Johnny Cueto was one of the many stars to switch jerseys.
As of 4 pm EST yesterday the trade deadline commenced. Big names were moved all around the baseball world. Teams looking to fill much needed holes in their lineups and rotations seemingly filled them, and now are awaiting the outcome. Yes, you are able to trade players from the start of the season. Why are things so hectic one to two weeks leading up to the dealing? Well many factors play into that. Players are given second chances to show their worth to a team. All of the numbers are crunched and teams look to dump players to open up some cap space. Money can play a huge roll in which players will be traded, just to make sure there is enough wiggle room in the budget. Other organizations were more active than others which make for winners and losers at the deadline.
Yoenis Cespedes goes back to the stadium where he won the home run derby for the second year in a row.
Some of the Trades that are spotlighted contain teams very much in the hunt for first place in the division. Of course there are teams that are in shambles looking to find a missing piece. Houston Astros were looking to bolster an already impressive team gaining Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers from the Brewers for minor league prospects. Dodgers and Marlins came to terms sending Mat Latos and Michael Morse to LA for three right handed pitchers. The Dodgers then swapped Morse with the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Jose Tabata. Kansas City Royals acquired Johnny Cueto and cash from the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for three left handed pitchers. Reds also sent Mike Leake to the San Francisco Giants for Adam Duvall and Keury Mella. Just minutes before 4pm the New York Mets and Detroit Tigers agreed on terms sending Yoenis Cespedes to New York for two minor league players.
Troy Tulowitzki looks to revive his career in Toronto.
Those were the honorable mentions, the big name players that deserve the attention. This is the winner of the trade deadline, the team who improved their organization the most. The Toronto Blue Jays were sitting 7 games back looking for a push to get them over the hump and atop the AL East. First, the Toronto Blue Jays acquired Troy Tulowitzki and Latroy Hawkins from the Colorado Rockies for Jose Reyes, Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman and Jesus Tinoco. After that Toronto saw the need to fill a spot in the rotation adding David Price from the Detroit Tigers, and sending three minor league pitchers to Detroit. From there they ended their transactions swapping Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado for Ben Revere and cash. The Blue Jays filled major holes in an already well ran team. Look for them to start climbing up the standings, after controlling the trade market.
Jonathan Papelbon leaves Philadelphia to go to Washington, but with a list of demands.
Philadelphia Phillies weren’t necessarily the losers in a sense of they did the worst. The Phillies lost three crucial starting players, in a young building team. I already mentioned one, starting center fielder Ben Revere to the Toronto Blue Jays. Pitching was the side that took the most hit right before the trade deadline. Philadelphia sent ace Cole Hamels, Jake Diekman and cash to the Rangers. In exchange for Matt Harrison and 5 others in an 8 player deal. Perhaps the most talked about trade the Phillies were involved in was Jonathan Papelbon and cash for Nick Pivetta. Papelbon had demands before the trade could be completed, which included being the everyday closer for the Washington Nationals. Fans aren’t really sure what the future game plan is, but we will more than likely have to wait until next year to see the Phillies flex.
General Managers across the league are waiting anxiously for the new arrivals, to see whether or not they did the right transactions. Big names are in new jerseys, some looking to revive a career. The second half has officially started and I for one am ready to see how each league standings are going to end up.