Trading places, trading stories, trading, trading, trading…. Reactions, thoughts and takeaways…
1. Sacred Moment, Sacred Teams
Maybe the Chicago Cubs break their 107-year World Series-less drought this year, maybe they don’t. But in picking up closer Aroldis Chapman, the Cubs boldly made the move they needed to make to give this team an even better chance to win.
Afterward, Theo Epstein, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, offered this untradeable quote:
“Every chance to win is sacred,” he told USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. “So if you don’t do it now, when?
“We have a healthy rotation, a healthy bullpen, two MVP candidates and a team that has built this big lead. You can’t just take that for granted.”
Write that down, print it out and tack it up on your wall.
Every chance to win is sacred. So if you don’t do it now, when?
Credit the Cleveland Indians for recognizing that in dealing four prospects to the New York Yankees for lefty setup man Andrew Miller.
Credit the Texas Rangers for recognizing it and acquiring both Carlos Beltran (from the Yankees) and Jonathan Lucroy (from the Brewers).
Credit the Washington Nationals for recognizing it and scooping up closer Mark Melancon (from the Pirates).
Credit Miami for acquiring a couple of starting pitchers and a closer, even if the Marlins did wind up sending injured Colin Rea back to the Padres in a partial reversal of last week’s deal on Monday.
The Cubs (last won a World Series in 1908), Cleveland (1948), Rangers (never in their 55-year existence, since 1961) and Nationals (last World Series in D.C.: 1924) represent the longest World Series droughts in the game.
On the opposite end, you have the Dodgers, who I wrote last week blew it by not making a bold move one year ago to put their team over the top. When you have an in-his-prime Clayton Kershaw (last year), history will be a harsh judge if you don’t take advantage of those chances to win.
So now will Los Angeles’ acquisitions this year of lefty starter Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick put the Dodgers over the hump? I still don’t think the moves were bold enough, but with Kershaw injured and Zack Greinke gone, it isn’t nearly as egregious as the Dodgers’ work last year at the deadline.
Certain fanbases have been waiting their entire lives for a World Series title. As former San Francisco Giants coach Tim Flannery is fond of saying, you don’t pick the time to win, the time to win picks you.
Some teams recognize that better than others. When the time to win picks you, you need to move. Prospects are enormously important, yes. But every season is not a one-size-fits-all blueprint. Sometimes, the best thing you can do with those prospects is turn them into major league players who can help you win, and win now.
2. Cleveland Goes All-In
Imagine a World Series between a Cubs franchise and an Indians franchise that collectively have not won in 174 years.
What a story that would be, and the Indians did their part by acquiring lefty Andrew Miller at the trade deadline to boost a pitching staff that already has what it takes to win the American League pennant.
For that, credit a front office that, recently, too often has been too timid at this time of year to make the big move. But here’s the thing: The Indians hired Terry Francona to manage before the 2013 season, and you don’t hire a manager with Francona’s pedigree unless you are going to go for it when the time is right.
With Francona running the show, the Indians have a responsibility to hit the gas, and boy, did they ever. They swung and missed on catcher Jonathan Lucroy, who used his no-trade clause to reject a deal to Cleveland. But the Indians added Miller, who, at the time he was acquired, had 77 strikeouts and only seven walks this season.
“I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but from [Indians owner] Paul Dolan to Chris [Antonetti, president of baseball operations] and his guys…not just what it does for our team statistically, wins and losses, but the message it sends is that you’re going to see guys with some extra bounce in their step,” Francona told reporters Sunday.
Not to mention that when the Indians travel to Yankee Stadium this weekend, they don’t have to face Miller.
Francona talked about how when he is out around town, some in Cleveland have been questioning him about the team’s direction.
“People will stop and say something to me and inevitably, it’s that kind of comment like…’How come we’re not with the big fish?'” Francona said. “I mean, there is no bigger. Chris and the guys just went out and got the very best guy there was, and if you don’t think other teams wanted him, you’re crazy.
“So they didn’t half-ass it; they went and got the best there is. There’s no better message.”
3. Jay Bruce’s Nightmare Over, But the Mets?
Having served as a Human Trade Rumor for the past year-and-a-half, finally, outfielder Jay Bruce learned he had a new home: the New York Mets.
