Kuzul

After the 2010 season, both Boston Red Sox catchers will be free agents. It’s quite possible that Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek won’t be back for the Red Sox in 2011.

I believe Martinez will be back, but just in case he is not or even if he is, the Red Sox traded for some insurance over the weekend. The Red Sox acquired catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia from the Texas Rangers for minor leaguers Ramon Mendez (no relation to Sam or Eva) and Chris McGuiness. The Red Sox will also include a player to be named later.

Saltalamacchia has been a huge bust since coming to the Rangers in the Mark Teixeira trade in 2007. He was supposed to become the Rangers’ catcher of the future and has been anything but.

Injuries, a case of Mackey Sasser syndrome (can’t throw the ball back to the pitcher), and a .243 average in a Rangers’ led to this trade. Perhaps a change of scenery will do him good in Boston.

Saltalamacchia is still only 25-years old, so there is plenty of time for him to turn things around.

McGuiness is having a monster season in Single-A. He has put up a .298/.416/.504 hitting line with 12 home runs in 282 at-bats.

He is a 22-year-old first baseman, who was drafted in the 13th round of the 2009 draft. While the Red Sox still have Kevin Youkilis and Lars Anderson is still lurking in the minors, I am a little surprised Boston would include McGuiness in a trade for Saltalamacchia.

Mendez is a 20-year-old pitcher, who had a 6.56 ERA with 9.9 K/9 in Single-A this season.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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The St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, and Cleveland Indians got together on Saturday and made a nice three team trade that I believe benefited all three teams.

Let’s see what each team got in the trade…

Cardinals receive Jake Westbrook

With the uncertainty surrounding Brad Penny and Kyle Lohse, the Cardinals needed another starter to go along with Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright. Westbrook fits exactly what the Cardinals needed to a tee.

Pitching coach Dave Duncan likes guys who throw groundballs and pound the strike zone. Westbrook certainly does that. He has a groundball rate of 53 percent.

I would imagine if the Cardinals fend off the Cincinnati Reds and make the playoffs, Westbrook would be their Game Three starter and Jaime Garcia would slide into the Game Four spot.

Greenwood was a 14th round pick of the Padres in the 2009 Draft and posted a 4.15 ERA in 95.1 IP for Single-A Fort Wayne this season.

Padres receive Ryan Ludwick and minor leaguer Nick Greenwood

The Cardinals must really like Jon Jay in order to part with Ludwick. Ludwick is a solid player who has always produced since coming over to the Cardinals in 2007. Now he will go to San Diego, a team that really could use his services.

Padre right fielders rank 11th in the NL with a .758 OPS. Ludwick will certainly help improve that. Ludwick put up a .281/.343/.484 hitting line with 11 HR in 281 ABs for the Cardinals.

He should fit in nicely behind Adrian Gonzalez in the Padres lineup and will be under the Padres’ control for 2011 as well.

Indians receive Corey Kluber

Kluber was a fourth round pick of the Padres in the 2007 draft and has shown tremendous ability to strike people out in four seasons in the minor leagues. Over the course of four seasons, Kluber has a 9.5 K/9 rate, mostly as a starter.

This year, Kluber has a 3.45 ERA and 136 K’s in 122.2 innings for Double-A San Antonio.

I really like this deal for all three parties involved. The Cardinals get their No.3/No.4 starter they needed, the Padres get the outfield bat they so desperately needed, and the Indians continue to trade away assets and get decent value in return.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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It’s been a whirlwind week for Indians fans.

After finally trading longtime fan frustration Jhonny Peralta on Wednesday, the Indians traded Austin Kearns to the Yankees Friday night, flipped ten-year Tribe veteran Jake Westbrook to the Cardinals Saturday afternoon, then pawned off Kerry Wood’s contract.

Most Clevelanders’ instinctual reactions to this news would be to moan and groan, to relive the moments from last year when Cliff Lee and Victor Martinez were shipped out of town and mumble something about the futility of rooting for a small-market team.

I can certainly relate to the abandonment issues my fellow Tribe fans are dealing with, and I understand the urge to crawl into a corner and sit in the fetal position for the rest of the season.

However, depression and rage are the wrong reactions to this year’s four deadline deals and the June trade of Russell Branyan.

