The MLB trade deadline came and went Thursday afternoon and, wow, what a day. There were rumors of who might be traded, who would sell and who would buy, but the days leading up to the deadline were pretty quiet. Then, things got real. Real real. All in all, 12 trades were completed yesterday involving 18 teams. There were 37 players, including seven current or former All Stars, moved to new teams.
Billy Beane and the Oakland Athletics led things off sending Yoenis Cespedes to Boston for Jon Lester and Johnny Gomes. Mr. Moneyball has a reputation for making bold moves. He’s the best GM in the game. So it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that he is going all in on this season’s Work Series run. There was already talk that the A’s would try to trade Cespedes during the offseason. Yesterday, they decided that it was time to move him and put another ace in their already stellar rotation. Good luck to everyone else in the AL West, you’re going to need it.
While the baseball world was admiring the Athletics’ starting rotation the Tigers countered with a bombshell of their own. Detroit was able to add David Price in a three-team deal that sent Austin Jackson to the Mariners and Nick Franklin, Drew Smyly and Willy Adames to Tampa Bay. It will be debated for a while whether or not Tampa got enough in return for Price. Time will tell.
Lester to Oakland and Price to Detroit were the two blockbuster deals that sent shockwaves through the American League. Take a look at the comparison between the two starting rotations.
Oakland’s Billy Beane and Detroit’s Dave Dombrowski are two of the best general managers in baseball. They still found time to joke with eachother during the hectic afternoon:
Here’s to hoping these two teams make it to the ALCS. Right now, it seems unlikely that either team will lose a postseason series before the matchup.
Another bold move was the Cardinals trading Allen Craig and Joe Kelly to Boston in exchange for John Lackey and Corey Littrell. Craig is a guy loved by St. Louis fans and his teammates but he has struggled mightily this season. Maybe he can turn it around in Boston.
Speaking of Boston, the Red Sox might have had the best trade deadline day. They are not going to make the playoffs this year so they stocked up for next year and the future. In addition to Cespedes, Craig and Kelly they also landed Kelly Johnson and were able to flip lefty reliever, Andrew Miller, to the Orioles for their third ranked prospect, Eduardo Rodriguez. The Red Sox basically took care of their winter shopping yesterday.
The biggest loser yesterday was the Philadelphia Phillies. Like Boston, they have no hope of making the playoffs this season. With the third highest payroll in the game and an aging roster, the Phillies did nothing. Unlike the Red Sox the Phillies were not able to shed payroll or collect talent for the future. They can, and should, pull off some deals through the waiver process. Right now they just seem like an organization that doesn’t care and their fans are feeling the same way.
It’s easy to see the Athletics, Tigers and Red Sox were all winners yesterday. Below is a run down of all the transactions including the ones previously mentioned.
In a three-way trade, Tigers acquire David Price, Mariners acquire Austin Jackson and Rays acquire Nick Franklin, Drew Smyly and Willy Adames.
A’s acquire Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes from Red Sox for Yoenis Cespedes.
Cardinals acquire John Lackey, Corey Littrell from Red Sox for Allen Craig, Joe Kelly
Yankees acquire Martin Prado from D-backs for Peter O’Brien.
Marlins acquire Jarred Cosart, Enrique Hernandez, Austin Wates from Astros for Jake Marisnick, Colin Moran, Francis Martes and a 2015 competitive balance pick.
Braves acquire James Russell, Emilio Bonifacio from Cubs for Victor Caratini.
Nationals acquire Asdrubal Cabrera from Indians for Zach Walters.
Mariners acquire Chris Denorfia from Padres for Stephen Kohlscheen and Abraham Almonte.
Orioles acquire Andrew Miller from Red Sox for Eduardo Rodriguez.
Yankees acquire Stephen Drew from Red Sox for Kelly Johnson.
Twins acquire Tommy Milone from A’s for Sam Fuld.
Brewers acquire Gerardo Parra from D-backs for Mitch Haniger and Anthony Banda.
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*Featured image credit: Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
