Ryan Dempster to the Rangers - Months before the trade deadline arrived, the rumors surrounding Cubs ace Ryan Dempster were unrelenting. The speculation was high that he would get traded, and seemingly before every start he made for Chicago, analysts and fans alike were asking each other if this would be the last time he would pitch for the North Siders. After going winless for most of the first half, he found himself leading all of baseball in ERA for a while, and it seemed that his trade value inflated exponentially as a result. The most persistent whispers were that he was going to either the Dodgers or the Braves, with several other teams also "in talks" with the Cubs about him. Dempster, a 10-and-5 player, had the ability to block any trade as he saw fit (any player who has been in the majors for 10 years and has been with his current team for 5 can do this, regardless of whatever legalese concerning trades is in their contracts), and when it was reported that the Cubbies had worked out a deal with the Braves to swap him for Randall Delgado, he was angry that the news went public before he had even been approached about such a trade. It never went through, and the rumor mill was churning out the news that he would most likely approve a trade to the Dodgers as a result. However, Los Angeles didn't want to include top pitching prospect Zach Cox to the Cubs for a 35 year old rental hurler, so that deal fell through as well. With just minutes to go before 4 PM on July 31st, and no deal in place anywhere, it seemed that Dempster would actually stay in Chicago. But just seconds before the deadline, the much-anticipated trade finally occurred, just not where anyone had really guessed: Dempster was traded to the Texas Rangers, for minor leaguers Christian Villanueva and Kyle Kendricks. The deal wasn't shocking, but it was certainly unexpected: the Rangers reportedly entered into talks with the Cubs only hours before the deadline, while speculation had been abundant around Dempster since early May. Dempster joined a rotation that's struggling to keep pace with their red-hot offense, as Matt Harrison seems to be the only pitcher who wasn't affected negatively by CJ Wilson leaving in free agency this offseason. With Ryan's joining the staff, fellow veteran pitcher and noted object of TBF's repulsion Roy Oswalt has been delegated to bullpen duties, most likely in response to the news of Neftali Feliz undergoing Tommy John surgery, breaking right after the announcement of the Dempster trade. Will Ryan be the spark needed for the Rangers to finally win it all? Only time will tell.
Omar Infante and Anibal Sanchez to the Tigers - After finally leapfrogging the White Sox this past weekend, the Tigers found themselves in the place they thought they'd be in all season: first. As of now, they've fallen right behind the Pale Hose again, but remain in striking distance, and after an offseason in which they signed Prince Fielder to complement Miguel Cabrera in the lineup, they feel that they have a lot to prove, and the lineup has been very potent. For a while, though, it's been clear that, while first base and third base are comfortably occupied by two of the most dangerous sluggers in the game, second base has been somewhat of a vacuum this season. Ramon Santiago, with a .216/2/17 slash line, has seen the lion's share of time at second, with Ryan Raburn and Danny Worth also getting some action at the position, and it's become more and more clear that they not only need a semi-competent hitter, but someone who could provide a little speed along with power. In addition, they needed a stopper in the rotation, a hurler that could take a little pressure off of Justin Verlander, the only credible starter in their rotation (shocker). Shortly after news that Dempster was (seemingly) off the market and heading to Atlanta, it was announced that the Marlins sent utility man Omar Infante and starter Anibal Sanchez, both of whom had fallen out of favor in the crowded Miami clubhouse, to Motown for young pitcher Jacob Turner (previously viewed as a viable number 2 behind Verlander) and 2 minor leaguers. Infante, with a .288/8/33 line, immediately becomes the best hitting second baseman the Tigers have, Sanchez brings his 3.94 ERA and 110 strikeouts to the bump at Comerica, and Turner gets a chance to pitch with lowered expectations, which could end up being exactly what he needs. This trade will most likely benefit the Tigers way more than it will the Marlins: while Detroit is poised to make a postseason run in a surprisingly tight division, the Marlins are extremely far out of contention. They've already sent Turner to Triple-A instead of keeping him up in the big leagues after Detroit called him up early this season. He'll most likely finish the season right underneath the majors, which will give him some time to polish his mechanics even further and come back to help the Marlins as they start looking towards 2013.