The trading season for the Tribe can only be described with the words of a wise man from Kazakhstan: “Great success!”

Branyan, Peralta, Kearns, Westbrook, and Wood all had one thing in common: either their contracts were set to expire at the end of the season or they had options for the 2011 season that the Indians had no interest in picking up.

With the Indians already firmly out of the race, keeping these players around for the final two months would have been ridiculous. Had we just let them walk at the end of the season, we would have gotten nothing—the only ones who might possibly qualify for Type B status are Branyan and Peralta, and offering arbitration to either would be risky because they’d be likely to accept.

With the possible exception of Westbrook, who the Indians may try to reacquire in the offseason, they had no place in the Indians’ long-term plans.

We didn’t get a huge haul in return for anyone—two useful but uninspiring young position players (outfielder Ezequiel Carrera and shortstop Juan Diaz, both in the Branyan deal), a pair of solid pitching prospects (righty Corey Kluber for Westbrook and southpaw Giovanni Soto for Peralta), two PTBNLs (both from the Yankees, one each for Kearns and Wood), and at least $3 million in salary relief.

But even if the youngsters we’ve acquired don’t grow up to be All-Stars and Larry Dolan loses all the spare change in a single poorly played hand of Texas Hold ‘Em (stranger things have happened), the point is that in exchange for the outgoing veterans who weren’t helping us anyway, we got a chance to have more hope for the future—six of them, to be precise, maybe more if we put the extra money towards a solid free agent.

The Indians had five useful players who didn’t mean anything to us. All of them have been swapped for potential pieces of a future pennant-winner.

Mission accomplished.

This was outgoing GM Mark Shapiro’s last big chance to score. He brought home a winner.

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So far this season, the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds have been engaged in a dogfight among the top of the National League Central. With St. Louis recently solidifying their starting rotation, that may be about to change.

St. Louis pulled off a three-team deal with the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians, acquiring Indians starter Jake Westbrook while shipping right fielder Ryan Ludwick to San Diego. Meanwhile, the Reds, who have been in need of bullpen help all season, made no moves leading up to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

“There were a couple yesterday that we had been working on for a while that fell apart at the end,” Cincinnati GM Walt Jocketty said after the 4:00 PM EST deadline had passed. “The players we were pursuing were not traded. They probably were not real serious.”

So, while quality arms like Octavio Dotel, Kyle Farnsworth, Kerry Wood, and Chad Qualls will all wear new uniforms in the coming days, none of them will suit up in Cin City.

Instead, the Reds look to build from within, with Russ Springer, former Cardinal Jason Isringhausen, and young Cuban fireballer Aroldis Chapman waiting in the minor leagues.

Meanwhile, St. Louis has bolstered their starting rotation with a quality fourth starter in Jake Westbrook. Ryan Ludwick, who was batting .281/.343/.484 with 11 home runs, 43 RBI, and 44 runs scored in 77 games, was sent to the NL West-leading Padres. St. Louis also receives Padres left-handed prospect Nick Greenwood and an undisclosed amount of cash from Cleveland.

“I think they gave up a pretty good hitter to get him,” Jocketty said of the Westbrook-
Ludwick deal. “Offense has been one of their struggles of late. He’s a good addition for them but they also lost a very good offensive player.”

But although they traded Ludwick, the Cardinals are faithful that rookie Jon Jay, who has batted .396 and slugged .604 while filling in for an injured Ludwick, can fill the void admirably.

The 21-year-old has impressed the Cardinals organization, obviously enough to turn the reins over to him in right field, where he started Saturday’s game against the Pirates. He also plays a good center field, although that position is currently held by Colby Rasmus. He is fourth among NL center fielders in Total Zone Runs this year.

“In fairness, our offense was inconsistent with him,” Cards GM John Mozeliak said. “Will it be inconsistent without him? I don’t know. But we have had some success when we’ve had players out of the lineup. We still have a chance to get [David] Freese back in the next 10 days or so, and if that happens, that should be a jolt offensively for the club. But overall, I just felt like the way things were going offensively, it made sense.”

Ludwick, who has been a fan favorite during his four years in St. Louis, had mixed feelings about the deal.

“I’m excited,” the newest Padre said. “Sad, excited, nervous, a lot of things…[Coming to St. Louis] jump-started my career. That’s why I’m sad to leave. Management, coaching staff, players, I got along with everyone. I’m sad leaving the fans. They treated me great.”

