S3F Tackles the 2008 Trade Deadline

Has MLB ever seen a better in-season flurry of trades than 2008? A reigning Cy Young Winner, a 600+ HR hitter, a 500+ HR hitter/World Series MVP, a Hall of Fame catcher, a 1B good enough to want a 10-year contract (with help from Scott Boras)…you get the picture. We were going to ask for Steve Phillips’ expert opinion on the deals, but…we realized that, well, wasn’t exactly expert opinion. So Zito, mission, and I decided to take things into our own hands. Here’s your analysis of the big deals from 2008.


BROWNTOWN'S THOUGHTS

Dodgers get LF Manny Ramirez
Red Sox get LF Jason Bay
Pirates get 3B Andy LaRoche, P Bryan Morris, P Craig Hansen, OF Brandon Moss

The biggest deadline deal in years is arguably the biggest deal of the year. Manny Ramirez will go down in history as one of the greatest right-handed hitters ever and one of the best players in Red Sox history, but his “Manny being Manny” antics had clearly riled up everyone too much in Beantown. A change was imminent, and while at first glance it seems Boston gave up a hell of a lot to get Jason Bay, it’s a good long-term deal for them. Moss and Hansen are probably no more than B-level prospects, and Bay is already a star player. It’s a wonderful deal for the Dodgers though, who get Manny essentially free for the rest of the season. There’s no question in my mind Manny will be extremely motivated in LA, both to get a new contract and to stick it to the Sox. He’s already hustling out ground balls!! Stop the presses!! Throughout the whole Manny trade talks, I felt like Pittsburgh was the proverbial third wheel. I’d love to say they got some good prospects here, but the Pirates have been where ‘spects go to die far too often. Andy LaRoche looks very promising, but he’s the only guy here in the Baseball America Top 100 at #31. Morris is still in low A ball, Moss doesn’t look like much more than an OK 3rd outfielder, and Hansen’s control is all over the place. I like Neal Huntington, but until these guys do anything I’m not convinced that Pittsburgh made off great here, because, well, it’s Pittsburgh. Look for LA to ride Manny to an NL West championship and Bay to be a solid performer in Boston in the long-term, although nobody should expect him to be Manny.

Winners: Boston for getting rid of Manny, LA for getting Manny at no monetary cost, the Yankees for not having to face Manny 19 times a year anymore, LA fans for getting to see less of Andruw Jones and Juan Pierre
Losers: Pittsburgh for not getting great prospects, Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier for losing playing time

Brewers get SP CC Sabathia
Indians get OF Matt LaPorta, RHP Rob Bryson, LHP Zach Jackson, PTBNL

Since joining the Brewers, CC Sabathia has dropped the periods from his first name, but more importantly pitched like the Cy Young he was last season. Here are his numbers in 6 starts: 5-0, 3 CG, 1 SHO, 48 IP, 35 H, 43 K, 1.88 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 231 ERA+. Yikes. The Brewers probably won’t re-sign Sabathia, but they still get two draft picks if they offer him arbitration. As for Cleveland, they get a stud prospect in OF/1B LaPorta, who has massive power potential. Jackson is destined to probably be no more than a AAAA left-hander. Bryson could be a very impressive closing prospect, with 82 strikeouts in 66.1 IP and a stellar .199 AVG against. He has a bit of control issues but at only 20 could still get those ironed out and become a great big league reliever some day. Plus there’s the fact that they weren’t going to re-sign Sabathia anyway.

Winners: Brewers for getting an ace, Indians for getting two solid prospects back for a guy they weren’t going to re-sign
Losers: Periods

Cubs get SP Rich Harden, P Chad Gaudin
A's get SP Sean Gallagher, OF Matt Murton, 2B/OF Eric Patterson, C Josh Donaldson

Ah, Rich Harden, one of the toughest players in baseball to analyze. On one hand you have the guy who’s absolutely dominant when healthy, on the other hand is the guy who’s practically never healthy. Harden has been nearly as good as Sabathia in the NL with a sparkling 2.10 ERA and 47 Ks in 30 innings with a 1.03 WHIP for the Cubbies. I like the move a lot for Chicago as it gives them a second legitimate front-of-the-rotation starter to go with the Big Z, not to mention Ryan Dempster who’s also having a career year. That’s an absolutely filthy Top 3 for the Cubbies if (when) they make the postseason. Almost an afterthought in this deal was Gaudin who is putting up some awesome numbers with Chicago to the tune of a 1.84 ERA in 13 games with a 0.81 WHIP. Gaudin sported a 3.24 ERA with Oakland last year and it’s shocking to see the A’s include him as practically a throw-in here. You figure Billy Beane usually knows what he’s doing, but this isn’t a particularly strong group of players he’s getting back here. The Cubs get a high-risk, high-reward player in Harden and give up guys who were pretty much blocked by other players. Oakland probably just got fed up with Harden being injury prone and figured they’d get something for him while they could. Gallagher could be a very good starter though and the bottom line is you should never doubt Billy Beane.

