My Not So Professional Analysis of the Trade Deadline

Well, here we go. The deadline has passed. Which teams improved their lot the most, and who fanned? The Dodgers, after their initial flurry of activity last week, were expected to be in on just about every good starting pitcher out there. What ended up happening was not what the fans wanted.

The Astros get Verlander from the Mets. Although the Dodgers were thought to be in on Verlander, I never really got the sense that he wanted to come to LA. I also thought that the vesting option, which would guarantee him 35 million dollars in 25 if he pitched 140 innings next season, was a sticking point for LA. The option became a player option if he reached 140 innings.

In the end, the Astros sent their two best OF prospects to the Mets for Verlander. But the Mets are also paying 54 million dollars off his contract. It is a win for Houston, who gets a veteran ace to lead their young rotation.

The Mets kept busy and sent Max Scherzer to the Rangers for Ronald Acuna’s little brother. The Mets also sent a lot of money to the Rangers to cover at least a large portion of Scherzer’s 43-million-dollar option for 24 that he exercised when the trade was announced. Starting pitching has been a weakness for the Rangers, and they picked up a couple, also getting Jordan Montgomery from the Cardinals, who traded a few players away.

The Mets sent Tommy Pham to the D-Backs for minor-league infielder Jeremy Rodriguez. The Mets were in full sell mode, also sending Dominic Leone to the Angels. They traded Mark Canha to the Brewers. Most of the moves brought back minor-league players to help replenish the Mets farm system. Then late in the day, they acquired Adam Kolarek and Phil Bickford from the Dodgers for cash.

Miami was busy, trading Garrett Cooper and minor league lefty Sean Reynolds for Ryan Weathers. They also sent Jake Eder to the White Sox for Jake Burger. And in a last-minute move, they got Josh Bell from Cleveland for Kahlil Watson and Jean Segura. Bad day for Segura as the Guardians announced he would be released. The Mariners will also release Kolten Wong. They acquired reliever Eduard Bazardo from the Orioles.

The Cardinals, who earlier sent Montgomery to the Rangers, cleaned house some more, sending DeJong to the Jays for a minor league pitcher, and then they traded Jack Flaherty to the Orioles for three minor leaguers. Both pitchers had been on the Dodger’s radar.

Other than the trades they made last week for Hernandez, Lynn, Kelly, and Rosario, the Dodgers were expected to be very busy. Well, it did not work out that way. I never felt they wanted Scherzer back. They were very interested in Verlander. In my mind, I always felt one of the other starters, Giolito, Montgomery, Flaherty, made more sense. As the deadline approached, it became clear that they were targeting Eduard Rodriguez of the Tigers. I thought they might have an interest in Lorenzen, but he ended up in Philly.

An hour before the deadline, the news broke that the Dodgers and Tigers had a deal in place, and then Rodriguez exercised his no-trade clause, which had the Dodgers as one of the teams he would not approve. That is his right; it is in his contract. Most Dodger fans think he is nuts, wanting to stay in Detroit rather than come pitch in LA. But he cited wanting to stay closer to home and family on the east coast.

This, unfortunately for the Dodgers, left them with very little time to pivot and find another option. So, just after the deadline passed, the Dodgers announced they had traded for Ryan Yarborough of the Royals. A lefty, he has a 4-5 record in 14 games. Seven of them were starts. He has won four of his last five starts. Overall, his ERA is over 4. But in his seven starts, his ERA is 3.08. The price for him was Devin Mann and Derlin Figueroa. The Dodgers then sold Eddys Leonard to the Tigers. Yarborough has a very low walk rate. He was injured earlier this year when he was hit in the face by a Ryan Noda line drive.

As far as their division opponents go, all of the Western Division teams made deals of one kind or another. The Rockies unloaded some players, sending Grichuk and Cron to the Angels. Then they traded Brad Hand to the Braves. They also purchased Justin Bruihl from the Dodgers.

The Giants picked up AJ Pollock and Mark Mathias from the Mariners for cash. They were said to be pursuing some other RH-hitting outfielders, but nothing materialized. They have some issues with their rotation, as DeSclafani has an injury.

The Diamondbacks were very busy. They got Pham from the Mets at the deadline. They traded Chafin to the Brewers, receiving Peter Strzelecki in return. They also picked up Paul Sewald from the Mariners. The Padres also were very busy. They got Rich Hill and Ji-Man Choi from the Pirates. Then they got Garrett Cooper from the Marlins. Cooper cost them Ryan Weathers, the only major leaguer they gave up in any of their deals. Then, after the deadline passed, it was announced that they had received Scott Barlow from the Royals.

The West is a tight race as it stands right now. None of the contenders made what could be considered a franchise-shifting move. It seemed to me that all of the teams who are in the race made what I would consider depth moves. Barlow has an ERA over 5. But he also has 14 saves for the woeful Royals. A right-handed option for Josh Hader. Although the Pads have little hope of catching any of the front runners, they obviously feel that they can make it to the playoffs via the Wild Card.

The Diamondbacks went for depth. They had little, but that has changed some now. Pham gives them some pop off of the bench, something they lack. They also picked up Jace Peterson from the Brewers. Sewald, to them, is obviously a better option than Chafin. The Giants, in my humble opinion, did nothing to improve the team. Pollock is probably having the worst season of his career. Mathias is nothing more than a backup infielder.

The AL East, maybe the best division in baseball, saw Toronto and the Jays make major moves. The Jays went out and got Jordan Hicks and then Paul DeJong from the Cardinals. The Rays traded their top 1st base prospect, Kyle Manzardo to the Guardians for Aaron Civale, bolstering their starting staff. Boston picked up a utility infielder, Luis Urias, and then DFA’d Jorge Alfaro. Baltimore picked up Flaherty and traded Bazardo. The Yankees picked up a couple of relievers after the deadline passed.

Overall, there was more movement than most expected, but some who were expected to be traded were not, including Tim Anderson, Eduard Rodriguez, Tyler O’Neil, and Dylan Carlson. Other than Verlander and Scherzer, you could say no real star players got moved despite all the rumors that said they would.

Teams are now locked in roster-wise. They get to add two players come September 1st. There will no doubt be some players who will not be on the rosters come playoff time. There will be injury replacements and players who will get released.

The Dodgers added two starting pitchers, a relief pitcher, a utility player, and a SS/2nd baseman. The cost was several prospects and the DFAing of Bruihl, Bickford, and Eddys Leonard. I want to see how the new additions perform before I pass judgment. Hernandez and Rosario have had decent starts to their tenures. Kelly had a successful first inning. Lynn goes tonight. Yarborough will no doubt get a start next week or this weekend when they meet the Padres. Saddle UP!