Winners, Losers at the Trade Deadline

Winner: Boston Red Sox

Yoenis Cespedes
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When any team trades three pitchers who started a game in the World Series for them the season before, you expect the worst. However, the Red Sox got back great pieces. Yoenis Cespedes is a very good player and is now playing in a pitchers park. He will be an All-Star playing in Fenway Park. His power numbers will surge being able to pull the ball off and over the Green Monster. Not only that, Cespedes is a good defender with a cannon of an arm. Joining Cespedes in the Red Sox outfield is Allen Craig. Craig has struggled this season after being an All-Star last year. However, he has not been fully healthy this year. There is a very good chance Craig returns, either this year or next year, to being a very good hitter. The one thing I wonder about getting Cespedes and Craig is that they are joining an outfield with lots of young players. I think getting rid of Stephen Drew is a smart move. He was stalling the progress of their young players. I think they could have gotten more for Andrew Miller. 

Winner: Oakland Athletics

Jon Lester is a huge pick-up for the Athletics. They have always struggled in October.  He is a big-game pitcher who is having a fantastic season. Jonny Gomes is also a nice pick-up as a platoon player. He hits southpaws very well. You also have to remember that the Athletics also picked up Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel earlier in the month. My one problem with the Lester deal is the man the A's gave up: Yoenis Cespedes. As I already discussed, Cespedes is an All-Star talent. I never though that Cespedes would be out of Oakland so quickly. He is a free agent after next season, so the A's would have had at least until next July before they thought about trading him. The A's also got Sam Fuld from the Twins for Tommy Milone. Fuld was released by the A's earlier in the year, so reacquiring him is interesting. He will most likely platoon with Gomes in left field. The Athletics are in win now mode and you cannot blame them for it. 

Winner: Detroit Tigers

David Price
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I am all in on the Tigers. Their rotation looks dominant, absolutely dominant. 2011 Cy Young and MVP Justin Verlander, 2012 Cy Young Winner David Price, 2013 Cy Young Winner Max Scherzer, 2013 ERA Leader Anibal Sanchez, and Rick Porcello, who is in the middle of a career year. All five guys are top guys on any staff. The one factor I think goes under the radar is that one of those starters will be in the bullpen in the playoffs. I would assume it to be Porcello because he usually goes to pen in the playoffs. This would help the Tigers sketchy bullpen. Remember, they also added Joakim Soria earlier in the month. Even though he has struggled, he should be a good fit by playoff time. 

Winner: Seattle Mariners 

The Mariners did not make any big splashes, but they made key moves to help them down the stretch. They traded for Chris Denorfia, a versatile outfielder, who will be a good fit with them. And then they joined in on the David Price deal, acquiring CF Austin Jackson from Detroit and only giving up Nick Franklin. Jackson has struggled the past two years after three good seasons. Lloyd McClendon was the hitting coach in Detroit before becoming the manager of Seattle before the season. If anyone could help fix Jackson's hitting woes, it would be McClendon. Also, Jackson fills two major needs for Seattle: Right Handed Bat and Center Fielder. He improves the Mariners and makes them a bigger player in the playoff hunt.

Winner: Milwaukee Brewers

Gerardo Parra
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On a day where Lester and Price captured the headlines, the Brewers made an under-the-radar trade that will pay dividends in the playoff race and in the playoffs. They acquired OF Gerardo Parra from Arizona for two minor leaguers, LHP Anthony Banda and OF Mitch Haniger. I would expect Parra to take over Khris Davis' spot in left field or move Ryan Braun back to left (where he played from 2008-12) and put Parra in right. Parra is going to be an impact player for Brewers. He is fantastic defender with a rocket arm and a decent hitter at the plate. Plus, he bats left-handed, which is a surprising key. Scooter Gennett is the only usual starter that bats left handed so Parra gives the Brewers more lineup diversity. Parra will be a key for the Brewers down the stretch.