Winners: Cubs for getting a dominant starter for the postseason run
Losers: Matt Murton’s Chicago based fan club

Phillies get SP Joe Blanton
A's get 2B Adrian Cardenas, LHP Josh Outman, OF Matt Spencer

That’s the Billy Beane we know! Cardenas is rated the Phillies’ best prospect, even if he is in A ball. Sure, he was being blocked by Chase Utley at the big league level, but a lot can happen between A ball and the bigs. Besides, Blanton posted an OPS+ of 79 while pitching in the spacious Oakland Coliseum. What makes anyone think he’ll do better in the Great American Sandbox? By the way…is there a better last name for a pitcher than “Outman?”

Winners: A’s for getting some value for a below-average pitcher, Phillies fans in the outfield seats
Losers: Phillies

Brewers get 2B Ray Durham
Giants get LHP Steve Hammond, OF Darren Ford

Ray Durham may be pushing 37, but at least he was hitting above league average this year. A lot of people have always liked Rickie Weeks as a future star, but the future is certainly not now. Weeks’ numbers this year are ugly with an 89 OPS+ and a .223 average. Durham has been, well, pretty awful so far for Milwaukee with a .186 average and a 53 OPS+ in 26 at bats, but has always been a solidly above average hitter. San Francisco is probably just selling for the sake of selling here: neither Hammond nor Ford project out to be a great player, but there was really no point in them keeping Durham anyway.

Winners: Brewers for getting a solid second baseman to push Weeks
Losers: Giants fans against the rebuilding effort…so, nobody smart

Diamondbacks get RP Jon Rauch
Nationals get 2B Emilio Bonifacio

This is an under-the-radar, solid deal for Arizona. Rauch has a 2.96 ERA and a .099 WHIP in 55 games this season and immediately fills a bullpen void for the Diamondbacks. He could be the 8th-inning guy or closer by the end of the season and is only 29 years old, with many productive years ahead of him. Rauch was performing very well, very quietly with the horrific Nats. That begs the question: why would Washington unload him? Bonifacio is a 23-year old second baseman who’s already cracked the bigs (not hard to do with Washington), with good speed and defense. However, he’s got little power and may not be a good enough hitter to be a full-time player. You have to believe the Nats should have got a better haul with so many teams in the relief market.

Winners: Diamondbacks for getting a very good reliever
Losers: Jim Bowden (shocker) and the Nats

Yankees get OF Xavier Nady, RP Damaso Marte
Pirates get RHP Ross Ohlendorf, OF Jose Tabata, SP Jeff Karstens, SP Dan McCutchen

The X man may be having a career year, but he’s a monster of an upgrade over Brett Gardner or Justin Christian for the Yanks at the corner outfield. The addition of Nady allows the Yankees to probably take a pass on Bobby Abreu’s huge option for next season and stick Nady into RF for the foreseeable future. He has done nothing but mash since coming over with an OPS+ of 231!!! in 34 at-bats, including a couple clutch home runs. Overall, Nady is hitting at a .335 clip with a 150 OPS+ this season and is still only 29. Marte has struggled so far with the Yanks but has always been a fairly dependable lefty reliever. A career ERA+ of 137 and a 1.26 WHIP should let him slide into the setup role vacated by the now-departed Kyle Farnsworth. As for Pittsburgh, this was a much criticized deal for them with Tabata the only potential great player in the deal. However, he’s hitting worse than expected and is a head case with multiple off the field issues. Ohlendorf’s best-case scenario is probably a 7th inning guy or #5 starter, he has great stuff but is very inconsistent. Then you have Karstens, who just finished throwing 7.2 perfect innings against the D-Backs today. Still, he doesn’t project as a great or even good starter and will probably be at the back of Pittsburgh’s rotation. It’s a classic case of the Pirates selling for $0.75 on the dollar.

Winners: Yankees for adding two impact players, Nady for getting the reverse treatment from 2006 (out of a NY pennant race, now back into one)
Losers: Pirates, and their fans for seeing more good players go for little

Dodgers get 3B Casey Blake, CASH CONSIDERATIONS
Indians get RHP Jon Meloan, C Carlos "Black Magic Woman" Santana

The Dodgers get a solid player here in Blake to fill a void at third base. Blake is hitting .294 with a 119 OPS+ this year and 12 home runs, solid if not spectacular numbers. His problem is, according to Keith Law, “he’s a statue at third base.” Cleveland gets another good return here with Meloan who has a couple good pitches and could be a solid reliever, and Santana, a switch-hitting catcher who projects out to be an everyday player. Los Angeles definitely overpays for a solid veteran but we see with this and the Manny trade, they’re going for it this year, and in the NL, why not?

