This is the last part of the Great Deadline debate as Burga and I only have a few more teams to complete trades with. It is getting harder and harder to make deals happen as the bigger names come off the market. But here we go. These are the deals that have been completed so far.
Tampa Bay Rays trade SP Prospect Jake Odorizzi to the Milwaukee Brewers for 2B Rickie Weeks
At first you must be thinking, this is crazy why would the Rays trade for another INF when they have Escobar and Zobrist? Because they need another bat in the order and Weeks is exactly the guy the Rays like. The Rays love guys who hit HRs and strikeout a lot and Weeks fits in perfect. With Archer locking down a rotation spot for years to come they have solidified their rotation as Price, Hellickson, Archer, Cobb and Moore, so Odorizzi is expendable. Weeks will bring another power bat to this order that is desperately struggling to create offense.
Tampa Bay Rays trade SS Yunel Escobar to the St. Louis Cardinals for SP/RP Joe Kelly
This trade gets rid of the surplus infielder to bolster their bullpen. Kelly is a versatile arm who can work in long relief or spot start when needed. With the addition of Rickie Weeks, there were too many talented infielders, so now the Rays will move Zobrist back to SS and put Kelly in their bullpen. These are the types of moves the Rays need to make to put their team over the hump.
Oakland Athletics trade SP Daniel Straily and SP Prospect Raul Alcantara to the Miami Marlins for INF Placido Polanco and RP Chad Qualls
This trade is different because you see the As give him some top young players for two relatively old and unimportant guys. The reason behind this is that the As are really close being that they are on the verge of completely taking over the AL West. With Griffin, Parker, Colon, and Tommy Milone solidifying the front of their rotation and Brett Anderson on the verge of returning, the A's could afford to part with two of their pitching prospects. They still have Sonny Gray also waiting in the wings to join the rotation, so the deal doesn't hurt their farm too much. The addition of polanco really helps bring some much needed backup to all of the infield positions. Polanco can play 3B, 2B, 1B or DH for a team that doesn't really have any star egos that need to worry about being hurt, while Chad Qualls helps their bullpen which is always a need of a playoff team.
Baltimore Orioles trade SP Prospect Dylan Bundy to the Philadelphia Philles for 2B Chase Utley
This is the final piece of the puzzle for Baltimore. Competing in the toughest division in baseball, the O's need to make a run now while they have all their stars and young guys under contract for a few seasons. Picking up Chase Utley will give them yet another scary threat in the middle of the order to hit in front of Adam Jones. Parting with top prospect Dylan Bundy is tough, but considering he just underwent Tommy John, he won't be helping the team anytime soon and is just what the Phillies need to work with for their future. They still have 1st Round pick from last year Kevin Gausman who is ready to make the jump to the rotation next year an adding Utley will surely make them one of the favorites in the AL. This trade probably won't happen, but would be amazing if it did.
Minnesota Twins trade 1B Justin Mornea to the Washington Nationals for SP Prospect AJ Cole
The Nationals are panicking. They finally have their whole team healthy and STILL cannot score runs. Adam Laroche is pathetic he simply is too inconsistent to be a significant piece to a playoff team. Adding Morneau not only brings a reliable left handed bat who can hit for power, but it wisens their locker room and provides a little more leadership from a guy who has been in a number of wild card races. This move really helps the Twins because they have 5 of the top 50 prospects in baseball and adding AJ Cole would make them poised to be at the top of the AL Central by 2015 with the Tigers aging quickly. Cole is exactly the arm they need behind Kyle Gibson.
Texas Rangers Trade INF Prospect Joey Gallo to the Phillies for INF Michael Young
This trade is great because the Rangers get a Utility man in Lee that they can use at any infield position and with Nelson Cruz likely facing a suspension, they need another offensive weapon like Young. Young has already admitted that he would rather go to his old team in the Rangers and Gallo, although was a first round pick, will have a tough time cracking this infield with Kinsler, Beltre, Andrus, and Profar holding it down for a while. The trade helps both sides as the Phillies are still in the process of rebuilding.
Chicago White Sox trade SP Jake Peavy to the Arizona Diamonbacks for SP Prospect Tyler Skaggs and OF AJ Pollock
This trade helps the Diamondbacks because they clearly need the rotation help. Before the season, Corbin, Kennedy, Cahill, Miley and McCarthy were supposed to lead the way. So far only Corbin has lived up to expectations and Peavy would be just the arm they need to make a postseason push. Peavy brings experience in the NL West from when he played with the Padres and with Randall Delgado and Archie Bradley in their minor league system, the DBacks can afford to part with the top prospect Skaggs. They also have an overpopulated outfield with Parra, Eaton, Ross, Kubel and Pollock shagging flies. Pollock is young enough to help reshape the White Sox future and Skaggs could look to lineup as a solid 3-4 behind Chris Sale and JR Graham
Toronto Blue Jays trade SP Mark Buehrle to the Colorado Rockies for 2011 INF Prospect Trevor Story
The Blue Jays need to abandon ship. The Orioles, Rays and Red Sox are churning on all cylinders and are only getting better with their minor league stars coming into play in the next couple years. The Yankees are going to spend to get back to the top. The Jays need to retool for the late future. They need to pickup players that won't be contributing for another 3-4 years and that is what former first round pick Trevor Story brings. He will hopefully take over SS when Reyes is too old to contribute or play short and will likely produce well enough to hit in the top of the order. Buerhle is an old arm and helps a Rockies team who is good enough to still compete, but not good enough to go all in on a few stars. This move works well for both teams and could help bring some consistency to the Rockies who are in a division with such volatile teams.
And so this wraps up Burga and Heat's Great Deadline Debate. Pay attention tomorrow to see how many players we predicted to get traded end up moving. So far none of our deals have panned out in real life yet but several of the players in our deals have gone on the move. Most notably:
Jake Peavy to the Red Sox
Jose Iglesias to the Tigers
Avisail Garcia to the White Sox
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