MLB Power Rankings: The 5 Most Idiotic Moves of the Trade Deadline

Well, the trade deadline is done and dusted.

After reviewing the trades, I can't say there are too many that turned out terrible—but using a buzz word like idiotic is likely to drive a few more views and angry comments.

To be fair, I believe every team that needed to make a move did. Those that didn't obviously weren't blown away by the offers. This year everyone is valuing prospects over proven major leaguers, which is why very few trades involved swaps of big leaguers.

With that said, I present the five most idiotic moves of the trade deadline.

Giants Trade for Orlando Cabrera

This trade just doesn't make sense for me.

Why do the Giants need another middling veteran shortstop who can't hit for power?

Cabrera merely adds to the long line of mediocre guys to play up the middle for the Giants at some point this season. Can you say Emmanuel Burriss, Mike Fontenot, Bill Hall, Miguel Tejada, Brandon Crawford and Mark DeRosa?

Cabrera will be one in the same. He's got experience, but his bat won't take him very far.

Cardinals Trade for Rafael Furcal

This trade really doesn't work from both ends.

The Cardinals gave up a Double-A prospect for an oft-injured shortstop with a bloated contract. The Dodgers agreed to pay a good portion of Furcal's salary just to get rid of him.

Furcal had an ill-advised contract and it's good he's gone from the Dodgers, but I can't really fathom why the Cardinals want such an injury-prone player.

Rangers Trade for Koji Uehara

I like the trade, I just think the Rangers gave up wayyy too much.

Koji Uehara has thrown very well this year, leading all relievers in K/BB ratio, but the Rangers gave up two quality players for a pitcher who hasn't pitched for a contending team.

Tommy Hunter is a very good pitcher who could start for most teams and Chris Davis is still raw but has a massive upside. I think the Orioles did tremendous on the trade and the Rangers gave up far too much for a setup reliever.

Astros Trade Away Hunter Pence

Pence (and Bourne) was the one reason to watch the Astros, but and now Bourn's gone too. In his place the Astros got a bunch of high-risk, high-reward prospects.

The Astros, already lagging, have been set back a number of years by this trade. They didn't get any major league-level prospects and what they did receive could take two or more years to pan out.

The Phillies made the smart move but the Astros needed to demand someone like Vance Worley or Dominic Brown in return. With one of them, the Astros would have a major league-ready player and potential star.

Even if the Phillies thought the price was too high, Pence is under team control for a few more years, and it's not like the Astros were going to lose him after this season.

The Mets played the deadline smart, while the 'Stro's did just the opposite.

Cardinals Trade Colby Rasmus

Probably the dumbest of the whole deadline.

The Cardinals were evidently fed up with Colby Rasmus. The center fielder has star potential and a number of years under team control, but the Cardinals let him go for peanuts and a pittance.

Edwin Jackson is the one quality name the Cardinals received, but his wildness and inability to stay on one team indicates he's not likely to settle down.

Octavio Dotel was once dominant, but now he's just really wild reliever; Mike Rzepczynski is fine but not a playoff-caliber reliever; and Corey Patterson is a guy with a bunch of chances and little success.

It's obvious the Cardinals are only trying to win now, because if they don't, it could be a long time before they are competitive again.