The Trade Deadline. Every year there’s always chaos, and this year had plenty of it especially out of the Nation’s Capital. (More on that later) Now this year there is an extra playoff spot and as of today all of the National Media is begging for the season to come down to big market teams. Anyways, let’s go over the deadline.
The Yankees despite their massive lead in the AL East have hit a hard time. No, they aren’t on a bad skid, they are still dominating almost every game they play, and Aaron Judge is on pace to pass Roger Maris’ Yankee Record of 61 homers in a season. (It was a joy to watch him smack 2 moonshots at Camden Yards a couple of weeks ago) It’s due to injury. Right after the All Break they lost their elite setup man in Michael King to Tommy John. Not to mention Luis Severino is also injured. They needed to add as much depth to the rotation and bullpen as possible. From Oakland comes Lou Trivino, and Frankie Montas. And from the Cubs comes Scott Effross. They did add Andrew Benintendi from the Royals, and got rid of Joey Gallos bad contract by shipping him off to the Dodgers. Then the Yanks made an interesting trade. They traded Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for a nice CF in Harrison Bader. It sucks to lose a pitcher who was having the best year of his career, but when you need an outfielder to allow Judge to go back to his regular position it works out. The AL East is theirs for the taking but the rest of the division has certainly been making headlines.
The Blue Jays are one of those teams. Despite a questionable firing of Charlie Montoyo they have responded by playing up to their potential. Toronto now has control of the Top Wild Card spot in the AL thanks to a 13-4 stretch. Plus as expected, the Jays added at the deadline. Zach Pop and Anthony Bass they acquired from the Marlins to bolster the pen, next they filled a minor hole at 2B by adding Whit Merrifield. The Merrifield Trade sounds hilarious because he wasn’t vaxxed when the Royals came to SkyDome earlier this month (I still call it the SkyDome who cares about Rogers) and now the front office is making him get vaccinated. But once he is cleared, Merrifield should be able to overcome a bad season that he has had with Kansas City. At least his glove is a must if all things go south at the plate. Their schedule in August and into September will be challenging, but if they can perform well they should make it in. Plus there is a 3rd Wild Card you shouldn’t have any problems with.
The Rays have been in a slump. They’ve lost every series since the All Star Break and the reasoning is simple. Tampa Bay is about to set the Franchise Record for injuries in a season. It also doesn’t help that other than David Peralta they struck out at the deadline. And with the rest of the Wild Card caliber teams on their tails it could be a very rough month for the Rays. At least Wander Franco is coming back sometime in August, his return is the key to their success. If his return is delayed, you are in serious trouble especially since a surprising contender is trying to knock you off.
The Orioles are now within striking distance of a Wild Card spot. Don’t stop there, they have now leapfrogged the Red Sox and sent their hated rivals from Beantown into the basement of the toughest division in baseball. For the O’s it wasn’t a buy, it wasn’t a sell, it was a shuffling of moves while trying to add more pieces to a future run. Trading away Jorge Lopez was tough but considering that Felix Bautista has emerged into one of the more underrated relievers in baseball it’s not a loss. Trey Mancini getting traded to Houston was sad but yet again Terrin Vavra should fill that role going forward and they have more top prospects on the way. The only addition that was made was a defensive wizard in Brett Phillips. The rest of the crew is still producing even if Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays have been in a minor slump. Now remember this, 10 years ago the Orioles made the playoffs without the 2 faces of their franchise. This year could be a repeat of that but to do so they will have to win 60% of their remaining schedule against the heart of their division. Even if they miss the playoffs it’s a huge win for the organization. Keep it up boys.
