MLB Trades 2019: Dissecting Top Deals Made Heading Towards Deadline

MLB teams have shown little urgency prior to Wednesday's trade deadline.

Perhaps the tight standings complicate the decision to buy or sell. Or maybe general managers need the thrill of procrastinating more than a college student cramming for finals.

Whatever the case, few notable deals have occurred entering 2019's last weekend of open trade activity. None of them have yielded particularly impressive early returns.

By this point last year, the Los Angeles Dodgers had already landed superstar Manny Machado from the Baltimore Orioles. The Cleveland Indians locked down Brad Hand to fortify their bullpen. This is despite teams having the now-defunct option of trading through waivers in August.

With time to spare in 2018, the New York Yankees also bolstered their pitching staff by acquiring J.A. Happ and Zach Britton. While the Bronx Bombers are still seeking pitching upgrades this season, they made this season's first biggest splash at the plate.

Edwin Encarnacion to New York Yankees

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The Yankees hardly needed another big bopper, but that didn't stop them from attaining Edwin Encarnacion. On June 19, they sent 19-year-old pitching prospect Juan Then and cash to the Seattle Mariners for the 36-year-old designated hitter.

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman gave a simple explanation for the maneuver to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

"Encarnacion can impact our roster in a significant way even though [offense was] not an area of weakness," Cashman said. "It drives that level to an even higher level and it was not cost prohibitive, so we did it."

Acquired from Seattle two years ago, Then was ranked as New York's No. 27 prospect on MLB Pipeline, per MLB.com's Russell Dorsey. Fifteen of the Yankees' current top-20 prospects are right-handed pitchers, so they had plenty of depth to justify the luxury purchase.

Encarnacion is yet to find his footing in the Big Apple, hitting just .197 in 30 games. He has also belted nine homers, securing his eighth straight season with at least 30 long balls. 

In hindsight, they might need his bat more than anyone initially thought. Giancarlo Stanton's return didn't last long, as he promptly went back on the injured list with a knee injury in late June. Gary Sanchez recently joined his teammate with a Grade 1 groin strain.

Expect Cashman to turn his sights to the rotation, especially after watching James Paxton, Domingo German and Masahiro Tanaka get gashed for seven, eight and 12 runs, respectively, this week.

Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the Yankees are interested in Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler but are "dubious" that the New York Mets will move either within the state. They have also reached out to the Arizona Diamondbacks regarding Robbie Ray, according to MLB Network's Jon Morosi.

Homer Bailey to Oakland Athletics

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While the Oakland Athletics' starting rotation has managed a solid 4.21 ERA as of Friday, they also brandish a 5.00 skill-interactive ERA (SIERA) and MLB-worst 6.8 strikeouts per nine innings, per FanGraphs.

Staff ace Frankie Montas is serving an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs, and top prospect Jesus Luzardo suffered an injury setback earlier this month.

Never an organization known to spend aggressively, the Athletics went cheap by acquiring Homer Bailey from the Kansas City Royals. Per ESPN's Jeff Passan, they're on the hook for $250,000 of the 33-year-old's one-year minimum contract.

Oakland exchanged Kevin Merrell, now Kansas City's No. 14-ranked prospect on MLB.com. The 23-year-old middle infielder was batting .246/.292/.339 for Oakland's Double-A affiliate.

So far, this is a case of the A's getting what they paid for. After allowing two runs over six solid innings against Seattle in his team debut, Bailey got decimated for nine runs by the Houston Astros on Monday. His 2019 ERA increased to 5.42.

It's nevertheless a reasonable low-cost gamble. Bailey had posted a 3.35 ERA in eight starts before the trade, so perhaps he still gives them some serviceable turns as a back-end depth piece. However, he's unlikely to make a major mark in Oakland's AL wild-card pursuit.

Andrew Cashner to Boston Red Sox

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On July 13, a day before the Bailey deal, the Boston Red Sox snatched another veteran starter from the market by acquiring Andrew Cashner from the Baltimore Orioles.

Like Bailey, Cashner bolstered his appeal by delivering a 1.40 ERA in five starts before the AL East swap. He has also fallen on hard times since the transaction, surrendering 24 combined hits and 13 runs in three outings.

Unless he somehow unlocks a 2020 vesting option by pitching 100 more innings this season, Cashner will hit free agency this offseason. As a result, Boston paid a pair of 17-year-old prospects in outfielder Elio Prado and infielder Noelberth Romero. Neither ranks among Baltimore's top-30 farmhands on MLB.com.

While a low-cost move falls in line with Oakland's reputation, Red Sox fans will likely want a bigger splash from the defending champions. Given the circumstances, their deadline may not get any more exciting.

Following June's amateur draft, Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter labeled Boston's farm system as MLB's worst.

Team president Dave Dombrowski likely doesn't have enough talent to swing a blockbuster for an ace or star closer.

Besides, he doesn't think his squad needs to fill any major holes despite the tenuous bullpen:

The Red Sox have also fallen too far behind the Yankees to reasonably compete for anything beyond the wild card. As one of four teams separated by one game, now's not the time to forfeit premium prospects for a deadline rental.

Cashner, who ceded a 5.29 ERA last season, is unlikely to significantly help a rotation suffering from Rick Porcello's disastrous 5.55 ERA. Boston is also unlikely to do anything else about it before 4 p.m. ET Wednesday.