How the 2015 MLB Playoff Races Have Been Reshaped by Trade Season
Anyone paying attention to this year's Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline was undoubtedly left punch-drunk by the blur of rumors, deals and non-deals that went down over the last 72 hours, give or take.
Once we all wake from the stupor, though, the realization will hit that the movement affected every single one of the postseason races. Aces, mid-rotation starters, power hitters, defensive assets, relievers—they are all significant in reshaping the game's landscape over the final two months.
Teams had identified themselves as legitimate contenders or disappointing sellers and, for the most part, acted accordingly. The favorites a week ago might no longer be the favorites this weekend, and that goes for both the division and wild-card standings. The flurry of trades has made sure of that.
American League East
1 of 8
When this week started, the New York Yankees seemed to have a comfortable lead over the rest of the tightly bunched clubs in the American League East. And according to a New York Post report by Joel Sherman, it appeared they wanted to improve by adding starting pitching, likely burying the rest of the division en route to breaking their playoff drought.
But by the time this weekend rolled around, the Toronto Blue Jays had forced the rest of the AL East, and the wild-card contenders, to take a huge gulp.
The Yankees started play Friday with six-game leads over the Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles and a seven-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays. But the Yankees, Orioles and Rays did virtually nothing at the deadline, especially in comparison to Toronto, which had a monster week.
The Jays traded for Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Ben Revere, LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe from Tuesday to Friday. The deals addressed needs for a two-way shortstop, an ace, leadoff man, center fielder and reliable bullpen arms.
"It feels like a team that has underperformed won-loss has now gotten a jolt of talent and energy and can do a sprint for the last two months," Joel Sherman of the New York Post said on MLB Network.
The moves make the Blue Jays better than the Orioles and Rays on paper and forced the Yankees to do something they had been hesitant to do—call up top pitching prospect Luis Severino, who will debut next week against the Boston Red Sox. That move could be a wash, however, since Michael Pineda went on the disabled list Thursday.
The Blue Jays might not catch the Yankees in the next two months, but they have become a threat and one of the wild-card favorites in a race they trailed by two games entering Friday. And with Price in the mix, Toronto could be the favorite in any one-game playoff.
National League East
2 of 8
The Washington Nationals and the New York Mets are the teams that matter here.
The Nationals acquired closer Jonathan Papelbon despite having needs elsewhere and a reliable closer in the ninth inning. The Mets added Juan Uribe, Kelly Johnson and in their big move, Carlos Gom...er, Yoenis Cespedes.
Considering New York's deal for Carlos Gomez fell apart late Wednesday night, leaving the organization looking foolish, the Mets had to go and make a significant move for a bat. Cespedes is exactly that, though he is a rental they probably cannot re-sign in the offseason.
"If they did not make a move, they would have heard about it," Fox Sports 1 analyst C.J. Nitkowski said on the network. "The bigger picture here is where this offense is right now. Coming into [Friday], last in runs, last in batting average, last in OPS. They needed some help. We know how bad their offense has been. This is a nice bat to have for two months."
With the Mets' rotation outperforming the Nationals', and with Steven Matz possibly returning this month, it was the kind of trade that could push the Mets to the top of the division. Without it, they were going to be looking up at Washington for the rest of the season.
American League Central
3 of 8
This was not much of a race before the week, but the questions within it were twofold: Would the Kansas City Royals strengthen their hold on the American League Central by adding a starting pitcher, and would the Detroit Tigers believe their own preseason hype and buy—or recognize reality and sell?
The Royals answered their question first, trading three promising prospects to the Cincinnati Reds for Johnny Cueto. They also acquired Ben Zobrist from the Oakland A's for another prospect.
As for the Tigers, it took them a while to concede, but they finally gave in and dealt David Price, Yoenis Cespedes and Joakim Soria.
Not that it wasn't before, but the Tigers' concession and the Minnesota Twins' lack of standing as true contenders made this the Royals' division. Hands down. The current standings are proof.
.png?w=256)
National League Central
4 of 8
This was the quietest division over the last week. The St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs opted to make non-blockbuster moves, just adding minor pieces as they all push for playoff spots.
The Cardinals added Brandon Moss to spell Matt Holliday, which was a must after Holliday aggravated an existing quad injury. The Pirates went for setup man Joakim Soria, upgrading their bullpen but not addressing other needs such as an impact bat or rotation piece. The Cubs added back-end rotation arms in Dan Haren and Tommy Hunter.
None of the moves were major, and it's probable none have a significant impact in the division race. As things stand, the Cardinals, despite flashing some vulnerability recently, remain the favorites in the National League Central.