Lets see how the Red Sox are doing? BOOM! Rock Bottom has just hit the City of Boston. Not only have they had a terrible slide after the All Star Break, they are now mired in last place thanks to a white hot squad from Camden Yards. The worst of it came when they were blown out 28-5 by the Blue Jays. The only way to avoid the entire AL East laughing at them is trying to add to the hitting core. In comes Tommy Pham fresh from the hell of the Reds, as well as Eric Hosmer’s awful contract. Not to mention like Tampa Bay the injuries have decimated the Sox. Chris Sale, Trevor Story, and Kike Hernandez are the newest victims, Kike himself is out for the rest of the year. There were rumors that they would even trade away Devers, Bogaerts, and JD Martinez. But the Red Sox wanted to keep them because they are still in playoff contention. All of this leads to 1 conclusion. Fenway Park is now the new home of Challenge Hitting. That’s the honor you get when you’re in the basement of the toughest division in baseball.
The AL Central was a gongshow for a while but now has gotten complicated. The Minnesota Twins at the moment are at the top of the food chain. Last year’s rough campaign indeed was a fluke and now they are back in playoff contention again. Their biggest needs were pitching, and they were able to get some quality arms. Tyler Mahle should be an excellent addition to the rotation with his high strikeout rate. Then they addressed the bullpen with 2 strong arms. Michael Fulmer and Jorge Lopez. Both players are enjoying career years and should be thrown right into the fire of the Pennant Race. The Twins have been on a roller coaster as of late in terms of wins and losses, but hopefully they should have enough to make the playoffs. The bad news is…
The Guardians have risen from the dead. A squad that was counted out over the past month is back in contention for the playoffs, and are making a serious push at the Division Title. Their response at the deadline was to do nothing. That to me makes sense. Considering that their starting rotation led by Shane Beiber has come on strong over the past month, there’s just no need to add or sell. Not to mention Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez and dominating at the plate. They’re a long shot to win the division thanks to their schedule being toughest of the 3 contenders in the AL Central, but as long as they don’t fall off they can either snag a Wild Card or overtake the Twins. I wonder which path they’ll choose.
The White Sox. This year has been a massive disappointment for them at this point but as they say there is still time for a comeback. Well the SouthSiders have finally gotten back over 500 and are near the division lead. The only move they made was adding Jake Diekman from the Red Sox. Other than that the White Sox were just waiting to get some guys back from the IL. Luckily for them Luis Robert, and Lance Lynn have returned to the roster, and Lucas Giolito has started to turn things around. Tony La Russa may not be able to adapt to the modern players but if there is anything he knows how to do, it is to have an excellent final stretch thanks to pitching, defense, and timely hitting. It worked wonders for him in Oakland, and St Louis and it could be the same again.
Why am I talking about the Royals, they’ve been done for a while. Oh right, their deadline. One word describes what Kansas City did. (BOOM!) NUKE! They traded away their 2 best players in Benintendi and Merrifield, and all that’s left to do is eat the remainder of Salvador Perez’s bad contract. I’m more surprised that they didn’t trade off Zach Greinke. That’s probably because they want to give him a final sendoff at the end of the year. Plus they traded their top prospect to the Diamondbacks for a declining Luke Weaver. Well at least they have Bobby Witt Jr and more prospects on the way I guess.
The AL West is once again a runaway. Even if Seattle has gone on a hot streak, they are still a ways back from the Astros. Houston once again is running over everything that comes their way. Unlike most years at the Trade Deadline, the Stros didn’t make a major splash. In this case, they traded away Jake Ordorizzi to the Braves for an excellent setup man in Will Smith. Next comes Trey Mancini in an attempt to revive his bat after a long slump. With the Crawford Boxes being 315 feet away from home plate he should have no problems hitting at Minute Maid Park. (What did I tell you, 3 at bats, 3 homers) Also I like them adding Christian Vazquez in a trade with Boston. (Oh yeah Red Sox, you just traded your defensive anchor to the team that knocked you off last year) With most of the core producing and with Yordan Alverez back in the lineup, they are all but locks to make it back to the ALCS. Although a certain team in their division will put up a fight.
