When the clock struck four today, the most hectic period in baseball, the trade deadline came to a close. Here is a look at who the top 5 winners of the deadline were after today.
The Phillies got their guy in Roy Oswalt, but just missed my list.
Author Archive
Sean Marshall, Kosuke Fukudome: Why, How They Could Help Boston Red Sox
As we approach the July 31 MLB Trade Deadline, the Boston Red Sox will be looking to make a trade or two to help the team stay in playoff contention.
Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is looking to upgrade the bullpen as the team has had poor middle relief from Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima over the last few weeks.
Epstein has reportedly considered many names such as Rafael Perez, Will Ohman, Mike Gonzalez, Michael Wuertz, Craig Breslow, Kerry Wood, Kyle Farnsworth, and David Aardsma as possible targets.
Arguably the top reliever available with Matt Capps heading the Twins is Blue Jays relief pitcher Scott Downs. Downs, has an impressive 2.34 ERA in 47 games for Toronto. However, the Blue Jays are asking for either Casey Kelly or Jose Iglesias for Downs, a price that they are not willing to pay.
Even with the unlikely acquisition of Downs, the Red Sox still have other options that could come much cheaper.
One name that hasn’t been mentioned at all and who has numbers better than Downs and is also a left handed pitcher is Chicago Cubs reliever Sean Marshall.
Marshall, has been the Cubs primary bridge to Carlos Marmol. This season, Marshall has put up a 6-3 record with an amazing 1.71 ERA in 53 appearances.
Marshall‘s name has not come up at all in trade rumors, and the Red Sox could make a serious run at him. Unlike Downs, Marshall’s price tag is likely a lot lower.
The Sox have been looking for a set up man along with Daniel Bard to pitch and hand the ball off to Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth inning. Their current middle relievers besides Bard are Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima, who both have an ERA over 5.
Marshall is by far the best fit right now for the Sox as a reliever.
The Sox have also been looking into a possibility of bringing in an outfielder to hold down the fort in left field until Jacoby Ellsbury returns.
Names such as Jayson Werth and Corey Hart have been thrown around, but both are unlikely to move at this point.
However, a guy that no one has really paid attention to who is having an all right season and is a real bargain is Cubs outfielder Kosuke Fukudome, Marshall’s teammate.
Fukudome, has been forced into a pinch hitting role in Chicago in favor of Xavier Nady. This season, he has a .250 AVG with 8 HR and 26 RBIs.
The Red Sox have previously shown interest in Fukudome, but were not a fan of his salary.
However, due to lack of interest, the Cubs have tried to draw the Sox back in by offering to pay for most of Fukudome’s 2010 salary as they have been trying to trade him since June.
A Marshall and Fukudome deal for the Sox could be a real bargain and probably their best option to get better at this point.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com
MLB Trade Deadline: Predicting Where the Top 25 Big Names will End Up: P
With the trade deadline only little more than a day away, here is Part three of where I think the Top 25 guys on the market will end up (21-25).
MLB Trade Deadline: Predicting Where Top 25 Big Names Will End Up, Pt. 2
Here is Part Two (11-20) of where I think the big names in MLB trade rumors will end up.
MLB Trade Rumors: Why Dan Haren Deal Makes Jayson Werth Boston-Bound
Today, the Major League Baseball hot stove got even hotter as the Arizona Diamondbacks dealt Dan Haren to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for Joe Saunders and a couple of minor leaguers. Certainly an unexpected deal.
A team that was in on Haren was the Philidelphia Phillies. Rival executives believe that the Phillies will most likely acquire either Haren or Oswalt before the deadline.
With Haren off the market, the Phillies’ attention is now fully on acquiring Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt as the trade deadline is only six days away.
Recently, the Philidelphia Phillies have talked to the Astros about a possible trade for Oswalt. However, the Phillies’ proposed packages have fallen short of the Astros demands.
It has been widely speculated that the Phillies have the best shot to acquire Oswalt if (and a big IF) they deal outfielder Jayson Werth.
The most likely scenario for an Oswalt trade, is that the Phillies would have to deal Werth to a contending club for minor league prospects, and then flip those prospects in addition to pitcher J.A. Happ to Houston in exchange for the Astros ace.
Over the last week or so, scouts from the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox have been in attendance scouting the 31-year old Werth.
For the Rays, Werth would make sense. He would be able to fill the always changing right field position for the Rays and a middle of the order threat as well.
However, the problem with the Rays is that in their franchise history, they have not made a significant trade deadline move, even when they were in playoff contention. Also, if Werth were to go to Tampa Bay, they would have to surrender young talent, which is what defines the Rays. A trade for Werth just wouldn’t be following the “Ray Way”.
With Magglio Ordonez out 6-8 weeks with a broken ankle, the Tigers have stepped up their pursuit of an outfielder. The Tigers have been scouting Werth extensively over the past few games.
Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski has maintained, however, that he will not trade for a rent-a-player.
This eliminates Werth, as he is in the final year of his contract with Philadelphia.
Instead, the Tigers are more likely to go after Kansas City outfielder and DH Jose Guillen, who hits for power. They also may pursue Nationals slugger Adam Dunn as well.
The Tigers may look to acquiring a pitcher such as Ted Lilly, who they have been linked to lately. With outfielders Ryan Raburn, Austin Jackson, Don Kelly, Johnny Damon, and Brennan Boesch all on the MLB roster, they may just stay put and wait until Ordonez returns.
Which finally leaves us with the Boston Red Sox.
The Red Sox have a clear hole in their outfield with Jacoby Ellsbury on the DL and Mike Cameron playing day-to-day with a hernia issue. This leaves the Sox to play Darnell McDonald, Jeremy Hermida, and Daniel Nava in the outfield this season.
Make it also be known that the Red Sox are no stranger to the trade deadline as in 2007, they acquired Eric Gagne, in 2008, they acquired outfielder Jason Bay from the Pirates, and last season, they acquired catcher Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians.
The Red Sox are also notorious for making great deals without giving up major minor league talent as they still have possession of Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury, who both the Indians and Pirates asked about during trade negotiations.
Werth would be able to fill the empty hole in left field, have Ellsbury and Cameron alternate in center field, and J.D. Drew play right field.
With the deadline only a few days away, I see the Red Sox having the best shot at obtaining Werth, and at the right price.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com