MLB Trade Deadline: Grading Every Contender's Deals at the Deadline

Did the acquisitions of Hunter Pence and Erik Bedard put the Phillies and Red Sox on course for an inevitable "Ben Franklin Series," or did some other teams do enough to put themselves in position to challenge for the pennant?

From the Pirates to the Phillies, the Tribe to the Sox, I'll grade the moves every contender and how well they did at the trade deadline.

Of course, first it needs to be stipulated what the criteria are. My grades will be given based on how much it does for them this season. Long-term values might be discussed, and overpaying can hurt the grade, but the grading will be based on how they improved this season. 

So without further ado, in alphabetical order, here are the grades for the contenders.  

Atlanta Braves, C-

Sometimes in baseball, you have to beware of optical illusions. Sometimes players just aren't as good as they seem to be. Some players are creations of their park. Michael Bourn is one of those players. 

Ignore the big numbers that Bourn has been putting up because they are being put up in one of the best parks for a lefthander to hit in the majors. His road numbers are what you need to look at, and his OPS on the road is a mere .728. His career OPS at Turner Field is .600.

Oh, but he's got those steals you say. According to Baseball Prospectus his equivalent stolen base runs (a measure of how many extra runs a player's base stealing has produced taking into account criteria like whether he would have scored anyway and runs he costs the team getting caught) is 2.3.

If you're expecting Bourn to go to Atlanta and put up big numbers, think again. He'll be pressed to reach average.

The Braves gave up four prospects for a slightly above average player that's not enough to put Atlanta into the second round of the playoffs.

Two more runs! Woohoo! When you factor in other base running decisions, he's a whopping 28th in the majors.  

Atlanta at this point shouldn't be considered a contender, but since they'll be in the playoffs, I gave them a grade. 

Arizona Diamondbacks, C

Arizona is a tough one to figure. The problem isn't the moves they made. They were decent moves.

Jason Marquis, when hot, is a very nice pitcher. When not, he's the MVP for the other team. Brad Zielger is a nice middle reliever. Ryan Langerhans is...well let's just leave it at he is. 

They marginally helped where they needed some help. The problem is that they are trying to keep up with San Francisco who did far more to help their team.

Already trailing in the standings, it's going to be even harder for them to catch up now.  

Boston Red Sox, C+

The Boston Red Sox nearly scored the coup of the trade season by scooping up Rich Harden until he failed his medical. So they moved on to Erik Bedard, another pitcher with potential to be great or be hurt.

The problem is that there's more chance of "hurt" and less chance of "great" with Bedard than with Harden.

They also added a couple of utility players in Josh Fields and Mike Aviles, but there's really no one special there.

In essence, they got what they needed in securing a starter that can spell them until Clay Buchholz comes back and if he doesn't. 

Bedard should fit in well with the Sox. He's not great, but he's good enough. Boston's only slightly better after the trades, but already the best team in baseball, they didn't have to improve a lot.   

Cleveland Indians, A-

This seems to be one of those trades that shows the media's costal bias. It's not about "West Coast" or "East Coast," it's just coastal. Usually it's between the coasts that there's a bias against, and the Ubaldo Jimenez trade is a prime example of that. 

The Indians acquisition is huge. If you don't believe me, imagine it was the Yankees that landed him. It would be the trade of the decade and blah blah and so on. Since it's Cleveland though, it's suddenly horrific, this crazy notion of trading prospects for a proven star.

Cleveland lacked a true ace in their rotation and by grabbing Jimenez, the Tribe upgrade their entire rotation because he moves to the top. 

Don't overlook the Kosuke Fukudome trade either. Fukudome has a decent OPS of .742. He adds an extra bat that the Indians can use.

The bottom line is that Cleveland might have done enough to put them over Detroit and into the playoffs, which might be a balm to the King James wounds of Cleveland.   

Detroit Tigers, D+

The Tigers overpaid to get a pitcher that benefits from playing in a pitcher's park. His OPS against on the road is 68 points higher than it is at home. Let's think for a moment here. Fister isn't going to be pitching a lot in Seattle anymore. 

His career ERA in Comerica Park is 6.92. Yeah, way to go Tigers! 

Fister makes them worse. Not better. 

Wilson Betemit, the man with two last names, helps them from getting a failing grade. Betemit is a decent journeyman who should provide some value to Detroit. 

On the whole though, Detroit and Cleveland were pretty even, and now they aren't. Cleveland got better, and Detroit may have gotten worse. Give the Central to Cleveland. 

Los Angeles Angels, F

Here's what no one is telling you. The thing that Jeff Weaver was really mad about is the Angels absolute failure to even attempt to do anything at the deadline.

LA has holes. They need a catcher, and they need an upgrade at third. They didn't get either.

If you're an Angels fan, wave goodbye to any postseason hopes. You're only two games behind Texas right now, and you won't get any closer.

