Who made the biggest splash at the deadline? Who are the winners and losers? We had a flurry of activity right up to the bell this year as a few deals fell through, and a couple got in just on time. Here's a list of the moves that were made. http://traditionatwork.com/threads/nationals-pirates-trade.110275/#post-1537534 Nationals send: SP Bob Hines A Ball -- Potomac 22 years old MLC .5/3 Pirates send: RP Seriozha Janovich MLB 31 years old 6,920,000 1/1 CF Andrew Jewell A Ball -- West Virginia 22 years old MLC 1/1 http://traditionatwork.com/threads/orioles-royals.110280/#post-1537535 Baltimore sends: 3B Huck Donahue, 5*/5*, 1/22M KC sends: SP Luis Urbina, 1*/4.5*, AA, MLC http://traditionatwork.com/threads/padres-and-astros-trade.110293/ Padres Send SP Mauro Mendoza 3*/3* 32 Years Old MLB San Diego Padres $10 Mil MR Jose Ibarra .5*/.5* 31 Years Old MLB San Diego Padres $1.4 Mil Astros Send CF Fernando Gonzalez 1*/3.5* 19 Years Old R Kissimmee Astros MLC CF Trent Montgomery 1*/2.5* 20 Years Old R Greeneville Astros MLC CL Gordon Landor .5*/.5* 23 Years Old AA Corpus Christi Hooks MLC http://traditionatwork.com/threads/angels-nationals-trade.110302/#post-1537539 Angels Send MR Dave Davis | MLB CF Lewis Brown | MLB $2.5 million cashishe Nationals Send MR Chris Aguila Jr. | MLB CF Shiba Tanabe | MLB (DL_ SS Gabe Charles | AA C Natsuo Nishimura | R (Viera) http://traditionatwork.com/threads/texas-rays-trade.110317/#post-1537462 Rangers sends: 2B Carlos Saldana SP Didier Larcher SP Angel Manuel Rays send: SS Sergio Trevino CL Luis Pena http://traditionatwork.com/threads/cubs-nationals-trade.110319/ Cubs send: SP Brian Hamm 3.5/3.5 (MLB)http://ootp.traditionsportsonline.com/the_dugout/reports/html/players/player_29334.html SP Terry Morris .5/2.5 (AA) http://ootp.traditionsportsonline.com/the_dugout/reports/html/players/player_27284.html Nationals Send: RF Joe Quate 4.5/4.5 (MLB, on DL) http://ootp.traditionsportsonline.com/the_dugout/reports/html/players/player_24190.html http://traditionatwork.com/threads/az-atl-trade.110323/ AZ sends Ramiro Rodriguez-SP-rookie ball - missoula - Gustavo Vargo - SP - A ball - Visalia ATL sends Jason Murdock - OF - MLB - Atlanta http://traditionatwork.com/threads/astros-twins-trade.110321/ Twins send: SP Edward Wallace | 29 Years | 2.5/2.5 | $8.1M | Majors (DL) MR Ron Hill | 25 years | 0.5/0.5 | $480k | AAA SP Damien Varin | 27 years | 0.5/0.5 | $3.7M | Majors Astros send: 3B Austin Bryan | 23 years | 1.0/4.0 | MLC | A http://traditionatwork.com/threads/rangers-twins-trade.110322/ Rangers send: SS Alberto Bruno | 24 Years | 4.5/4.5 | $1.3M | Majors 3B Jose Juarez | 28 years | 2.5/3.5 | $1.1M | Majors LF David Bishop | 22 years | 1.0/2.5 | MLC | A Twins send: 2B Marcos Hidalgo | 25 years | 4.0/4.5 | $480k | Majors MR Geoffrey Lawrence | 26 years | 1.5/1.5 | $480k | Majors
A couple trades that I like: Nationals picking up 2 big time relievers in Janovich and Dave Davis Arizona picking up Murdock in a last second deal. I think he was the best bat available Jury is still out on the Huck deal, if it can keep KC above .500 and maybe into the playoffs then it would be a success. Meanwhile. Raj did well as always by picking up a top SP prospect. My two deals were to add pitching depth to the rotation and also picked up some good relief pitching
That formatted like shit, so apologies there. I agree with Ty's thought on the Huck deal. It's well worth it if Bond can stay up this year, and with how Huck is producing he may even be able to flip him back to somebody next year for some younger talent. I was hoping to get Murdock, but it turned into more of a take what I can get for him since I wasn't resigning him this offseason anyway. Cole definitely got a solid bat to help the playoff push, and I got a couple young prospects to hopefully help out in a couple of years. There was a major 3 team deal that fell through right before the deadline that could have potentially seen Arroyo moving for me, but I just couldn't pull the trigger with how developed he is for an 18 year old.