Ichiro Suzuki to the Yankees - It's no secret that I'm somewhat biased towards the Yankees. And I'm trying to keep my excitement tempered, especially since this is no way a game-changer, more a move of necessity with Brett Gardner now seemingly down for all of 2012. But Ichiro leaving the Mariners period is extremely surprising, and him sitting in the visitor's clubhouse at Safeco for the first time (the Bombers are in Seattle for a 3-game set) was a very strange sight to behold. However, like I said, this was a move that needed to happen, for both sides. After the Yanks poached young pitching phenom Michael Pineda from the M's this offseason in exchange for hot hitting prospect Jesus Montero (both of whom have yet to truly live up to the hype), they made another move to acquire the most popular player the House of the Rising Sun has ever produced. Ichiro was one of the more potent members of a Mariners offense (he was leading the team with a .261 average), and after discovering that this guy knew how to hit better than nearly everyone else, opposing pitchers began pitching around him, preying on the weaker batters in the lineup. Sure, Kyle Seager has emerged as a comparative powerhouse, and Justin Smoak is showing flashes of brilliance, but when your third baseman (Chone Figgins) continues to make Mario Mendoza look like Ted Williams, and the rest of your lineup isn't exactly competing for any home run or RBI titles, pitching around a .260 hitter with a history of racking up hits is a no-brainer. Now these other, younger batters may get more of a shot to see some actual pitches, which may translate into a slightly bolstered offense (can't get much worse, they rank in the bottom 5 in baseball in almost every offensive stat). Even if the offense continues to slide (smart money), the pitching stands to benefit nicely: in the past 7 months, the Yankees have sent 4 young hurlers to the Mariners, who have emphasized defense once they realized that their top offensive producer was a 38-year-old Japanese guy, so turning those prospects into dominant starters could turn this trade on its head. On the other side, with Gardner's most recent setback, the Yanks have been shuffling fellow veterans Andruw Jones and Raul Ibanez between left field, DH, and the bench. Now, with Ichiro and Eric Chavez in the mix, the team continues to look more and more like an extreme powerhouse...if this were 2003. Still, these men can all hit with the best of them, and Ichiro certainly can't be pitched around anymore, if Curtis Granderson, Robinson Cano, Mark Teixeira or Russell Martin are coming up behind him. To have Ichiro joining Derek Jeter at the top of the lineup, as manager Joe Girardi has tried a few times already, means having two legendary table setters for the rest of the faux-Murderer's Row that the Yanks have going this season. You gotta love that.
Zack Greinke to the Angels - When the Brewers didn't make the expected push to resign Prince Fielder this offseason, it was widely assumed that they were going to fall in the NL Central, and fall hard they did. Even though they still have reigning MVP Ryan Braun (who has been putting up numbers even better than he did in last year's award-winning campaign) and signed solid veteran third baseman Aramis Ramirez (who has been putting up comparatively worse numbers), their offense hasn't been the same without the Big Guy in the cleanup spot, and the rotation has faltered just as severely. In such a disappointing year (after winning their first NL Central title last season), the Brew Crew became begrudging sellers as we entered the end of July. Recently, GM Doug Melvin explicitly stated that Zack Greinke, one of the aces in their rotation and the only one who's exceeded expectations, would be traded before the deadline instead of finishing out the season in Milwaukee before becoming a free agent. While it was speculated that he could be shipped to Atlanta or Texas, the Angels came out of nowhere YET AGAIN and snatched Greinke up, while sending prospects Jean Segura, John Hellweg and Ariel Pena to the Brewers. Anaheim's farm system, which is already stretched thin, has been further depleted due to this trade, proving that the Angels' "win-now" mentality is in full force. While they can't replenish the farm with any extra compensatory picks thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, if they can get Zack to stay in Anaheim, this won't be a total loss. The best way to do this is keep him happy, and keep him pitching. Greinke has proven himself in the American League with the Royals, winning the Cy Young in 2009 while also garnering his only All-Star appearance and pitching to an ERA title, as well as in the National League, seeing as he went undefeated at home with the Brewers. He joins a rotation with powerhouse pitchers Jered Weaver, who placed second in last year's Cy Young race, and CJ Wilson, picked up from the Rangers this offseason, and will most likely displace either Ervin Santana (6.00 ERA) or Dan Haren (7-8 record) as a result. While this trade makes plenty of sense for both sides, it may prove to be futile if the Halos can't resign Greinke past 2012. He has stated a willingness to sign an extension wherever he was traded, if the years ends hospitably between the hurler and the organization, but if not, the Angels just gave up most of the few good minor leaguers they had for a rental, a daunting prospect in itself.
Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers - The Marlins underwent a physical change so drastic this past offseason that even Sammy Sosa was shocked at how different they looked entering 2012. They built a lavish new stadium, made obnoxiously wacky uniforms, and signed manager Ozzie Guillen, who has managed to be more colorful and outrageous than the stadium and uniforms combined. They reeled in most of the big free agents available last offseason, signing Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell all to extremely lucrative contracts, and with Giancarlo Stanton (also with a new name, as we knew him as Mike previously), Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez, this was supposed to be the team to beat in the NL East. However, unlike the Nationals, Braves and Mets capitalizing on the failings of the Phillies early in the year, the Fish were fried just as quickly and currently sit well outside of first place in a year that the hype was higher than ever before. So, as is customary for this team, they began to sell off players as quickly as they possibly could. The only difference this year is that they started early, and traded Ramirez, displaced to third base by the signing of Reyes and clearly unhappy with his new clubhouse role, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers not only needed a semi-reliable infielder with experience at multiple positions (shortstop Dee Gordon has spent extended time on the disabled list, and Dodgers third baseman this year have combined to hit roughly .250, with a combined 7 home runs), but they could use a batter with moderate power to pick up the slack left from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, both of whom had expectations as high as the Marlins did back in April. Reliever Randy Choate, a notorious lefty killer, was also sent to Hollywood with Ramirez, and the Dodgers sent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and prospect Scott McGough to Miami in return. The trade has already started paying dividends for both organizations: HanRam hit a go-ahead 2-run homer to help Los Angeles top the Giants a few nights ago, and NatEo managed to record just his second win of the season thanks to the Marlins' plentiful run support (admittedly, they were facing the Padres, but a win's a win). Even more prosperous for Ramirez is that he's getting some more time at shortstop, his natural position. While Miami probably won't gain much from this trade, other than a stalwart behind Johnson and Buehrle in the rotation, Ramirez is already thriving in the City of Angels, and figures to do so for quite some time.
