Trade deadline winners
Now that the Major League Baseball trade deadline has passed, it is time to see which teams made the most of the signing period. Here are the winners of the 2010 trading deadline:
Texas Rangers: The Rangers had the odds stacked against them as they had recently declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Somehow the MLB and their Chapter 11 enforcers allowed them to add above $6 million in payroll, which the Rangers utilised with perfect efficiency.
Texas managed to sign Cliff Lee, who was the most valuable free agent available. They also got a strong catcher who is a vocal leader and capable hitter in Bengie Molina. They further picked up a good RBI hitter in Jorge Cantu and a versatile utility player in Cristian Guzman. Overall the Rangers really strengthened their line up with a few stars and some role players, and they did it all for a very reasonable sum. The addition of Lee alone makes the American League West-leading Rangers a World Series contender, and they managed to go above and beyond just that.
San Diego Padres: The Padres’ surprising ascension in the National League standings seemed like a fluke at the beginning of the season given San Diego’s glaring lack of offence. Yet the Padres have maintained their position and have improved significantly with the addition of Ryan Ludwick, who has a better on-base plus slugging percentage than Alex Rodriguez.
The Padres also added Miguel Tejada. The six-time All-Star has slumped lately, but the Padres hope it had more to do with playing for the dismal Baltimore Orioles than it did with a decline in skill.
What’s most important is that the Padres didn’t really give up anything for these two signings, so even if they don’t work out, San Diego should still be in the same dominant spot it was to begin with.
New York Yankees: The high-spending franchise decided to keep up its legacy of adding aging respected players for any sum necessary. Veteran additions Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood, and Austin Kearns certainly aren’t as dominant as they used to be, but realistically the Yankees added very little to the payroll ($4.8 million). Also, the Yankees gave up some second-tier prospects in order to fill immediately glaring holes.
These signings are a bit iffy, but the Yankees hope that the post-season will revive the glory within these aging players. If not, the Yankees will still be okay and will have just absorbed a lot of other teams’ dead money while remaining contenders.
Houston Astros: The Astros have struggled to assemble a true franchise since their “Killer B” era in the 1990s. They have wisely let go of two high-priced players and can now truly rebuild the struggling franchise. With the departure of Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, the Astros have alleviated $15 million in cap pressure and did so while obtaining an underrated starter in J.A. Happ and an MLB-ready hitter in Brett Wallace.
As one NL executive said it, the Astros can now “quit holding onto what was and what was not going to be" and focus on building a team that can succeed in the future.
Philadelphia Phillies: Lee was the biggest name on the market, but Oswalt was a close second. The Phillies managed to snag Oswalt without losing any of their top-tier prospects while also getting money from the Astros in the deal. Sure, moving Happ might be a loss if the develops, but the move helps show Phillies fans just how serious the team is about making necessary deadline acquisitions and given the cash taken in from Houston, the Oswalt deal simply cannot end up as a failure due to how thrifty it was.
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