Westbrook, who has not been to the playoffs since 2007, carried a much merrier tone.

“I’m excited to go to a club contending for a playoff spot and pitch in some meaningful ballgames,” he said. “That’s why you play the game, for a chance to get into the playoffs, and I’m looking forward to doing that.”

The righty, who had pitched over 210 innings per season from 2004-06 before undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing all of the 2009 campaign, has been slowly returning to form over the course of this season. Although he is 6-7 with a 4.65 ERA over the course of the season, he has seen a return to form lately, averaging 6.4 innings over his last 15 games.

Although St. Louis may miss Ludwick’s bat while Jay transitions to a starting job, receiving some dependability from someone outside of Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Jaime Garcia will help over the long stretch, and gives the Cardinals a serviceable options other than their top three starters come October.

If Cincinnati doesn’t find some way to strengthen their bullpen, they may be looking up at St. Louis come playoff time.

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The non-waiver trading deadline has passed.

The Texas Rangers made arguably the biggest move in the AL with the acquisition of ace Cliff Lee.

They also added some depth with shortstop Cristian Guzman, infielder Jorge Cantu, and catcher Bengie Molina.

In typical New York fashion, the Yankees have put themselves in a position to repeat as World Series champions with the additions of first baseman Lance Berkman, outfielder Austin Kearns, and pitcher Kerry Wood.

Berkman was rumored to be a target for both the Tigers and White Sox, and some reports are he vetoed a deal that would have sent him to Chicago.

So here’s a look at how the three teams contending for the AL Central fared in attempts to make improvements before the trade deadline at 3:00 pm CDT on Saturday.

Chicago White Sox

Key additions: Edwin Jackson—Right-hand pitcher, 6-10, 5.16 ERA.

Key subtractions: Pitcher Jake Peavy—out for the season with right shoulder surgery.

Going 25-5 before the All-Star break, the White Sox went from nine and a half games back and in third place to leading the division by half a game.

With the loss of Jake Peavy for the season, Jackson will help to add some depth to their rotation. With a slightly higher ERA and lower strikeout to walk ratio will have to pitch better in Chicago than he did in Arizona. 

This was the only deal General Manager Ken Williams was able to pull off before the deadline. Will it be enough to keep the Sox out front?

Having gone 9-7 since the All-Star break, their lead remains a half game, but Minnesota has taken over second place from the struggling Tigers. 

The White Sox will still need to add some depth in order to win the division. The task just became a lot more difficult. Any player will have to clear waivers before the deal is completed.

Detroit Tigers

Key Addition: Third baseman Jhonny Peralta—.251 batting average, nine HR, 46 RBI, .315 OBP.

Key Subtractions: Brandon Inge—Out four to six weeks with a broken hand.

The Tigers picked up Peralta from Cleveland for a 19-year-old class-A pitcher Giovanni Soto.

The Tigers were in desperate need of a replacement for Inge and Peralta will fit the bill.

He brings a little more power than what Inge was demonstrating this year, with a slight drop in average and on-base percentage.

The Tigers have been struggling since the break going 4-13, falling to 52-51 and six games behind the White Sox.

Without adding some pitching depth to the lineup is President and General Manager Dave Dombrowski throwing in the towel?

Minnesota Twins

Key Addition: Closer Matt Capps—27 saves, 2.68 ERA

Key Subtractions: Justin Morneau—Currently on the 15-day DL for a concussion.

The Twins needed to add another quality starter to the rotation, and should have been looking for some insurance to back-up Morneau at first.

Michael Cuddyer has been doing a good job filling in, but the addition of either Berkman or Adam Dunn would have gone a long way to plug any potential long-term absence of Morneau.

The only deal GM Bill Smith was able to pull off was the addition of Washington closer Matt Capps. In return, the Twins gave up Double-A left-handed pitcher Joe Testa, and Triple-A catcher Wilson Ramos.

The addition of Capps bolsters the Twins bullpen, allowing interim closer Jon Rauch to move back into the set-up role. This helps fill the gap made with the promotion of Brian Duensing to the starting rotation.

Having gone 12-4 since the All-Star break, the Twins have moved past the Tigers for second place, only a half game behind the White Sox.