Loser: Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies desperately wanted to make a deal by the deadline, but they could not. They have been holding off rebuilding for a while and now that they are trying to, they cannot get anything done. They have a lot of parts that they could have gotten prospects and young players for. These include Marlon Byrd, Cliff Lee, Jimmy Rollins, Cole Hamels, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. The Phillies needed to make a move and were expected to make a move. The fact they didn't on a day with more then a dozen moves is shocking. They missed out big time.

Loser: Houston Astros

I really don't understand this trade. They traded RHP Jarred Cosart, UTL Enrique "Kike" Hernandez, and OF Austin Wates to Miami for 3B Colin Moran, OF Jake Marisnick, RHP Francis Martes, and a draft pick. Jarred Cosart is a top of the rotation pitcher and could be a team ace for the future. Hernandez was fantastic in Triple A (.337/.380/.508) before being moved up to the big club, where he has been playing well. He may become a important piece on a playoff team. Wates is a speedy outfielder currently in Triple-A that has potential. Those are three interesting players who may have been a part of the Astros future. Moran may be a good player, whilee Marisnick has big potential

Loser: Tampa Bay Rays

Willy Adames
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It is always tough to give away a franchise player, but you can always expect to get a lot in return. The Rays did not get a lot and that makes them losers at the deadline. They got middle infielder Nick Franklin from Seattle and LHP Drew Smyly and minor league SS Willy Adames from Detroit. Franklin hit extremely well in Triple-A last year, but hit .222 with Seattle in 2013 and .128 in 17 games with Seattle this year. He has potential, but he will need to hit to be a major league starter. Smyly is good starting pitcher, maybe a 3 or 4 starter, but no All-Star. The key piece for them is Adames. Adames is an 18-year old shortstop from the Dominican Repblic. He is currently in his second professional season. He played in Rookie ball in 2013, but was playing with the Tigers' Class A franchise this year. Adames is a raw talent and the Rays are clearly high on him. However, they could have definitely gotten at least one more player for Price. The Rays did not get enough for the Price deal to it to be considered at least somewhat successful.

Jury Out: New York Yankees

The Yankees picked up three hitters before the deadline: Chase Headley on July 22nd and Stephen Drew and Martin Prado today. Headley has played well in New York, but he will never play like he did in 2012. Of the three players, I like Martin Prado the best because he is the most versatile, is a very good fielder, and is good hitter. Stephen Drew is a great defender, but he has never played second base in the majors or the minors. He also has not hit at all this year. Time will tell whether these deal work out. The Yankees also picked up Brandon McCarthy on July 8th and he has been great, going 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA and a 3.05 FIP. 

Jury Out: St. Louis Cardinals

John Lackey
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The Cardinals made two moves for starting pitchers on the last two days before the deadline. They acquired RHP Justin Masterson from Cleveland for OF James Ramsey and then John Lackey and minor league LHP Corey Littrell from Boston for OF/1B Allen Craig and RHP Joe Kelly. These moves are clearly made to boost their rotation that experienced injuries and some struggles. However, their rotation has not been the problem, it is their line-up. They have had little slugging from them and have had difficulty scoring. They have the second-to-last runs scored in the majors with 387. Both starters they received are good but inconsistent. The big question is whether or not they missed out on an opportunity to get a bat. 

Jury Out: Washington Nationals 

With Ryan Zimmermann is out indefinitely, the Nats decided to go out and get infielder. They got Asdrubal Cabrera for the Indians for Zach Wolters. Cabrera, who was playing short in Cleveland, will be playing second base in Washington. That means Anthony Rendon will move to third base, where he is most comfortable. Cabrera has gold glove potential, but he is a streaky hitter. His versatility is a big key, but we need to see how he performs in DC to see if the Nationals are winners or losers. 

Winner: Baseball

What a day for baseball! After a very uneventful and boring deadline day last year, this deadline day was exciting, interesting, and fascinating. First the two big Red Sox deals, then the Price rumors with the smaller deals, and then 15 minutes before the deadline, the Price deal is made. The day was a roller coaster ride. These trades will impact teams for many years to come. This was the best trade deadline of any sport in years and a great day for baseball.