Every year, there are a flurry of moves made in late July by contenders in an effort to add that one missing piece to get to the playoffs and attempt to win the World Series. But I was thinking today: how many of these deals actually end up mattering at the end of the day? Here’s a list of last year’s deadline deals, and a brief analysis on their impact on the teams involved. Note: I only looked at the deals that happened in the final week of July (25-31), to reiterate the “deadline deal” part of the premise. We’re going to look at the deals before the 30th today, and we’ll look at the 30th and 31st tomorrow.
Diamondbacks trade Dan Haren to Angels for Tyler Skaggs, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and Joe Saunders
If Dan Haren is still a Diamonback today, the team is probably leading the NL West. Saunders has been adequate for Arizona, but nowhere near as good as Haren has been for the Angels, where he’s been one of the best pitchers in baseballl. Anaheim ended up missing the playoffs last year, and is in a dogfight for the AL West crown with the Rangers this season. Haren has been a big part of that. As for the prospects, Skaggs has blossomed into one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, striking out more than a batter per inning, keeping his walks in check, and keeping the ball in the park. Corbin has been solid in AA for the Diamondbacks as well. Rodriguez was a throw-in. I’d say this trade has worked out well for both teams, as they are both in contention a year later, while the Diamondbacks are in contention with a nice future set up for themselves.
Indians trade Jhonny Peralta to Tigers for Giovanni Soto
No, not Geovany Soto…but a minor leaguer with the same name. He hasn’t pitched since the beginning of June, but struck out a batter per inning with a good walk ratio while healthy. But Peralta? He’s been worth 4.4 fWAR as a Tiger in 157 games, and has been one of the best shortstops in the American League. The Indians are in good shape at short with Asdrubal Cabrera, but you have to think they wouldn’t mind having him at third base right now in place of the anemic hitting Jack Hannahan. If Cleveland loses the division by a game or two to the Tigers, the Peralta trade will be a big reason why.
Orioles trade Miguel Tejada to the Padres for Wynn Pelzer
This one didn’t work out too well for San Diego. They needed a good hitting shortstop down the stretch, and went with Tejada. He improved on his hideous Orioles numbers with the Padres, posting a .730 OPS, but at the end of the day, it wasn’t enough and the Padres missed the playoffs by a game. They’re awful this year, and Tejada is a member of the defending World Champion Giants….and that’s a good thing for the Padres, as he has been absolutely terrble this year. Pelzer is a 25 year old in AA with an ERA over 4.00 and a high walk rate. Yeah, no big loss there.
Nationals trade Matt Capps to Twins for Wilson Ramos and Joe Testa
Ramos was deemed to be expendable by the Twins due to the presence of Joe Mauer behind the plate. This year, Mauer has dealt with injuries and has a .708 OPS. His backups, Rene Rivera, Steve Holm, and Drew Butera, are having problems putting up an OPS of .500. Minnesota could really use Ramos right now, as he is more than holding his own behind the plate for Washington with a .744 OPS and looks like their catcher of the future. Capps was great for Minnesota after the trade last season, putting up an ERA of 2.00 down the stretch for the Twinkies while saving 16 games with Joe Nathan recovering from Tommy John surgery. Minnesota would be ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Yankees. As for this year, Capps has a 4.24 ERA and a strikeout rate of 4.44. He’s been a drain on their bullpen, and the team would kill to not have him on the team anymore. Testa is a 25 year old in A-ball. Don’t get excited.
Marlins trade Jorge Cantu to Rangers for Evan Reed and Omar Poveda
The Rangers won the AL pennant, but it wasn’t because of Cantu: his line as a Ranger was .235/.279/.327. He signed with the Padres this offseason, and was released in June after a .517 OPS in 57 games. Reed has thrown 9 2/3 innings for the Marlins organization, Poveda was traded while recovering from Tommy John surgery, and is just getting back to starting this year after missing all of 2010. Wow, that’s the best you can do for Cantu? You get what you pay for, I guess.
Astros trade Roy Oswalt to Phillies for Anthony Gose, Jonathan Villar and JA Happ
The Phillies wanted to strengthen their rotation for some reason, so they went out and traded for long-time Astros ace Roy Oswalt. Oswalt kept his end of the bargain as a #3 behind Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels, with a 7-1 record and a 1.74 ERA as a Phillie in 2010. This season, he was part of the infamous “four aces” in Philadelphia, but went on the DL after only 13 starts and a 3.79 ERA. He’s currently rehabbing in AAA with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. Philly lost in the NLCS to the Giants last year, and look to be poised to make another deep playoff run this year, with or without Oswalt. He’d probably end up in the bullpen during the playoffs if healthy anyway. As for Houston’s return, it was centered around JA Happ….and he hasn’t been too good as an Astro, with a walk rate above 4.00 since coming to Houston and a 5.14 ERA in 34 starts. Gose was traded to Toronto for Brett Wallace, who can’t field, can’t run, and apparently can’t hit either, with a .720 OPS on the season. Villar’s bat has matured a little since the trade, but has struck out 120 times in 385 at bats, which is less than suitable for a guy who’s strength is his speed.
Overall verdict on the early trades? The Diamondbacks and Angels didn’t benefit at all last year, but both are benefitting this year. The Indians shot themselves in the foot. The Padres tried to improve for a stretch run, and fell flat. The Twins made their team better briefly last year, but are paying for it this year. The Rangers tried to upgrade and failed miserably, at little cost. And the Phillies made a great acquisition while paying peanuts.
I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at the deals on July 30 and 31, 2010.