Based more on the lack of moves made by the White Sox or Tigers than the move made by the Twins, they can claim victory in deadline deals for the AL Central division. 

At this point the division appears to be the a two-team race between the White Sox and Twins.

The winner will earn the probable right to face either the Rangers or Yankees in the divisional round—and an early exit in the playoffs.     

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Phoenix was the epicenter of the July 31 MLB trade deadline this year.

In four separate deals, a total of 16 players changed hands.

From the Arizona Diamondbacks side, the club parted ways with ace Dan Haren, Edwin Jackson, Chris Snyder and Chad Qualls.

Although the core of the Diamondbacks is still in tack, the organization over the next few years will see many new faces take the field in Phoenix.

Get to know these names, Arizona fans, you will be hearing a lot about them.

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Well, it’s that time of year again. The time where teams either detonate their entire roster, give up some good prospect to get that extra push to propel them to the offseason, or stand pat and hope for the best.

There haven’t been as many trades in 2010 as there were in 2009, but with the likes of Roy Oswalt, Cliff Lee (again), Ted Lilly, Dan Haren and Lance Berkman being dealt over this ‘trade deadline season’….

If I’ve left a trade off, please comment and I’ll put that trade in.

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The Boston Red Sox have acquired minor league pitcher and 2007 8th-round draft pick Daniel Turpen from San Francisco to complete a trade deadline deal that sent reliever Ramon Ramirez to the Giants, according to WEEI’s Rob Bradford.

The 6-3, 230-pound Turpen turns twenty-four this August and has posted a 2.69 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP in over 220 composite minor-league innings. While Turpen has naturally been most dominant at the Single-A level, his 2010 numbers at Double-A Richmond haven’t been quite as impressive.

This year, Turpen has put up a 4.09 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP for the Flying Squirrels. Although his H/9 ratio is an unfortunate 9.8, the former Oregon State righty has a 7.5 K/9 ratio and a 0.7 HR/9 ratio this year.

For breaking-news Red Sox updates, follow Peter on Twitter at  BoSoxUpdate.

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The Boston Red Sox have acquired Texas Rangers’ catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia in a deal consummated even as the bell tolled on the 2010 non-waiver trade deadline. In addition to cash considerations, Texas will receive three players, including Roman Mendez, Chris McGuinness, and a player to be named later, according to WEEI’s Alex Speier.

For a number of years now, the Red Sox have been linked in trade rumors to the 25-year-old Saltalamacchia, who himself expressed great excitement at the prospect of being traded to Boston last year. Of course, most of those rumors involved the Red Sox giving up significant prospects or pieces to acquire the once-top-billed backstop.

A former top catching prospect, Saltalamacchia has slumped or declined, depending on one’s perspective, over the last two years. Spending the start of the 2010 season on the disabled list before moving to the Oklahoma City RedHawks, Saltalamacchia owns a career .251 batting average and .701 OPS and has thrown out approximately 21 percent of potential base stealers.

Presently with the Single-A Lowell Spinners, 20-year-old Dominican right-hander Roman Mendez has high upside and the potential to be a “front-of-the-rotation starter or high-leverage reliever,” according to SoxProspects.com.

Selected during the 13th round of the 2009 Amateur Draft, McGuinness is an infielder who possesses a career .275 average and an 860 OPS in one year with Red Sox Single-A affiliates.

For breaking-news Red Sox updates, follow Peter on Twitter at BoSoxUpdate.

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The Boston Red Sox have traded struggling righty reliever Ramon Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants at the 2010 MLB trade deadline.

While Ramirez has been less than effective in the American League this season, the Red Sox have been actively shopping him to National League clubs with whom he might experience a resurgence, including the New York Mets.

A Rule-5 pick from the Kansas City Royals, Ramirez has put up relatively horrible numbers this season after experiencing a dominant 2009 in Boston. A year ago, Ramirez posted a 2.84 ERA and a 6.72 K/9 ratio. While Ramirez continues to fan batters at a similar rate, he has produced an inflated 4.46 ERA in 2010.

The details of the deal remain unknown, but it is unlikely the Red Sox acquired a Major League player in the trade.

For breaking-news Red Sox updates, follow Peter on Twitter at  BoSoxUpdate.

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