2012 Trading Deadline Live Blog
By Conor Duffy
The day has finally arrived: the trading deadline. Several names have already been traded as I mentioned yesterday, and there’ll be plenty more to come for the rest of the day, so I’ll be posting updates. For starters, last night there were a few relatively minor trades and I’ll be keeping up this transaction counter of sorts throughout the entire day.
Braves Acquire: Reed Johnson (.302/.355/.444) and Paul Maholm (9-6, 3.74)
Cubs Acquire: Prospects Jaye Chapman and Arodys Vizcaino
This is a trade that will tremendously help the Braves down the stretch run. Their pitching rotation has been injured all year long, so the acquisition of Maholm will really help to anchor things. Johnson will also serve as a solid fourth outfielder for the rest of the season. Meanwhile, the Cubs received Arodys Vizcaino— rated as the 51st prospect in baseball by MLB.com and Jaye Chapman, a major league ready relief prospect. Vizcaino will develop into a solid power pitcher whether from the bullpen or rotation, but the Braves got a similarly good pitcher in the majors. Edge: Braves.
Pirates Acquire: Travis Snider (.250/.300/.556)
Blue Jays Acquire: Brad Lincoln (4-2, 2.73)
Both teams acquire relatively raw talent in this deal. Travis Snider was once a top prospect, but has never really figured it out at the major league level– with a career .248 batting average. However, he’s come up and has been solid for the Jays in ten games so far– posting a .250 average, 3 home runs, and 8 RBIs; plus, he’s still only 24 and there’s definitely hope. To get Snider, the Pirates give up Brad Lincoln— a 27 year old pitcher who’s finally figured it out in the bullpen. After unsuccessful experiments in the rotation, he’s found his niche in the ‘pen– pitching in 28 games with a 2.73 ERA; however, he is 27. Edge: Pirates.
Mariners Acquire: Eric Thames (.243/.288/.365)
Blue Jays Acquire: Steve Delabar (2-1, 4.17)
This is an interesting trade of somewhat unwanted prospects between the Jays and Mariners. The Mariners will receive Eric Thames, who fell out of favor with the Blue Jays after batting .243 through 160 plate appearances, so the 25 year old was demoted to triple-A Las Vegas. However, at 25 years old, there’s still plenty of promise for the man who batted .262 with a .456 slugging percentage last year. The Jays will acquire Steve Delabar, who, at 29 years old, has found his niche in the bullpen– putting up a 4.17 ERA in 34 games; however, he’ll probably never be more than a reliever. Edge: Mariners.
Dodgers Acquire: Brandon League (0-5, 3.63)
Mariners Acquire: Prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom
In Brandon League, the Dodgers will get ahold of a reliable late inning arm– something that’s been lacking due to injuries. He’ll probably put his 3.63 ERA to work as a setup man rather than a closer, but he should be a good fit in the Dodgers’ injury-depleted bullpen. Leon Landry (.328/.358/.559 with A+ Rancho Cucamonga) is listed as the Dodgers’ #20 prospect and Logan Bawcom (3-3, 2.60 with double-A Chattanooga) is not listed. However, due to their success at their levels and the fact that they are only 22 and 23 years old, respectively– they could become good players. Edge: Mariners.
Cubs Acquire: Prospect Jacob Brigham
Rangers Acquire: Geovany Soto (.195/.278/.345)
This is an interesting trade that probably won’t really effect either the Cubs or the Rangers this season. Soto is probably a downgrade from former backup catcher Yorvit Torrealba (.236/.302/.342) and Brigham doesn’t even rank in the top 20 Rangers prospects. However, Jacob Brigham certainly has a chance to become a decent major league pitcher as the 24 year old is 5-5 with a 4.28 ERA in double-A Frisco this year. Just because of Brigham’s potential to possibly impact the Cubs before long, I’d say they have the advantage. Edge: Cubs.