The Mariners. A team that has done nothing but drive their fans crazy with gut punches and wasted talent has become something they haven’t been in over 20 years. World Series Contenders. (It sounds crazy, but look at how well they have played since July 1) They have been playing lights out baseball even if injuries to Ty France, Curt Casali, Julio Rodriguez have recently occurred. Seattle in response made a huge move at the deadline. They acquired an elite prize in Luis Castillo from Cincinnati to go along with Robbie Ray, and Logan Gilbert at the top of the rotation. Also adding Jake Lamb because of depth reasons. I have one piece of advice for you Mariners, please make it to the playoffs. Your fanbase has suffered enough and they should be awarded with October Baseball. Let me guess the Seahawks gave their talent to these guys, that’s probably how this thing went.
It’s a weird question for me to ask right now but how are the Angels doing? BOOM! Well at least they didn’t do the unthinkable. The forgotten LA team is once again revealed as mediocrity and can’t do anything right even with possibly the 2 best players in baseball. Speaking of one of them, Mike Trout is injured yet again, and Shohei Ohtani is still locked up in hell. (Ernie Banks/Ron Santo of this generation) Not to mention they may have traded their 2 best pitchers not named Ohtani in Raisel Iglesias, and Noah Syndergaard. Well it’s another wasted season in a span of duds. Can someone give these guys proper management. That’s what made them contenders in the 1970s and 80s. And it’s costing them their potential. Artie do the right thing, please trade Trout, and Ohtani to real teams.
The NL East, this year it’s been a Clash of Titans with no end in sight. Leading the way right now are the Mets. As I said earlier what a difference a good manager and an ownership change can do for a team. Buck Showalter and Steve Cohen have changed the culture of the Mets from the biggest meme in baseball to one of the sexiest contenders of the last decade. In particular their pitching staff which gets to see Jacob DeGrom finally return to the mound. He and Max Scherzer should be a force down the stretch. They even had a chance to get Shohei Ohtani for crying out loud. (YoYo Sound) But then they struck out on a deal at the 11th hour. Fortunately for Queens they were able to get Mychal Givens, Dan Vogelbauch, and Darin Ruf. 3 quality players on the open market. The Mets didn’t need another big fish, they just wanted more substance. But Cohen I bet is going to regret not getting a big fish on the market and that’s what haunted them last year. At least Lindor and Alonso have overcome bad years to return to elite form. Who in the world is Luis Guillorme and why is he hitting like Robin Ventura? (Turning a scrub into a quality player. That’s what Showalter does a lot of)
The Defending Champions in the Atlanta Braves are doing everything they can to keep up with the Mets at the top of the NL East. They still are on a hot streak and not much has slowed them down. The Braves did lose a big piece in Will Smith but were able to get Jake Odorizzi and Rasiel Iglesias in separate trades. Like the Mets they didn’t need to do much when most of the pieces were in place. Especially Austin Riley who is having an MVP season. With him, Acuna, and now a healthy Eddie Rosario, the middle of their order is one of the best in baseball. (Matt Olson too) They are still 3 games back of the Mets but there still is plenty of time for a comeback. Not to mention those 2 teams will meet up a bunch to end the season. I expect close games, don’t let me down!
BOOM! Philadelphia is going all in. We have said that about every team in that city this year haven’t we? (The Flyers tried for Johnny Hockey but got one-upped by Columbus) Well since they fired Girardi, the Phillies have had a very nice run of wins. They even have the lead for the 3rd Wild Card in the NL. This thinking led to Dave Dombrovski once again going all in. In comes Brandon Marsh, Noah Syndergaard, and the return of David Robertson. All 3 were added to fix glaring holes in their roster. Oh and by the way Bryce Harper is coming back soon, all I can say is if you don’t make the playoffs just blow it up. (But this is what they dealt with in 2007 yet broke through and then won it all in 08. Same could happen here)
The Cardinals following a so-so 1st Half are doing what they usually do in July and August. Creep their way back into the playoff hunt. In this case, St Louis has won 7 of 8 to tie up the Brewers in the NL Central. The Cards biggest need at the deadline was a solid lefty in the rotation. They got that in Jordan Montgomery. All it cost them was Harrison Bader but Dylan Carlson should be a fine replacement. Also throw in Jose Quintana just in case something bad happens to Montgomery. This is the epitome of Cardinals Baseball. Just when people think they’re gone, they find new ways to win when no one sees it coming. As a fan of a rival it sucks but what can you do? (Who is Lars Nootbaar and how is he making an impact already? Sounds like Vintage Cards doesn’t it?)