Deadline went well for me. Needed to grab a potential impact bat, and was loaded with starters. Hamm pitched really well for me this year, but I just don't trust him for some reason. He'll be a good #2 or #3 for Noles, though. Terry Morris should be able to be a solid pitcher in a couple of years for him as well. Quate did show even more progression after being traded, gaining 5 contact and power. If he keeps showing growth, he's going to be insane.
If he learns to hit lefties, he will be a top 5 bat. If not, and Hamm keeps doing what he's doing, Noles will have won this deal.
Nationals/Pirates Trade: Nats get back an aging All-Star still near the top of his game to add to the bullpen. A lefty that is just as hard on righties as he is on lefties. Along with a CF prospect that needs to get wood on the ball a little more to develop into a MLB role player. The Pirates receive a 22 year old prospect who should be up in the bigs around 2 years from now. Orioles/Royals Trade: KC gets Huck in the short term a win and hoping to get them to 81 wins, while the O's stock their minors with Urbina. Padres/Astros Trade: Stros get two pitching pieces to add their arsenal while the Padres continue to build with two solid OF prospects and an average pitching spec. Angels/Nationals Trade: The money moving trade, Angels shed Brown's deal for two expiring contracts Aguila and Tanabe getting back two prospects, one being Charles as he will be a 3B project. Nationals get back Davis to add another piece to their BP and the hope for Brown's bat to come back around. Rangers/Rays Trade: Rangers send off an infielder and 2 pitching prospects, Larcher who was about to make his debut for Trevino (SS) and a top notch closer in Pena. Rangers would make another move to continue building an infield while the Rays received some offense to help relieve their pitching staff. Cubs/Nationals Trade: Cubs received a blooming left handed bat who continues to improve and if his lefty splits catches up, Quate could terrorize the NL Central for a few years to come. With the expendable bat, the Nationals went out to shore up some starting pitching. Before, Hamm would have moved someone to the BP but after Duncan's injury he moves into #3 in the rotation, coming over along with Hamm was Morris at best will be a #4 or #5 at the senior circuit. Diamondbacks/Braves Trade: Zona received the best bat on the market in Murdock, while the Braves take two teenage prospect the best being Ramiro Rodriguez. Twins/Astros: Astros continued to load up on their BP and pitching while sending back a 3B prospect to the Twins. Rangers/Twins Trade: Rangers continue to build their infield as mentioned earlier, this time getting Hidalgo from the Twins. Alberto Bruno should make a name for himself and look to a perennial all star and David Bishop is on the move again, being in a 3rd trade in a short time.
With such a wide open American League i was shocked to see as many teams selling as they did. Watch out for the Royals. Just get that team in the playoffs and good things might happen. A lack of movement out of Cleveland was killer. They had a highly sought after arm in the Cooler King, but between getting cute in trying to dump Adrian Price on the prospective suitors and holding out for better deals the clock ultimately swallowed them whole. Interesting to see what they do in the offseason where they won't have enough money to sway CK from visiting Arby's (hehe) where he'll ultimately receive an 8 figure salary.
I feel like the Astros are the biggest deadline winners. They have the best record in the AL and the #1 offense and then went out and bolstered their one weakness, their pitching staff. Mendoza should make a huge immediate impact and the along with the two relievers. The two young SPs they got in the Minnesota trade should give them some desperately needed options too. I think at this moment its hard not to like them as WS favorites in the AL.