Dodgers Acquire: Shane Victorino (.261/.324/.401)
Phillies Acquire: Josh Lindblom (2-2, 3.02) and prospect Ethan Martin
After several rumors that one of the biggest names on the market, Shane Victorino, was headed to Los Angeles, the move was finally made. The Dodgers will acquire the switch-hitting outfielder to complete their awesome outfield of Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and now Victorino. However, unless he signs an extension, the Dodgers will only get him for two months. For six years, the Phillies will have Josh Lindblom— 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA in 48 games out of the bullpen– anchoring their bullpen and Ethan Martin (8-6, 3.58 ERA with double-A Chattanooga) anchoring their rotation. Edge: Phillies.
Phillies Acquire: Prospect Tommy Joseph
Giants Acquire: Hunter Pence (.271/.336/.447)
It truly amazes me that the Giants acquired Hunter Pence for this little. Pence is a perennial All-Star candidate who even garnered MVP votes last year, although he is in a down year. His power is there, with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs– but his batting average is lower than it often is at .271. Still, it’s very surprising that the Phillies couldn’t get more than catching prospect Tommy Joseph— who is batting .260 with 8 home runs at double-A Richmond. Joseph is only 21, but I still feel they could’ve gotten much more. Edge: Giants.
Marlins Acquire: Prospect Zack Cox
Cardinals Acquire: Edward Mujica (0-3, 4.38)
The Marlins continue to be very active sellers by trading one of their better relievers in Mujica to the Cardinals for a near major-league ready prospect. Mujica has been a very solid reliever the past few years– his numbers have dropped to a 4.38 ERA in 2012, but he’s still solid. In return, they’ll acquire 23 year old third base prospect Zack Cox. Cox is currently playing in triple-A and batting .254 with 9 home runs. Mujica has another year left on his contract and if he returns to what he once was, the Cardinals win this deal. Edge: Cardinals.
Diamondbacks Acquire: Matt Albers (2-0, 2.29) and Scott Podsednik (.387/.404/484)
Red Sox Acquire: Craig Breslow (2-0, 2.70)
The Red Sox will make a fairly smart move in acquiring Breslow here. They’ve traded from both their bullpen and outfield surplus and got a quality left-handed reliever. This is a classic example of addition by subtraction, as the Red Sox will be able to move Franklin Morales back to the rotation with another left-handed reliever. Meanwhile, the D’backs will get a reliever and an outfielder– both of whose numbers in 2012 far exceed their physical talent and career numbers. The D’backs obviously get more talent in the deal, but the Red Sox free up space. Edge: Diamondbacks.
Marlins Acquire: Prospect Gorkys Hernandez
Pirates Acquire: Gaby Sanchez (.202/.250/.306)
The Marlins continue to sell very aggressively as they’ve ridded themselves of Gaby Sanchez now, who is mired in a massive down year. The Pirates will hope that Sanchez reverts to his former self with a change of scenery, and to get that, they’ve traded over outfield prospect Gorkys Hernandez. The 24 year old Hernandez is currently batting .257 with 13 steals at triple-A Indianapolis. I think that if Sanchez reverts to how he was in 2010 and 2011, the Pirates win and if not, the Marlins do. Edge: Pirates.
Reds Acquire: Jonathan Broxton (1-2, 2.27)
Royals Acquire: ???
MLB Trade Rumors has still not reported who the Reds traded to Kansas City in return for reliever Jonathan Broxton, but does it matter? Broxton adds to an already very strong bullpen for the Reds and has been phenomenal so far for the Royals– saving 23 ballgames with a 2.27 ERA. He’ll tag on as a setup man for Aroldis Chapman, but still, a very smart pickup for Cincinnati.
Rangers Acquire: Ryan Dempster (5-5, 2.25)
Cubs Acquire: ???
Big pickup for the Rangers here, as they’ve acquired a premier arm to bolster their injury depleted rotation. With Colby Lewis injured and Derek Holland ineffective, they went out and got a big arm in ERA leader Ryan Dempster. MLB Trade Rumors hasn’t disclosed who was traded to Chicago, but I’m sure it was big.
Thanks everybody! Hope it’s been an exciting Trade Deadline for you too!