The NL West has been dominated by you know who. The Dodgers. At point they were neck and neck with the Padres but since late June they have pulled away. Say hello to the best record in all of Baseball with a 24-6 stretch. Even if they only added Joey Gallo for depth in the outfield they kinda didn’t need to make a move. Most of their holes have been filled up but there is one thing that concerns me. CRACK! Injuries, Clayton Kershaw, and Brusdar Graterol will be out for another week, same with Justin Turner. Now with Mookie Betts back and the rest of the team not far behind, it should be smooth sailing to another NL West Title. However the Dodgers lost a giant in the organization. Vin Scully, the legendary voice of the franchise and baseball as a whole, died this week at the age of 94. This is just like the death of John Madden. Where would baseball be today without the voice of Vin Scully. His passion for the game and the Dodgers altogether ran deep. And some of his calls were iconic. I think of his call of Kirk Gibson’s Home Run in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, I think of his call of the last out of Sandy Koufax’s perfect game, and I think of his call of the Buckner play in the 1986 World Series. It’s also fitting that the last game he ever called in Dodger Stadium ended on a walk-off homer from Charlie Culbberson to win the NL West Title in 2016. Take of him Baseball Gods, may his impact shine down on Dodger fans forever.
Lets now go to their main rivals in the Giants. To be fair San Francisco is dealing with all of their good luck last year running out. The rotation has been solid as expected but here comes the moment where their weakness is revealed. CRACK! Injuries. Just like the Dodgers they have been banged up but in this case even worse. Evan Longoria, Joey Bart, Brandon Crawford, and Joc Pederson ALL INJURED! And also they sold off Darin Ruf, Mychal Givens, and Trevor Rosenthal. It’s going to be a long final 2 months for the Giants if they can’t get out of the slump they’re in. It’s too bad they had a great run last year, and this is the price for it.
Man the Trade Deadline has been sort of quiet, there hasn’t been a team that has blown up the Baseball World yet… BOOM! BOOM! I AM NOSTRADAMUS! PAUSE
Slam Diego, let the boys be boys, am I right. Welcome to PrellerPalooza 3! In this case the Padres are going all in at trying to knock off the 3 superpowers in the NL. It’s at this point where AJ Preller is like “I don’t care about prospects, throw them out the window, we need to win now!” That’s what they did. San Diego got perhaps the 3 biggest assets at the deadline. Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Josh Hader. Soto in particular is a generational talent in the prime of his career and just won the Home Run Derby. Hader has been the premiere strikeout reliever in baseball since 2018, and Bell is a switch hitting machine with no true flaws. Look at what they gave up to get those 3. Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet, Luke Voit, MacKenzie Gore, plus pretty much their entire prospect pool, as well as Eric Hosmer going to Boston. And this trade doesn’t only affect the Padres it affects the Brewers and Nationals. Milwaukee traded perhaps the best closer they’ve ever had to shed payroll, but they did get Matt Bush, Rogers, and Lamet to bolster their pen. I’ll give Craig Counsell credit, he must have plenty of confidence in Devin Williams. The Nationals on the other hand, traded their 2 best players for pretty much pennies on the dollar. And not to mention the Lerner Family is likely going to sell the team when the season is over. You know what that means. The Tanks aren’t only out, they are bringing out the Mega Tanks. Looks like the Nats doing what they did when the Lerners bought the team in 2008. THE PLAN! Except this time it’ll be harder to do. Anyways, that concludes the Trade Deadline. I hope to see excitement and tension throughout August and September. With the heavyweights in the NL causing chaos everywhere, and the AL East being a slaughter. Good luck everyone!
Bragging Rights Sports 