The Great Deadline Debate: AL Part II

So after a few days of bantering back and forth with Burga, we have agreed in principle to five trades so far. I will break down what they mean to the AL teams and why we offered, or accepted the deals that you see before you.


New York Yankees send OF Curtis Granderson to the Cincinnati Reds for SP Tony Cingrani
The key to this deal hinges on the Yankees admitting to themselves and their fan base that they are not in the hunt now, and will not be in the hunt later this season. If they want to rebuild they need to start now. Their minor league system is barren, and their rotation will be gone next season. Phil Hughes and Huroki Kuroda will be free agents, and Andy Pettitte is going to be 42 years old. With Michael Pineda hopefully coming back to full strength next season, the time is ripe to sell off their parts for pitching and the Reds have a plethora of pitching in the bigs and in their minor league system. This deal may not get done, but it is the type of deal the Yankees should consider making.

Detroit Tigers send prospects OF Austin Schotts and SP Casey Crosby to the Chicago Cubs for OF Alfonso Soriano and CP Kevin Gregg
Initially offered Avisail Garcia, but was countered with Austin Schotts. The idea here is that the Tigers have Austin Jackson in CF and Nick Castellanos coming up next year to man LF, so an OF prospect was dispensable. The Tigers rotation has also been solidified with Porcello emerging as a solid fifth starter, Casey Crosby could be dumped for relatively no harm, especially at the chance to win the World Series this season. Alfonso Soriano adds an extra HR power bat to LF to platoon with Andy Dirks and the occasional DH while Kevin Gregg reinforces their bullpen that has had trouble closing out games all season.

Cleveland Indians send Top Prospects SP Trevor Bauer and SS Francisco Lindor to the Philadelphia Phillies for SP Cliff Lee
This trade is really intriguing because the Indians find themselves only 4 games back and on the verge of the Wild Card race and an upgrade in the rotation is just what they need. Yeah, Kazmir and Ubaldo have been pitching well, but they are both implosions waiting to happen. Masterson is the only reliable arm in there and with the addition of Lee, the Indians could find themselves giving the Tigers a tough time. This would be an interesting deal because Lee would be returning to the team he first broke into the majors with and where he earned his first Cy Young award. The Indians can afford to part with Bauer (a 2012 top 5 pick) because, with his recent control issues, he looks a lot further away than expected, and Francisco Linor is also dispensable because they have a pair of younger SS prospects in Dorssys Paulino and Ronny Rodriguez.

Seattle Mariners send OFs Michael Morse and Raul Ibanez to the Pirates for OF Jose Tabata and OF Prospect Alex Dickerson
The Mariners just came off their best win streak in recent memory at 8 games, but they need to take an offer like this when they can. With Nick Franklin and Brad Miller emerging this season in the Middle Infield and Dustin Ackley, Justin Smoak and Mike Zunino producing at starting roles at CF, 1B, and C, the Mariners only need OF help to begin making their rebuilding process complete. Their minor league system is LOADED with pitching between Erasmo Ramirez, Brandon Maurer, Taijuan Walker and Danny Hultzen all poised to fill the rotation behind Felix, the Mariners are VERY close to the contending team they envisioned over the past 5 seasons. Dealing Ibanez an Morse doesn't hurt them and picking up Dickerson and Tabata will definitely help their OF in the next year or so.

Houston Astros send SP Bud Norris to the San Francisco Giants for SP Prospect Clayton Blackburn

The Astros do not have much to offer at the deadline, but Bud Norris could be considered hugely valuable with Garza, Feldman and likely Peavy coming off the board soon. The Astros system is stocked with OF George Springer close to the show and SS Carlos Correa a few years away, the Stros need only fill their rotation in order to start competing. With #1 pick Mark Appel working his way up and top prospect Jarred Cosart pitching effectively this season, picking up a prospect like Blackburn from the Giants can only help. The Giants have a lot of pitching in their farm and can afford to part with their #2-4 pitching prospect.