American League West
5 of 8
The American League West has been nip and tuck for much of the second half, and this trade season was a time for one team or another to get significantly better and become the favorite to win it.
It turns out the Houston Astros were that team—by a wide margin.
They were as aggressive as any organization over the last week, picking up Scott Kazmir and Mike Fiers to improve and deepen their rotation. They added a quality center fielder and a potentially impactful bat in Carlos Gomez after the deal that would have sent him to the New York Mets fell through. They were also in the middle of rumors for guys like Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel and others up until the deadline, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.
All the Angles did was create an underwhelming three-man outfield platoon with Shane Victorino, David DeJesus and David Murphy. Not only that, but they were hardly rumored to have interest in anyone, including a big hitter like Justin Upton, Carlos Gonzalez or Yoenis Cespedes.
"This should have been a division that's going to go down to the wire, and maybe it still will," Fox Sports 1 analyst C.J. Nitkowski said, calling the Angles one of his "losers" at the deadline. "But these additions that the Astros made make the Angels look bad."
The Astros swept the Angels during the week to give themselves a two-game lead entering Friday, and these moves are good enough to keep them at the top through the next couple of months.
National League West
6 of 8
The Los Angeles Dodgers were extra busy, putting together a three-team, 13-player deal that filled needs in their rotation, bullpen and future infield. Aside from money, it did not cost them any prospects or players on their 25-man roster.
The San Francisco Giants picked Mike Leake to deepen their rotation.
The Giants got a bit better with Leake, who has a 3.56 ERA with 5.9 strikeouts per nine innings, 2.2 walks per nine and a 51.5 percent ground-ball rate in 136.2 innings, according to FanGraphs.
The Dodgers added Alex Wood and Mat Latos to their rotation. Wood is having a down year, but he has a 3.10 lifetime ERA and 3.17 FIP in his three major league seasons. Latos, who started off as a disaster for the Miami Marlins, has a 2.96 ERA in his last seven starts since returning from the disabled list in mid-June. The Dodgers also added setup man Jim Johnson and his 2.25 ERA and 3.19 FIP.
The moves were a win for the Dodgers but far from the crowd-pleasing names like David Price or Cole Hamels they were linked to throughout the month, according to Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. In fact, the Dodgers were still in the market for starting pitching right up until the deadline, discussing deals for Carlos Carrasco and Yovani Gallardo on Friday, per CBS Sports' Jon Heyman and Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports (h/t MLB Trade Rumors).
"Clearly, the Dodgers don't feel comfortable with what they have," Morosi said on Fox Sports 1 on Friday.
That might be a little strong, but they did keep themselves as the slight favorites in the National League West so long as ace Clayton Kershaw's hip/glute issue is nothing serious—though this is a race that is likely to be undecided until late September, or later, and could go back and forth until then.
American League Wild Card
7 of 8
Except for the Toronto Blue Jays, no team in this race made itself significantly better at the deadline. And entering Friday, the Jays were within pouncing distance of the second American League wild-card spot (two games out).
The Los Angeles Angels entered Friday with a two-game lead over the second wild-card spot, which currently belongs to the Minnesota Twins, and a four-game lead over the next closest competition, including the Jays.
The Angels are still one of the better teams in the race, and they will likely hang on to one of those spots. The other one will belong to Toronto on the strength of its acquisitions of Troy Tulowitzki, David Price and others, assuming they don't catch the New York Yankees in the AL East.
National League Wild Card
8 of 8
The Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants made small but impactful deals for pitching, and it is possible those moves are enough for both to hang on to the first and second wild-card spots in the National League, respectively.
The Chicago Cubs entered Friday two games out of the Giants' second spot, and the New York Mets were 4.5 out. The Mets made noise with the Yoenis Cespedes trade, and while it's just one guy, the team has quality pitching and is getting healthy enough to pose the biggest threat to the two incumbents.
Meanwhile, the San Diego Padres seem to think they have a chance, or that is what they are saying after they failed to move any of their players. For what it's worth, they entered Friday 7.5 games out of the second berth with four teams in front of them.
"I think it was the biggest buildup for something that didn't happen since Y2K," the New York Post's Joel Sherman said on MLB Network. "This entire week the theme was at some point there was going to be this flood of trades by the Padres that mirrors their buildup in the offseason.
"As it turned out, they didn't move any of their pieces. They like their team and they want to go for it, but they are as flawed today as they were yesterday, and they still have all the money and no new prospects."
.png?w=480)