Winners: Indians, a couple solid prospects for an average player
Losers: Derek Lowe, this won’t help his ground ball defense

Angels get 1B Mark Teixeira
Braves get 1B Casey Kotchman, RHP Stephen Marek

The Angels made this move for one reason and reason alone, and that’s purely so they could win the World Series. They’ve got the AL West locked up but their only issue was a luck of run producers in the lineup. In Tex they get an excellent run producer who fits right into the middle of their lineup. It’s a bit out of character for Anaheim to make what is essentially a rental move here but it could be the move that puts them over the top. Casey Kotchman is a solid 25-year old first baseman who could become a pretty good player but he’ll never be the star that Teixeira already is. His OPS+ of 100 is squarely league-average and he’s off to an abysmal start with the Braves hitting .185 with a 51 OPS+. Stephen Marek is a near-25-year old in AA, and probably won’t be anything special, especially next year when he turns from prospect stars into overall stars…um, never mind.

Winners: Los Angeles, Anaheim, California, the United States, Earth, the Milky Way galaxy, and their hometown angels
Losers: Braves – Essentially they traded Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Beau Jones, Elvis Andrus, Matt Harrison, and Neftali Feliz for Casey Kotchman, Stephen Marek, and half a season of Ron Mahay. Eek.

Yankees get C Ivan Rodriguez
Tigers get RP Kyle Farnsworth

This was a completely out-of-nowhere move but a good one for the Yankees. The catching tandem of Jose Molina and Chad Moeller was an absolute offensive black hole and if nothing else Pudge gives them an average if not slightly better offensive catcher. His best defensive days are behind him but he can still throw out runners at a higher percentage than most. Farnsworth was the setup guy for New York but can be replaced by one of Marte, Veras, Bruney, Ramirez, etc. Detroit made this trade to try and bolster their bullpen, but Farnsworth has already blown a couple games for them. He’s been right around league average for relievers the last 3 seasons although he did enjoy some success in Detroit in the past. Both players are FAs at year’s end, and the Yankees will get compensation if they offer Pudge arbitration.

Winners: Yankees for getting a legitimate catcher,

Brandon Inge

Losers: Heart doctors of Tigers fans (just wait until Farnsworth takes the mound)

Mariners get OF Ken Griffey Jr.
Reds get RHP Nick Masset, INF Danny Richar

From an out-of-the-blue trade to…well, another out-of-the-blue deal, or out-of-the-red if you wanna go for the obvious pun. It’s hard to imagine that trading Ken Griffey Jr. could be considered a straight salary dump, but that’s pretty much what it is at this point. Neither Masset nor Richar are overwhelming and don’t project to be much more than OK major leaguers. As for Griffey, it’s really a bit hard to imagine what the White Sox are thinking here. LF Quentin, CF Swisher, RF Dye, 1B Konerko, DH Thome…where does he fit in? At this point I would say Junior is best-suited for part-time duty, but will he accept it? If he has to, I think so because he’ll be energized by the chance to chase that elusive ring, even if it is a bit of a longshot for Chicago.

Winners: Griffey Jr., he goes from the cellar to the top floor, or something like that
Losers: Nick Swisher, Paul Konerko, and Jim Thome

Marlins get LHP Arthur Rhodes
Mariners get RHP Gaby Hernandez

This is really a strange trade for the Marlins. This is the type of a deal that a buyer makes, trading for a 38 year old lefty reliever, yet Florida didn’t do anything else to solidify their buyer status. They have an intriguing team for the future (as usual) but it’s not like Arthur Rhodes is going to put them over the top this year. He’s having an excellent season so far but has been extremely up-and-down in his career. Hernandez has a couple decent pitches and could possibly be a solid player, and Seattle gets him in exchange for a 38-year-old situational lefty. That’s a good deal in my book.

Winners: Mariners, something that hasn’t happened often for them this year
Losers: Anyone expecting a 3rd big deal on deadline day

[Kingdom_of_Zito]

It's official, we're having one every year now. 2 for 2!

[realmofotalk]

Casey Blake has been just fine at third base. And I didn't see a whole lot of groundball defense today. I saw a lot of flyball homeruns given up by Lowe.

[Porter99]

I wish Griffey was in Seattle.

[missionhockey21]

I never got the chance to put it in my section (everyone, make sure to click over on the article for the other pages) but Jon Rauch had the best picture I encountered. Someone really needed to do a "Why So Serious?" edit:

[browntown653]

He practically already has a "Why so serious" edit.

[missionhockey21]

Yup, I am just talking about the paint on the face and such.

[Kingdom_of_Zito]

facebook has the joker graffiti application

[love_that_reefer]

I would have to say the Pirates were winners in the Bay trade. They got four usable players and freed up money for next year.
I don't think any Giants fans were sad to see Durham go but do think they could have gotten someone better.

[browntown653]

I guess I should give the Pirates an Incomplete in the Bay deal, as we will have to see if they do anything with that money. They're off to a good start though with Karstens pitching two gems in a row.

[Kingdom_of_Zito]

causing hank to go WHY DIDNT WE GIVE THEM PHIL HUGHES INSTEAD OF JEFF KARSTENS, WHO THE **** IS JEFF KARSTENS