MLB Trade Dealine: How the Indians and Pirates Became Contenders at the Deadline

The Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates were laughed at in 2010. The Indians were bad at 69-93, but the Pirates finished with the worst record in the majors at 57-105 and secured their 18th consecutive losing season. For the last few years, both teams were sellers in July, shipping off their talent for other clubs to benefit. Now, they are poised to make moves of their own to add players for a playoff run.

The Indians last made the playoffs in 2007, with a team that featured CC Sabathia, Cliff Lee, Jhonny Peralta and Franklin Gutierrez (Side note: Cliff Lee's ERA was 6.29 that season). CC Sabathia won his first and only Cy Young that year. This story starts before all of that though. This story begins at the trade deadline in 2002.

The Montreal Expos were brimming with minor league talent, but needed an ace, so they traded Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee and Brandon Phillips to the Indians for Bartolo Colon, who had another year of team control beyond the 2002 season. Grady Sizemore and Cliff Lee became stars for the Indians, but set up more. Four years later, the Indians dealt Eduardo Perez to the Mariners in June and Ben Broussard to the Mariners in July to acquire shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

Flash forward again to 2008, where the Indians were struggling and had incumbent Cy Young winner CC Sabathia in his final year before free agency. The Indians turn Sabathia into outfielder (now first baseman) Matt LaPorta and left/center fielder Michael Brantley, among others. A smaller, but more valuable trade took place later that month with the Indians trading Casey Blake for catcher Carlos Santana.

A year later, the Indians became sellers again at the deadline and started a fire sale. Cliff Lee went to the Phillies for starter Carlos Carrasco and bench players Jason Donald and Lou Marson. Mark DeRosa was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for closer Chris Perez and Victor Martinez was traded to the Red Sox for starter Justin Masterson. A small trade that paid off in 2010 was one that sent Russel Branyan to the Mariners and gave the Indians Ezequiel Carrera.

Now, the spoils are starting to bear fruit. Asdrubal Cabrera burst out of the gates as a potential MVP candidate and started the 2011 All-Star game. Michael Brantley and Matt LaPorta have emerged as every day players. Carlos Santana is one of the best young catchers in the game. Justin Masterson and Carlos Carrasco have pitched phenomenally and Chris Perez is sixth in the AL in saves, but has only blown two in 24 chances.

Moving on to the Pirates, things have been dire for almost as long as I have been alive. The last time the Pirates made the playoffs, they were in the NL East. That was almost 19 years ago and the Pirates haven't had a winning season since.

The words, "fire sale," are nothing new for Pirates fans. The past few years have seemed like the Marlins in the 90s, where any marginally talented player would be immediately traded away. The Pirates can give a majority of the credit for their current success to Neal Huntington, a former Indians scout who now serves as the GM of the Pirates.

Mid-season deals have become the norm in Pittsburgh. The first year Huntington attempted to replace every player on the roster was in 2008. In one of the most underrated trades of the past few years, the Yankees populated the Pirates farm with Jose Tabata, Daniel McCutchen, Jeff Karstens and Ross Ohlendorf. Oddly enough, their trade of superstar (at the time) left fielder Jason Bay has had no bearing on the current roster.

In 2009 this was a similar theme, but more players were shipped off. Nate McLouth was the first to go in early June in return for Charlie Morton and Gorkys Hernandez. Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett went to the Nationals in exchange for closer Joel Hanrahan and (now gone) Lastings Milledge. Eric Hinske was traded to the Yankees for a couple of no name guys. Adam LaRoche was traded to the Red Sox for two others that haven't done anything. Jack Wilson and Ian Snell were traded to the Mariners for Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement, Nathan Adcock and others. Freddy Sanchez, Tom Gorzelanny and John Grabow were traded for Tim Alderson, Jose Ascanio and Kevin Hart.

The Pirates found some more people to sell in 2010. Javier Lopez went to the Giants for John Bowker and Joe Martinez. Bobby Crosby, DJ Carrasco and Ryan Church went to the Diamondbacks for Chris Snyder and Pedro Ciriaco.

The Pirates are in first place right now because they had the guts to sell at the deadline. Jeff Karstens is one of the best pitchers in the NL this year at 8-5 with a 2.28 ERA. Charlie Morton is also 8-5, but with a 3.69 ERA. James McDonald has also made contributions, but they haven't been as good. Tabata is on the DL now, but is a star in the making in left field. Nate McLouth's trade may have been the greatest move they made. Andrew McCutchen got a chance to replace him and has been the best player on the team. Joel Hanrahan is now one of the best closers in the NL and was an All-Star.

It's clear that deadline sellers have become the clear winners. The Pirates and Indians have followed the Rays method by increasing their value by improving just a little on a lot of deals. The moves have added up to form two teams that are pushing for the playoffs. Manny Acta and Clint Hurdle are a factor in the improvement, but the GMs have taken the risks to improve their clubs.

The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros look like teams that could prepare for the same blow-ups to rebuild for the future. The Astros may be hesitant, but trading Wandy Rodriguez, Brett Myers and Hunter Pence could change their future outlook. They already took the first steps by getting rid of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman. Now they need to take the next leap.