viewership, the Padres would have been risking much by so lightly tossing it aside.
So, maybe we shouldn't be surprised the Padres didn't sell. They had a tough call to make, and in the end they played it safe.
4. The Mets Salvaged the Deadline at the Last Minute
7 of 10
The New York Mets came into the week having already bolstered their depth with a deal for Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson. Then they kicked things off by bolstering their bullpen with a trade for Tyler Clippard.
After that, things got really bad...until, in the end, they got good again!
It was on Wednesday night that things got bad. The Mets seemed to have a trade in place for Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Carlos Gomez, but they ultimately found themselves nixing the deal. Anthony DiComo and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reported the Mets called it off because of Gomez's medicals, but Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported money was actually the problem.
When Gomez was traded to the Houston Astros a day later—more on that in a moment—it looked like he was fine and that, as such, the latter report was the more truthful one. In light of that, it looked like the Mets were too cheap to put themselves in a position to finish off their postseason push.
A bad look, indeed. But it can all be forgiven now.
With mere minutes to go until the trade deadline, the Mets landed slugging left fielder Yoenis Cespedes in a deal with the Tigers. Though they'll only be renting Cespedes for the rest of the season, they're getting a guy who's having a significantly better season than Gomez.
So after all the Gomez drama, the Mets came out ahead in the end. And with Cespedes now on board, they're much better equipped to possibly overtake the Nationals in the NL East race.
What this all means is that "LOLMets" doesn't apply, for a change. It's weird, but they've earned it.
3. The Astros Aren't Going to Waste Their Chance
8 of 10
After the Gomez-to-the-Mets deal was nixed, the question became which team would swoop in and grab him on the rebound.
The final answer? The Astros. Because of course it was.
Along with right-handed starter Mike Fiers, Gomez landed with the Astros on Thursday in a deal that brought an impressive set of prospects back to Milwaukee. But while Astros fans could lament the loss of those prospects, they're better off celebrating what a perfect addition Gomez is to Houston's lineup.
In Gomez, an Astros offense that already leads the AL in home runs and stolen bases is getting a player with 74 homers and 118 stolen bases since 2012. He's also capable of playing plus defense in center field, thus giving an Astros defense that's already elite the chance to become even better.
"He's an All-Star-caliber player," Houston general manager Jeff Luhnow said, via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com. "This guy's exciting. I think everybody here is going to love him once they get to know him."
Meanwhile, Fiers is joining a rotation that already looked close to complete after the Astros acquired Scott Kazmir from the Oakland A's last week. He's lived up to the hype too, giving up zero runs in 14.2 innings in two starts with Houston and lowering his ERA to an AL-best 2.10 in the process.
Thanks in part to those two efforts, the Astros find themselves at 58-46 and atop the AL West after a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels. Judging from their latest additions, they have no interest in letting this opportunity pass them by.
2. The Phillies' Cole Hamels Gamble Pays Off
9 of 10
Here's something to let sink in for a moment: There will be no more Cole Hamels trade rumors.
Weird, huh? Like a cup of morning joe, the darn things had simply become a part of daily life. But though we'll miss 'em, we can at least bid them adieu knowing they've gone away in service of a good cause.
If you missed it, the Phillies finally traded their ace left-hander Wednesday, sending him to the Texas Rangers in a nine-player deal. Hamels and fellow left-hander Jake Diekman went to Texas, with the Phillies getting veteran lefty Matt Harrison and five prospects: catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Nick Williams and right-handers Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff and Alec Asher.
The Rangers did fine on their end, as they got a dandy of a pitcher they can pair with another stud in Yu Darvish in 2016, a year in which they should be able to contend.
It's the Phillies, though, who came out on top. Harrison could be a future trade chip if he can stay healthy. According to Baseball America, the Phillies also got three of the Rangers' five best prospects in Thompson, Williams and Alfaro. Cue ESPN.com's Keith Law to summarize their return like so:
"Ultimately, the Phillies got two highly regarded but flawed position player prospects, a high-probability starting pitching prospect who has a chance to be a solid No. 3, and a pair of depth arms. That's a good mixture of quantity and quality for Hamels, exactly what they should have tried to get in this franchise-altering opportunity.
"
In all, it was a job well done for Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. And if I'm being honest, yours truly didn't expect to be saying that in reference to a Hamels deal.
When Amaro refused to trade Hamels this past winter, it looked like he was pushing his luck. By keeping Hamels on the team, Amaro was risking his value being torpedoed by injury and/or ineffectiveness. Had that happened, any chance of using Hamels as a farm-system rebuilder would have gone up in smoke.
Instead, Hamels remained healthy and productive, and the Phillies were able to cash in accordingly. That's a roll of the dice that paid off quite nicely.
1. The Blue Jays Go All-In, and Then Go All-In Some More
10 of 10
When the week began, the Toronto Blue Jays were only kinda-sorta in the American League playoff picture with a 50-51 record. Typically, that's not an excuse to get too aggressive at the trade deadline.
Apparently, the Blue Jays disagreed.
They started by pulling off a blockbuster out of nowhere, acquiring slugging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies on Monday in exchange for Jose Reyes and a couple of prospects. Like that, the Blue Jays took a lineup that was already MLB's best and made it far and away MLB's best.
The Blue Jays could have stopped there...but they didn't. On Thursday, they acquired David Price from the Tigers for prospects. Like that, they gave a rotation badly in need of an upgrade a huge upgrade.
"These types of players, the great superstar players, rarely become available," Toronto general manager Alex Anthopoulos said after the Price trade, via Gregor Chisholm of MLB.com. "We had an opportunity to do it....We think we're a good team and adding a guy like Price, we think makes us that much stronger and give us a chance to win."
Indeed, but the Blue Jays weren't done just yet. Before the deadline passed Friday, they also acquired right-hander Mark Lowe from the Seattle Mariners and speedy outfielder Ben Revere from the Phillies. In doing so, they added another power arm to a bullpen that's already well-stocked with power arms and a speed dimension to a lineup that has more than enough power.
The downside of all this? That these deals cost the Blue Jays a lot of young talent, including top prospects Daniel Norris, Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman and Matt Boyd.
The upside of all this? The Blue Jays are a dramatically better team than they were a couple of days ago. They now have baseball's best lineup, a rotation that features one of baseball's top aces and a bullpen that has the depth to shorten games with the best of 'em. It won't be a surprise if they make a run at the AL East title, and it would be an upset if they don't at least secure a wild-card berth.
So yeah, the phrase "nailed it!" comes to mind.
Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted/linked.
.png?w=480)