A couple of things here:
One, good luck to that vaunted Mets pitching staff now when it gives up fly balls to an outfield whose glove work is, well, questionable. Mets general manager Sandy Alderson continues his long pattern of collecting corner outfielders who can hit while pretty much ignoring defense while he’s at it. Heading down the stretch, the Mets now have three corner outfielders in Bruce, Yoenis Cespedes and Curtis Granderson (plus Michael Conforto) but no true center fielder. And center field is enormous in Citi Field.
That said, here’s why the Mets acquired Bruce, whom Alderson called “not an absolute perfect fit”:
The change of scenery should work wonders for Bruce. When B/R caught up with him over the weekend, the poor guy’s mind was turning somersaults on him. Last July, the Reds nearly dealt him to the Mets for pitcher Zach Wheeler. This spring, the Reds nearly dealt him to the Blue Jays. Last week, the strong rumor was a three-way deal that would have Bruce landing with the Dodgers.
When we talked, Bruce said he just wanted it done.
“I love Cincinnati,” he said. “I’ve loved my time here. But it’s clear what’s happening. It’s time for both sides to move on. I want to win.”
He now has a chance…as well as a very unique place in history:
4. Texas No Longer All Hat and No Cattle
This side of San Francisco executive vice president of baseball operations Brian Sabean and his assistant, GM Bobby Evans, nobody works the trade deadline as expertly as Rangers GM Jon Daniels and his staff. And the Rangers did it again, adding outfielder Carlos Beltran, catcher Jonathan Lucroy and reliever Jeremy Jeffress while holding on to key youngsters Jurickson Profar, Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara.
Lucroy helps both behind the plate and with the bat. Beltran will be cool lemonade on a hot day to a club whose designated hitters rank 13th in the AL with a .655 OPS. And Jeffress strengthens a bullpen whose closer, Shawn Tolleson, was last seen being optioned to Triple-A Round Rock.
For Beltran, the Yankees were able to acquire Texas’ first-round pick (No. 4 overall) from last year, pitcher Dillon Tate. But overall the Rangers, who sources told B/R investigated starting pitchers from the White Sox’s Chris Sale to Tampa Bay’s Chris Archer to Philadelphia’s Vincent Velasquez and everyone in between, ultimately made Houston’s task of playing catch-up in the AL West far more difficult.
The Rangers played in the World Series in 2010 (losing to the Giants) and 2011 (losing to the Cardinals), coming within one strike of winning in ’11 before suffering heartbreak.
From here, it looks like the Rangers have every chance of getting that last strike this October.
5. Crunching Numbers With the Dodgers
OK, so Los Angeles failed to make a big move, but Reddick will help the Dodgers. And in a sabermetric-leaning front office that includes experienced and forward-thinking types such as Andrew Friedman, Farhan Zaidi, Josh Byrnes and Alex Anthopoulos, you don’t have to look far to decipher one thing about Reddick that was very attractive to them:
6. Weekly Power Rankings
1. August: Quick, who is going to clear waivers this month?
2. Twitter: The trade deadline, when even players can’t keep their noses out of their smartphones in the clubhouse.
3. Danny Duffy: Takes a no-hitter into the eighth and whiffs 16 Tampa Bay Rays on Monday night. Not exactly the kind of trade deadline day Royals fans were looking for, but it was fun while it lasted.
4. Yasiel Puig: His absence on the Dodgers’ charter flight to Denver garnered a lot more attention than any absence from the Dodgers’ lineup, and that’s the problem. Spent three seasons making himself expendable. And now, after having reportedly been told he will either be traded or demoted, according to Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, he is.
5. Do-overs: Wait, didn’t the Marlins acquire right-hander Colin Rea from the Padres? And the Padres acquired Colin Rea from the Marlins? Huh?
7. Explaining the Marlins-Padres Re-Trade
Speaking of the trade that didn’t quite work out as planned, Miami worked overtime to add two starting pitchers as the Marlins push to overtake Washington in the NL East, or to earn one of the two NL wild-card spots.
Then Rea felt pain in his elbow in the fourth inning Saturday, and all hell broke loose.