Shane Victorino to the Dodgers and Hunter Pence to the Giants - 2012 has been a very sobering year in Philadelphia. After 5 straight division crowns, including 2 World Series appearances and 1 championship, in the last 5 seasons, the Phillies find themselves in last place as of this writing, well out of contention, save an absolute act of God (or Mike Schmidt). While they found it imperative to the future successes of the franchise to resign pitching stud Cole Hamels to an extremely generous contract (6 years at $144 million with a 7th year option), they realized that they couldn't field a competitive team this year, even following the return of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard (surprising that two often-injured, past-their-prime infielders DIDN'T make a positive impact after coming off the DL). With Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee coming down with the worst case of the "yips" since Randy Johnson's time in the Bronx, the Phils took a page from the playbook of their division rival Marlins and began selling off some pieces previously viewed as important. First, they sent the Flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino to the Dodgers, the team that originally drafted him in 1999 (and who were hoping to vie for Hamels' services come this offseason) and received minor leaguers Josh Lindblom, Ethan Martin, and a PTBNL in return. But Ruben Amaro wasn't done yet after dealing the speedy centerfielder. He also sent Hunter Pence, a fan favorite acquired from the Astros just a year ago, to the Giants, for disgruntled outfielder Nate Schierholtz and minor leaguers Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. The two trades, including the players they received in return, show the Phillies in a position they have become unfamiliar with in the past half-decade: rebuilding a team that was a powerhouse until very recently. Their ability to bounce back remains unseen, but Victorino and Pence have yet to make these trades worthwhile for their new teams since being shipped out of the City of Brotherly Love: Victorino is a paltry 2-for-12 since arriving in Hollywood (Mannywood? Hanleywood? It's so hard to keep track these days), and Pence is an even worse 2-for-14. Both have somehow managed to steal a base in their new homes, so it appears their speed hasn't taken as big of a hit as the rest of their offensive production has. Seeing as both are now on teams that are in the hunt for the division (Pence joins the NL West-leading Giants, and Victorino's Dodgers are in hot pursuit), a position both should be used to after their time in Philly, they will most likely bounce back and the trade will pay serious dividends for the California teams. But for the team they left behind, it appears it will be some time before they regain their footing.
Zack Greinke to the Angels - When the Brewers didn't make the expected push to resign Prince Fielder this offseason, it was widely assumed that they were going to fall in the NL Central, and fall hard they did. Even though they still have reigning MVP Ryan Braun (who has been putting up numbers even better than he did in last year's award-winning campaign) and signed solid veteran third baseman Aramis Ramirez (who has been putting up comparatively worse numbers), their offense hasn't been the same without the Big Guy in the cleanup spot, and the rotation has faltered just as severely. In such a disappointing year (after winning their first NL Central title last season), the Brew Crew became begrudging sellers as we entered the end of July. Recently, GM Doug Melvin explicitly stated that Zack Greinke, one of the aces in their rotation and the only one who's exceeded expectations, would be traded before the deadline instead of finishing out the season in Milwaukee before becoming a free agent. While it was speculated that he could be shipped to Atlanta or Texas, the Angels came out of nowhere YET AGAIN and snatched Greinke up, while sending prospects Jean Segura, John Hellweg and Ariel Pena to the Brewers. Anaheim's farm system, which is already stretched thin, has been further depleted due to this trade, proving that the Angels' "win-now" mentality is in full force. While they can't replenish the farm with any extra compensatory picks thanks to the new collective bargaining agreement, if they can get Zack to stay in Anaheim, this won't be a total loss. The best way to do this is keep him happy, and keep him pitching. Greinke has proven himself in the American League with the Royals, winning the Cy Young in 2009 while also garnering his only All-Star appearance and pitching to an ERA title, as well as in the National League, seeing as he went undefeated at home with the Brewers. He joins a rotation with powerhouse pitchers Jered Weaver, who placed second in last year's Cy Young race, and CJ Wilson, picked up from the Rangers this offseason, and will most likely displace either Ervin Santana (6.00 ERA) or Dan Haren (7-8 record) as a result. While this trade makes plenty of sense for both sides, it may prove to be futile if the Halos can't resign Greinke past 2012. He has stated a willingness to sign an extension wherever he was traded, if the years ends hospitably between the hurler and the organization, but if not, the Angels just gave up most of the few good minor leaguers they had for a rental, a daunting prospect in itself.
Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers - The Marlins underwent a physical change so drastic this past offseason that even Sammy Sosa was shocked at how different they looked entering 2012. They built a lavish new stadium, made obnoxiously wacky uniforms, and signed manager Ozzie Guillen, who has managed to be more colorful and outrageous than the stadium and uniforms combined. They reeled in most of the big free agents available last offseason, signing Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell all to extremely lucrative contracts, and with Giancarlo Stanton (also with a new name, as we knew him as Mike previously), Josh Johnson and Hanley Ramirez, this was supposed to be the team to beat in the NL East. However, unlike the Nationals, Braves and Mets capitalizing on the failings of the Phillies early in the year, the Fish were fried just as quickly and currently sit well outside of first place in a year that the hype was higher than ever before. So, as is customary for this team, they began to sell off players as quickly as they possibly could. The only difference this year is that they started early, and traded Ramirez, displaced to third base by the signing of Reyes and clearly unhappy with his new clubhouse role, to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers not only needed a semi-reliable infielder with experience at multiple positions (shortstop Dee Gordon has spent extended time on the disabled list, and Dodgers third baseman this year have combined to hit roughly .250, with a combined 7 home runs), but they could use a batter with moderate power to pick up the slack left from Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier, both of whom had expectations as high as the Marlins did back in April. Reliever Randy Choate, a notorious lefty killer, was also sent to Hollywood with Ramirez, and the Dodgers sent pitcher Nathan Eovaldi and prospect Scott McGough to Miami in return. The trade has already started paying dividends for both organizations: HanRam hit a go-ahead 2-run homer to help Los Angeles top the Giants a few nights ago, and NatEo managed to record just his second win of the season thanks to the Marlins' plentiful run support (admittedly, they were facing the Padres, but a win's a win). Even more prosperous for Ramirez is that he's getting some more time at shortstop, his natural position. While Miami probably won't gain much from this trade, other than a stalwart behind Johnson and Buehrle in the rotation, Ramirez is already thriving in the City of Angels, and figures to do so for quite some time.
Shane Victorino to the Dodgers and Hunter Pence to the Giants - 2012 has been a very sobering year in Philadelphia. After 5 straight division crowns, including 2 World Series appearances and 1 championship, in the last 5 seasons, the Phillies find themselves in last place as of this writing, well out of contention, save an absolute act of God (or Mike Schmidt). While they found it imperative to the future successes of the franchise to resign pitching stud Cole Hamels to an extremely generous contract (6 years at $144 million with a 7th year option), they realized that they couldn't field a competitive team this year, even following the return of Chase Utley and Ryan Howard (surprising that two often-injured, past-their-prime infielders DIDN'T make a positive impact after coming off the DL). With Roy Halladay and Cliff Lee coming down with the worst case of the "yips" since Randy Johnson's time in the Bronx, the Phils took a page from the playbook of their division rival Marlins and began selling off some pieces previously viewed as important. First, they sent the Flyin' Hawaiian Shane Victorino to the Dodgers, the team that originally drafted him in 1999 (and who were hoping to vie for Hamels' services come this offseason) and received minor leaguers Josh Lindblom, Ethan Martin, and a PTBNL in return. But Ruben Amaro wasn't done yet after dealing the speedy centerfielder. He also sent Hunter Pence, a fan favorite acquired from the Astros just a year ago, to the Giants, for disgruntled outfielder Nate Schierholtz and minor leaguers Tommy Joseph and Seth Rosin. The two trades, including the players they received in return, show the Phillies in a position they have become unfamiliar with in the past half-decade: rebuilding a team that was a powerhouse until very recently. Their ability to bounce back remains unseen, but Victorino and Pence have yet to make these trades worthwhile for their new teams since being shipped out of the City of Brotherly Love: Victorino is a paltry 2-for-12 since arriving in Hollywood (Mannywood? Hanleywood? It's so hard to keep track these days), and Pence is an even worse 2-for-14. Both have somehow managed to steal a base in their new homes, so it appears their speed hasn't taken as big of a hit as the rest of their offensive production has. Seeing as both are now on teams that are in the hunt for the division (Pence joins the NL West-leading Giants, and Victorino's Dodgers are in hot pursuit), a position both should be used to after their time in Philly, they will most likely bounce back and the trade will pay serious dividends for the California teams. But for the team they left behind, it appears it will be some time before they regain their footing.
