HBT: Deadline winners and losers

One person?s thoughts on who made out best and worst at the trade deadline.

Winners

Texas Rangers: GM Jon Daniels wasn?t interested in parting with third baseman Mike Olt, much less shortstop Jurickson Profar, in order to counter the Angels? Zack Greinke pickup, but he was able to keep his best prospects and land Ryan Dempster anyway. All Dempster has done in 104 innings this season is amass a 2.25 ERA, good for second in the NL. I?m less enthused with acquiring the struggling Geovany Soto to replace Yorvit Torrealba in the catching tandem, but there?s some upside there. The Rangers will get Neftali Feliz back?(uhh, scratch that, Tommy John surgery coming) and they have the option of moving Alexi Ogando to the rotation if things don?t work out with Roy Oswalt, so I?m feeling better about their chances of staying ahead of the Halos in the NL West.

Miami Marlins: Deciding to hold on to Josh Johnson, the Marlins made a couple of smaller deals before the deadline and did well in both. In getting Zack Cox from the Cardinals for reliever Edward Mujica, they picked up a guy who would have been a top 10 overall pick in the 2010 draft if not for his bonus demands. Cox has been something of a disappointment in the minors, particularly in batting .254/.294/.421 in Triple-A this year, but he?s hit for very good averages in the past and there should be more power on the way. He should get a look at third base in September. The Marlins also traded Gaby Sanchez to Pittsburgh for speedy outfielder Gorkys Hernandez and a draft pick that will probably end up around 40th overall. ?Hernandez is a fifth outfielder, but that?s a nice return for someone who wasn?t in the Marlins? future plans. Logan Morrison needs to be their 2013 first baseman.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Time will tell whether the Pirates got better with their trades Monday and Tuesday; they certainly got more interesting with Travis Snider in ight field and Sanchez replacing Casey McGehee in the first base platoon. Snider hasn?t been quite as much of a disappointment as everyone thinks ? he has a .248/.306/.429 line and 31 homers in 835 at-bats ? and he?s just 24 years old. Sanchez is a career .298/.390/.488 hitter against lefties. He?s been way off this year, but if the Pirates can get him straightened out, he?ll be a nice part-timer. Again, I?m not sold on the moves ? Brad Lincoln was looking pretty good since a switch to the pen ? but factor in the Wandy Rodriguez pickup last week and they belong in the winners category.

Casey McGehee: From starting against lefties only on a still relatively anonymous team in a ballpark that punishes right-handed hitters to a wide-open corner infield situation on the game?s most celebrated team in a ballpark that loves everyone. McGehee was one lucky dog, getting to go from the Pirates to the Yankees for reliever Chad Qualls. The Yankees figure to use him primarily against lefties, too, but with Alex Rodriguez out, Mark Teixeira?s wrist still a bit iffy and Eric Chavez always a possibility to spontaneously combust, it?s a great situation for him.

Kansas City Royals: I thought the Royals? asking price for Broxton would go unmet, but the Reds surprisingly coughed up enough talent to satisfy them in left-hander Donnie Joseph and right-hander J.C. Sulbaran. Joseph ranked as one of the game?s better relief prospects, having struck out 68 and posted a 1.72 ERA in 52 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A. He could help right away. Sulbaran is 7-7 with a 4.04 ERA and a 111/54 K/BB ratio in 104 2/3 IP for Double-A Pensacola. He might be a reliever, too, but he has mid-rotation potential if his secondary pitches come along.

San Francisco Giants: The Giants didn?t get the reliever they needed, so they wouldn?t quite get an A grade here. Still, picking up Hunter Pence at a modest price tag is a win. Pence should be a significant upgrade getting at-bats that were going to Gregor Blanco and Nate Schierholtz, and the Giants will no longer be reduced to having Angel Pagan bat fifth. Catcher Tommy Joseph was the only major piece the Giants gave up, and he had Buster Posey and Hector Sanchez ahead of him anyway.

Losers

Arizona Diamondbacks: Lots of smoke, no fire. Caught in between deciding whether they were buyers or sellers, the Diamondbacks kept Justin Upton, Stephen Drew and all of their top pitching prospects, instead making only a minor deal to acquire reliever Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik from the Red Sox for reliever Craig Breslow. It?s not a bad move ? Albers is serviceable and Podsednik adds protection in case an outfielder gets hurt ? but the Diamondbacks wasted a chance to set themselves up better for either the present or the future.

Minnesota Twins: The Twins got next to nothing for Francisco Liriano from the White Sox last week and then did nothing at the deadline, even though they had Josh Willingham, Denard Span and Glen Perkins all in demand. The major league team is going nowhere fast and the minor league system rates among the bottom third in the game, so this was absolutely the wrong path for GM Terry Ryan and company to take.

Philadelphia Phillies: At least the Phillies tried; I just don?t think they did all that well in their returns for Hunter Pence and Shane Victorino, Pence especially. They?re going to need a whole lot of help offensively next year, and the money they saved will only go so far. If they could have turned around and traded for Chase Headley, I would have been more impressed. Of course, they could always try that this winter.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/07/31/winners-and-losers-at-the-trade-deadline/related

academy award nominees 2012 2012 oscar nominations kyle williams florida debate rand paul mark kirk drew peterson