In a nutshell: The Marlins screamed that the Padres sent them damaged goods. Sources close to Miami noted San Diego’s turnover in medical staff this year and claim that Padres general manager A.J. Preller hired trainers who would simply tell other clubs whatever he wanted them to say.
The Padres maintain that Rea was completely healthy when they shipped him to Miami, noting that in each of his two starts leading up to the deal, he had pitched six innings, throwing 106 and 103 pitches, respectively. No problems. They also say Preller is not responsible for the new trainers.
In the end, according to B/R sources, there was a discrepancy between the teams in the medical records exchanged. Rea, a source said, had changed the anti-inflammatory medicine he takes between starts the week before he was traded. While the original medication was included in the documents the Marlins received, the new medication was not.
Consequently, when Rea was forced to leave Saturday’s game with pain, the Marlins were upset. The Padres were at fault for leaving the anti-inflammatory detail out of the chart and, as such, to end the dispute, agreed to take Rea back and send minor league pitcher Luis Castillo back to Miami.
8. Chatter
• Yes, the Chicago White Sox (for Chris Sale) and everyone else wanted young Texas slugging prospect Nomar Mazara. As one NL executive told me: “I’d give my eye teeth for Mazara.”
• San Francisco’s additions of left-handed starter Matt Moore and lefty reliever Will Smith appear to be two more perfect deadline moves by the Giants. Manager Bruce Bochy has not had as strong a bullpen this year as he did during world championship years in 2010, 2012 and 2014, and Smith helps. Moore deepens the rotation. And the two lefties combined will help against the Dodgers down the stretch, whose lineup is left-handed-heavy with Cory Seager, Adrian Gonzalez, Chase Utley and Joc Pederson.
• One MLB executive on the Cubs’ acquisition of Chapman, who will be a free agent this winter: “They’ll sign Chapman, and it will be something like three years at $15 million a year. They have to. They have a short window with their pitching. Jon Lester and John Lackey are older, and Jake Arrieta probably is going to be gone [via free agency]….”
• The Padres worked hard to deal catcher Derek Norris, but when Lucroy vetoed the potential trade to Cleveland, it muddied the waters enough to shoot down any potential Norris deal. Sources tell B/R the Padres were talking with the Brewers about sending Norris to Milwaukee as a stopgap catcher the rest of the summer. But in the end, the Brewers acquired Andrew Susac from the Giants in the Will Smith deal. San Diego also spoke with Houston about Norris, but the Astros weren’t ready to address their catching until this winter.
• In his first summer as a seller, Yankees GM Brian Cashman killed it, acquiring eight prospects for Chapman and Miller, plus three more for outfielder Carlos Beltran. After their trades, the Yankees now employ eight of the top 100 prospects, according to Baseball America.
• The Yankees last were sellers in 1989, when they sent Rickey Henderson to Oakland for pitchers Greg Cadaret and Eric Plunk and outfielder Luis Polonia.
• Don’t sleep on the other two relievers the Cubs acquired. Joe Smith (from the Angels) and Mike Montgomery (Mariners) don’t have the cachet of Chapman, but they make Chicago’s bullpen much better as well. Smith is a funky side-armer, and Montgomery is left-handed. The Cubs now have more weapons who come at opponents from different angles.
9. Closing Time?
So, we’ll close with this: Is Rich Hill the guy who will put the Dodgers over the top? Really? Maybe:
9a. Rock ‘n’ Roll Lyric of the Week
Nothing more fitting than this from Johnny Cash as we cross the non-waiver trade deadline…
“Boston, Charleston, Dayton, Louisiana,
“Washington, Houston, Kingston, Texarkana,
“Monterey, Ferriday, Santa Fe, Tallapoosa
“Glen Rock, Black Rock, Little Rock, Oskaloosa,
“Tennessee, Hennessey, Chicopee, Spirit Lake,
“Grand Lake, Devil’s Lake, Crater Lake, for Pete’s sake;
“I’ve been everywhere, man
“I’ve been everywhere, man
“‘Cross the deserts bare, man
“I’ve breathed the mountain air, man
“Of travel, I’ve had my share, man
“I’ve been everywhere.”
—Johnny Cash, “I’ve Been Everywhere”
Scott Miller covers Major League Baseball as a national columnist for Bleacher Report.
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