I know some people haven't exactly embraced the deals that I made, but here's my logic on why I did what I did. First - I didn't expect to compete or even reach .500 this year, before or after my deadline moves. When I took over Texas in the middle of the 2027 season and the team limped to a 30-49 finish with a team that I made zero changes to, I knew I needed to rebuild. So I traded my old starting pitchers who were past their primes or were injury-riddled. (Mal Krause, Andy Paton, Jack Hale) over the next few seasons to rebuild a farm system that was absolutely laughable. The only player worth a damn was Will Davis, who wasn't the same spec as he is now. He wasn't even ranked in the top 100 yet. So, this team was over the hill and had no farm to speak of - thus my decision to blow everything up in year 1 rather than wait until year 4 when it would be too late. I felt really good about what I've done with my team besides the obvious let down that Jose Costa has been. Other than that, I acquired Vern Gates in a trade, called up outfielder Thom Abrams, and called up some good young pieces for my bullpen that will be better down the road than they are now. For the deadline: I had three priorities - 1.) Acquire an elite defensive SS I liked what "Cocoa" Bruno brought to the table. He's a solid player who will hit around .280 for his career and lead the league in steals or come close to it every season. But, he was average on defense at best (already 11 errors on the and a negative zone rating) and brought zero power to the table. My eyes turned to Dru50's Sergio Trevino to replace him. Obviously, Trevino isn't as good as Cocoa, but I got a guy who can play three infield spots at an elite level defensively while still having a bat that is good enough to hit around .250 each season. I also get a guy who is almost a good a base-runner as Bruno. Trevino is also very young as well, so he's going to get better and improve his averages as he learns to hit ML pitching. 2.) Trade Carlos Saldana for a more balanced/versatile infielder. I knew I needed to acquire someone with talent once I dealt Cocoa, so in return I got Ken Welsch's Marcos Hildalgo. We really like what he brings to the table - he's got much more pop than Bruno, hitting 21 homers last season in a Minnesota park that's hard to hit homers in. Hildalgo is also still developing - he hasn't reached his full contact or home run potential yet. Carlos Saldana is an ok player, but he was too one-dimensional for our liking despite playing very good defense. He either was hitting a home run or striking out. There really wasn't anything in between. His .260 batting average is nothing more than a flash in the pan given what he "accomplished" last season. 3.) Bolster the bullpen Going into next season, the Rangers are looking to compete. It will be Year 3 of my regime, and we need to get the ball rolling. The Rangers have acquired two great young prospects in the draft with SP's Doug Coull and "Extreme" Dixon, and both should be ready by 2031. We liked SP's Didier Larcher and Angel Manuel, but both weren't great fits in Arlington, and Manuel still needs a ton of time to develop and was already showing regression. Thus, we acquired CL Luis Pena and MR Geoffrey Lawrence in two separate deals. With "Clueless" regressing horribly and a young pen still trying to figure themselves out, we wanted to have definitive options going into next season. Pena fits Arlington perfectly and will be our closer for years to come. Lawrence is going to be a steady set up man in the 7th or 8th inning. Once Jim Connolly returns from injury next year and some of my young guys keep developing, we like what we have in the pen going forward. Plans moving forward The Rangers still have some work to do as we wind down the 2029 season. Will Davis is getting the September call-up and we can't wait to see how he performs/progresses once he reaches the ML. Little work needs to be done to improve the offense as we like what we're going to have there going forward. Everyone is very young (besides Buxton and Hawkins, who I can't wait to get the fuck out). It's all about rebuilding that pitching staff going forward. Coull and Dixon are still a year or year and a half away, so in the mean time I'm gonna be on the prowl for pitchers with higher end stuff/movement. I also want to acquire an elite defensive catcher because Bill Buschorn is likely going to be DH'd. Texas will likely have another high pick next season to improve a farm that has improved mightily since when I took over, even after i dealt some of those specs away. Really looking forward to moving over to 15 and continuing building this team.
Well written and great philosophy on the thinking aspect. As Shark has put it, have a plan and stick to it, don't just dump a plan year or two in because it isn't working. Give it time to develop, and it appears you have a good plan in place, best of luck with it.