Texas got better, and LA didn't. LA didn't even try.  

Milwaukee Brewers, C-

The Brewers got Francisco Rodriguez and Felipe Lopez. Neither player is what they once were, but Rodriguez is still in the realm of "good." Great is not there anymore though. 

The Brewers' pen is among the worst in the game, and adding Rodriguez will help some but not enough. It's not the moves they made that get them a C-; it's the moves they didn't make.

The Cardinals did more than they Brewers did, and the Brewers lead is tenuous anyway. 

Based on their Pythagorean Wins the Cardinals are a minus-2 and the Brewers a plus-5. That means the breaks have been going the Brewers way so far this season. Additionally, the Brewers road split is atrocious at 21-35.

These are the kinds of things that catch up to you as the season progresses. Milwaukee is poised for a late season slump, and they didn't do enough to avoid the inevitable.  

New York Yankees, Incomplete

Why doesn't the Yankees page show the newest Yankee? Because there isn't one.

New York showed a willingness to stick with the "Jeter" philosophy of holding on to their young developing players and for once, didn't do anything at the deadline. 

The thing is, they needed to. Boston was already better, and now they're even more better. Betterer?

However you say it, Boston has widened the gap, and the Yankees seemed content to let them. They get an incomplete. 

Philadelphia Phillies, C+

Here's another case of a big time coastal bias. On the Fox Broadcast of the Cardinals/Cubs game, they even argued that this made the Phillies unbeatable in the postseason. Unbeatable. 

It's Hunter Pence, not Albert Pujols we're talking about. 

Here's the important thing to note about Pence. His road OPS is .767. His home OPS is .872.

Raul Ibanez, the player whom he will be taking playing time from, is a notorious second-half player. Ibanez's career OPS in the second half is 24 points higher than the first half. So far this season, his second half OPS is .861. 

So we're talking about a potential of a nearly a 100-point drop in OPS, and that's supposed to make the Phillies unbeatable?

I don't think so. Pence gives Philly an extra bat, but he doesn't make them unbeatable. 

Pittsburgh Pirates, B-

I'll be honest with you. I graded Pittsburgh a little more generously because they're even able to get a grade, which for them means they've had an amazing season. Not amazing enough though. 

Let's take a reality check here. There are at least five teams better than the Bucs in the National League, and four of them did more to help themselves. Since there are only four playoff spots, that doesn't bode well for Pittsburgh. 

They add a couple of decent bats, er, a decent bat and a bat that used to be decent. Lee's had an average OPS of .736 the last two years. He's just not the Lee of hold. 

Ryan Ludwick on the other hand is a decent hitter. He also does quite well in PNC, hitting for an .833 OPS there over his career. Aside from that, San Diego is a hard place to hit and a great place to pitch. 

Look for him to rejuvenate in Pittsburgh but not enough to put the Pirates in the playoffs. 

San Francisco Giants, A

In my not-so-humble opinion, the San Francisco Giants got the best player of any team at the trade deadline. Carlos Beltran is a stud. Or should I say S.T.U.D. for Superb Trade At Deadline. 

Let's count the ways this is a great, not good, move for the Giants.

First, he's the best player acquired by any team at the deadline. Second, with Buster Posey gone it was a huge need for the Giants. Third, Beltran is huge in the postseason. 

What do I mean by huge? How does a 1.302 career postseason OPS sound.

"Hunter Pence? We don't need no stinkin' Hunter Pence," say the Giants.

They got Jeff Keppinger and Orlando Cabrera as well, which gives them some middle infield help, but that's negligible. They get an A based on Beltran alone.  It was more than enough to get some separation from the Diamondbacks.   

St. Louis Cardinals, A

It can be argued that while other teams did more to help individual facets of their teams, no team did more to improve all around than the Cardinals.

Edwin Jackson improves the rotation immediately and simultaneously the bullpen by freeing Kyle McClellan up to move back there. Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio further enhance the bullpen.

Rafael Furcal improves the team defensively and gives them a legit leadoff hitter for the first time in forever.

The Cards didn't just put themselves in position to win the Central, they put themselves in position to challenge Philadelphia and San Francisco for the pennant.   

Texas Rangers, A

The Rangers' biggest weakness was in the bullpen. They were ranked 11th in the AL in holds. Saying they filled that need is an enormous understatement. Suddenly they have arguably the two best setup men in baseball. 

While Neftali Feliz has had some struggles, most of those have come in the eighth inning, when Texas tried to extend him. His ninth inning ERA is 2.94. His eighth inning ERA is 16.24. Slight difference don't you think?

Adding Koji Uehara and Mike Adams means that he won't be seeing anything but the ninth inning anymore. 

The Rangers clinched the AL West between their great moves and Angels' ineptitude. They very much are in position to contend with the Red Sox for the AL Pennant.