By Mark Halpern
This morning most of anyone who watches baseball will be checking in to see if their teams have done anything to upgrade their team as the 4 pm deadline approaches. As of Yesterday, the big trades revolved around the Dodgers and Yankees. The Mainers, Tampa Rays, and the Boston Red Sox all made trades to bolster their club. The Nationals and Cubs were the biggest sellers as the Nationals traded Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber. The Cubs have parted with Anthony Rizzo, Craig Kimbrell and possibly moving Kris Bryant, Javy Baez, and Zach Davies. The Teams that have been the quietest to much surprise are the Padres and Mets, as both were to be heavy buyers come the trade deadline. (written @ 9am)This morning saw a bold Trade by the Toronto Blue Jays acquiring star pitcher Jose Berrios but giving up Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson, the club’s number 2 and 4 prospects. This was out of left-field as Toronto was an underdog in getting him, but apparently, their offer was much better. The Cubs Stayed in Limelight by trading Pitcher Craig Kimball to the cross-town rival White Sox for 2b Nick Madrigal and pitcher Codi Heuer. Getting a second baseman means what I hope it means, and Baez is on the move to the Mets “written at 1:45 pm.”
Ten min ago at 3 pm est, two sources confirmed that Javy Baez is coming to the Mets pending a physical. This is huge for the Mets cause Baez has stated he wants to play in New York with Lindor. This now gives the Mets an infield of Davis, Baez, McNeil, and Alonso. When Lindor returns, Baez will shift to second base and McNeil to third, giving the infield look like McNeil, Lindor, Baez, and Alonso. Also, in this Trade, the Mets will get Starting Pitcher Trevor Williams and send Pete Crow Armstrong to the Cubs. Armstrong was ranked as one of the Mets top prospects but had to have season-ending surgery on his arm. This doesn’t mean the Mets are done as there is little under an hour left and still big names still out there to be picked. Trevor Williams will help the depleted Mets Starting Rotation.
The Atlanta Braves are finalizing two deals that bring Adam Duvall from The Marlins and Eddie Rosario from the Cleveland Indians to help with their outfield since Ronald Acuna was lost for the season.Some late rumors that Josh Donaldson and Byron Buxton are being shopped. Donaldson has had a resurgence year hitting .250 with 16HR. I don’t see Buxton moving, but Donaldson could help a few ball clubs out.The NL East is at it again but, this time, it’s the Phillies who are abuzz. A few sources have said the two are working on a deal that would send pitchers Ian Kennedy and Kyle Gibson from the texas rangers. We will see if that comes to fruition. Also, the Nationals are back at it with finalizing a deal sending catcher Yan Gomes and second Baseman Josh Harrison to Oakland. With Strasburg needing that season-ending surgery, I think the Nats have thrown their hands up this season and will start rebuilding.
The Milwaukee Brewers will send Daniel Norris to the Detroit Tigers Reese Olsen, and in other small news, the Rays acquired Shawn Armstrong for cash Considerations from Baltimore. Also, the Padres have made a trade with none other than the Nationals for RHP Daniel Hudson, and the Nationals will receive RHP Mason Thompson and ShortStop Jordan Barley.With about 23 minutes left in this year’s trade deadline, The St Louis Cardinals have made a trade for Pitcher J.A Happ and cash considerations for pitchers John Grant and Evan Sisk. I can see many small deals happen, but there is still time for another significant splash or two.
With less than 1 min left in the trade deadline and the Yankees have made a deal with the Angels for pitcher Andrew Heany for Jason Junk and Elvis Peguero, “Elvis has left the building.” Houston Astros acquired RHP Phil Maton for outfielder Myles Straw.I got a considerable Trade notification from Danny Boy Reginald that Kris Bryant was traded not to New York Like I was hoping but to the San Francisco Giants. This is a big shock to me. San Francisco had not mentioned being interested in him, nor were there any rumors.
The Padres have traded for outfielder Jake Marisnick from none other than the Cubs, and the Phillies acquire shortstop Freddy Galvis from the Baltimore Orioles. The Nationals are staying in selling mode as they have traded Starting pitcher Jon Lester to the Cardinals. I wonder who is left to pitch for the Nats with Strassburg lost for the season, Scherzer on his way to Los Angeles, and Lester on his way to St Louis. There are many opportunities for young pitchers to make their name in this organization for next year’s club invites. The Giants received pitcher Tony Watson from Angels, the Braves made a last-minute trade to acquire Royals outfielder Jorge Soler, and The Red Sox made a quick last-minute move in trading for Hansel Robles.
It is now 4 pm on the east coast, and the Trade Deadline has come to an end. I don’t think there has been a more exciting trade deadline in recent years. A lot of big deals were made across baseball. The Dodgers, in my opinion, were the big winners throughout the week, with the Yankees coming in second. The Mets, Giants, Braves, Blue Jays, and Phillies deserve honorable mentions as they all added pieces to their respective teams to make runs at the playoffs.
As for the Mets, I feel they gave up the one piece that was farthest away in the farm system: Armstrong, a top 100 prospect. They got an incredible talent in Baez and will help fill in the missing hole left by Lindor’s injury. Once Lindor is back, the Mets will have to make some decisions on a few things. Baez will move to second base and thus have McNeil over at third. This will Leave J.D Davis, Jonathan Villar, and Luis Guilliorme wondering about their futures with the club. McNeil also has experience playing in the outfield, which would help fill in some other area problems. After it is all said and done, the Mets did what they needed to do and got the suitable replacements for the injury-depleted team, and that is how the old man sees it.
I hope you all enjoyed this 4-part piece on the trade deadline.
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