MLB Trade Deadline Winners and Losers
MLB’s top three winners and losers after the trade deadline.
Winners
1) Texas Rangers: They were able to swing a deal for the best pitcher on the market, and one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, Cliff Lee. The Rangers have already shown that they have a fiery offense but now have added Lee to the lineup that already consisted of Rich Harden, C.J. Wilson and Tommy Hunter. Texas has now become a true all around threat and could definitely push the Yankees. Other than Lee, they were also able to add Bengie Molina, Jorge Cantu and Cristian Guzman…hmm more offense for an already great lineup, the Yankees should definitely be worried.
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2) Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies were able to land the next big name on the list, Roy Oswalt. This team has made the past two World Series but have not gotten off to such a great start this season. They are currently 2.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves but just added Oswalt to a starting rotation that already contains Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels. This may just be the best 1-2-3 punch in the major leagues and the Phillies should also be getting Chase Utley back soon. Philadelphia is a scary team and most likely will hit their hot streak pretty soon, giving them the opportunity to once again cruise to the World Series.
3) There are many teams that could grab this final spot: the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels or even the Los Angeles Dodgers, but with a little bias, I am going to give it to the San Diego Padres. As a Padres fan, I am excited by the moves that they were able to make. Going into the trade deadline they had the need for a starting pitcher and some offensive help from either an infielder or an outfielder. The Padres were able to pick up Miguel Tejada (SS-3B) and Ryan Ludwick (OF), who should fit into the lineup just wonderfully. Tejada is past his prime but should be an instant offensive upgrade over Everth Cabrera. Ludwick was a last minute pickup and should fit in great with the outfield rotation. Hopefully this gives a little boost to their offense and maybe they can fill their starting pitcher need off of waivers in August.
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Losers
1) San Francisco Giants: As of right now the Giants are 2 games behind the San Diego Padres in the NL West. They definitely have the ability to cause a showdown with San Diego but with very little trade deadline activity, the Giants may have hurt their chances. They have an above average pitching rotation but, just like the Padres, they need some offensive fire power. They were able to make trades for Javier Lopez and Ramon Ramirez, two relief pitchers. No offensive moves were made. I guess they will lean on Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres and Buster Posey.
2) Chicago White Sox/Minnesota Twins: This was a tie for me. Both organizations have solid teams but they are in a very tight race for the top spot in the AL Central. It is very unlikely that the loser of this race will overtake any of the AL East teams in the wild-card standings, therefore winning their division is extremely important. The White Sox picked up starting pitcher Edwin Jackson while the Twins got closer Matt Capps. Jackson accounts for one of the ”six” no-hitters thrown this season but is only 6-10 with an ugly 5.16 ERA. Capps should help out the Twins with Joe Nathan out for the season, but they gave up Wilson Ramos, a very intriguing, young catcher. This should also be a tight race until the very end.
3) Tampa Bay Rays: Tampa Bay is a great team, and most likely should make the playoffs, but they are in the same division as the New York Yankees. This season may be their best chance to win a championship with Carl Crawford most likely gone after this season. It would of been nice if the Rays could have swung a deal for another bat, especially with New York adding Lance Berkman to their already fierce batting lineup. Tampa Bay did make a trade for pitcher Chad Qualls, but he is not a big factor. It will be interesting to see if the Rays can give the Yankees a run for their money…their huge piles of money.
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