This year the baseball trade deadline has prompted to some very exciting deals- if you cheer for the Yankees and the Angels.
The Yankees are repeating the pattern of the past, though with a bit less luster. They are taking on additional payroll (with that ever end???) and sending back prospects or low money guys in return. First they bring over Xavier Nady and his .320+ average to fill their hole in left field, as well as giving them a right handed bat that has been missing to restore balance to their line-up. That deal also brought them a solid left-handed reliever. The analysts basically agree this deal was a steal for the Yankees. They have Nady signed for next year at an affordable salary, and an option for Marte. So, this is not a rent-a-player situation.
Marte’s presence allowed them to ship out Farnsworth, which saddens me. The hard throwing relief pitcher was hittable often enough. In return they pick up an aging Ivan Rodriguez. He started the year slowly at the plate, but has brought his average up to about .290. So, they add a strong bat behind the plate, replacing Posada who is done for the year. From the Tigers’ perspective, this move surprises me since they seemed to have climbed back into the AL Central. This is basically a salary dump.
They have positioned themselves nicely for the stretch run in an organization where failure is not an option. The weak and vulnerable Yankees of April-June are once again gone as Brian Cashman made some wise moves internally (some forced by injuries to guys who weren’t performing as expected), and brought in some guys to address the remaining weaknesses. All we can hope for is that they lack chemistry. Only they could do this because they added millions in payroll.
The Angels also made a really good move in picking up Teixeira for Kotchman. That is a big improvement in my book. Though he might be a rent-a-player. But the Angels see this as the year they could go all the way. They have the pitching, and needed 1 or 2 more good bats. Teixeira is the piece they needed to avoid a repeat of last year’s playoff sweep at the hands of the Red Sox.
If you haven’t noticed, the Red Sox payroll has been decreasing over the years. They are showing greater financial restraint, but this may come back to bite them like it did in 2005. They are trying to dump Manny and his primadona act. His recent actions seem to be mostly about his desire to make more money. It is hard to avoid thinking that he no longer wants the Sox to pick up that option because he wants another $100 million contract- which seems unlikely with his diminishing skills. But Scott Boras only makes money on Manny if he does get a new contract instead of the option. So ….. this round of Manny Being Moronic seems to be driven by money since he sure is hitting well for a guy with a bum knee. But he seems to play better when there is drama going on, so who really knows.
The only remaining possibility out there, after the Phillies, Mets and Dodgers have all denied any interest, seems the Marlins of all teams. It is reported the Red Sox could get either Josh Willingham or Jeremy Hermida and a prospect in return. I doubt anything will happen though. Maybe the Marlins think Manny will actually put some fannies in the seats there.
The Rays have been mentioned in rumors, but I couldn’t see them picking up any of these guys, contrary to what I hear on the local sports radio. The owners don’t want to spend that much extra money, and they don’t want to give away their prospects. You aren’t getting any of the players traded for Johnny Gomes, folks. They have survived a stretch where they have not produced many runs, which is a positive. The local jock talkers think they have the guns to score lots more runs. I suspect this latest stretch was a “regression to mean” after some superlative play. The real Rays are somewhere between those 2 offensive extremes. Longoria has been killing my fantasy team the last few weeks (as have a few other guys- I even dumped Ellsbury which may come back to haunt me). But the re-constituted Yankees will surpass the Rays until A-Fraud does his typical October disappearing act.
Cavman Considers 