Trade Deadline Winners And Losers

Ah yes the trade deadline. A lot can be done on this day, and also leading up to it, that can change the fortunes of a franchise, both short and long term. Look at what happened last year. The Mets got Cespedes from the Tigers, he helped propel them to the World Series. Michael Fulmer, who went to Detroit in that trade, has been pitching pretty well for the Tigers this season. So sometimes it works out and other times it doesn't. One team may get a lot out of the deal while the player that goes the other way doesn't work out. Eighteen trades were made on Monday, and since the beginning of June a total of 48 deals have been struck. It means that teams are retooling for either a playoff push or fore their futures. So with that being said, lets take a look at some of the winners and losers from this year's trade deadline.

Winner: 
New York Yankees
You could be looking at this right now and kind of wondering how does this make the Yankees winners? They trade Carlos Beltran (their best hitter this year), Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman (two of their best relievers) and they are winners in all of this? Well to be honest, yes they are winners out of these deals and moves at the deadline. In dealing Chapman, it brought back in pitcher Adam Warren, minor leaguer Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. In sending Miller to the Indians, Clint Frasher, Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller, J.P. Feyereisen came back to New York to bolster the Minor League system. Then in the deal for Beltran, Texas sent back Dillon Tate, Nick Green and Erik Swanson. By adding all of this talent to the system, it sent the Yankees from one of the lower systems to one of the top systems in baseball. The Yankees now have seven of the top 100 prospects in all of baseball in their minor league system. Some may look at it as the Yankees giving up. Well for this year they almost are. But you have to understand that if you want to get something you have to give something. If the Yankees want to win championships and win them a lot, then you need the system to be able to do that. Its helping set the building blocks for the future and gives them a foundation to build around. Fear not Yankees fans, they'll be back in contention once again.

Loser:
Chicago White Sox
All the White Sox did was trade Zach Duke to St. Louis for Charlie Tilson and that's been it. This team has had a chance to take this thing apart and possibly rebuild. I mean if you look at it, Chris Sale and Jose Quintana had started drawing significant interest on the trade market. Also, it was possible David Robertson could have been flipped to a team desperate for bullpen help. The team decided to keep all three, ensuring they’ll remain in baseball limbo for at least the next couple months. The core talent level is here on the South Side of Chicago, they've had a chance to grab talent to that part of town and build around a core that can win. But they haven't really been able to, only really seeming like they want to make half hearted attempts to get over that hump, something they've been trying to do since they won the Division in 2008. It can be a little madening sometimes if you know your team can make the moves but don't really have the heart to pull the trigger.

Winner:
Texas Rangers
One of the best teams in baseball this season may have just gotten better. Sure they lost Prince Fielder again due to a neck injury, but boy did they add major offensive pieces. Adding a guy like Jonathan Lucroy is worth the risk. Last time they pulled off a move like this, they won the pennant. The price was steep, with Lewis Brinson being a top-25 prospect and tools-laden behemoth, but they got a player in return who will be around here for next season as well. He's a true all star who has a big offensive upside and can deliver at the plate. Now throw in Carlos Beltran to the mix. Sure he's 39 but he can still hit, as he's batting .306 heading into the trade. They may still try and rotate Sin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara in right, Beltran can be thrown in there as well. He can DH and will be another big bat in the middle of that lineup for the Rangers, which will provide more support for Beltre, Desmond and Odor in the middle of the lineup. For a team that’s had so much success and disappointment over the last few years, this might be the most talented Rangers team yet. That’s saying something.

Loser:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
And we thought the minor league system for the Yankees was bad. The Angels have the worst one in all of baseball. It didn't get any better. They added 33 year old Ricky Nolasco from the Twins for Hector Santiago, a young pitcher who has some upside to him. Nolasco has been below average the last few years so have fun with that one Anaheim. To make a long story short, the Angles had a chance to try and bolster that farm system, since they weren't going to make the playoffs this year. They had a chance but let it pass them by on the market.

Winner:
Cleveland Indians
It does suck if your an Indians fan that they lost out on Jonathan Lucroy, who could have been a big piece to add to this puzzle. But by adding a guy like Andrew Miller, who nicely fits a need that Cleveland had at the back end of the Pen, will really help them out. That trade worked out nicely for both the Indians and the Yankees. If you don't believe me that Miller has been good lately, then consider that over the past four seasons, he has a 1.98 ERA over 200 innings. During that period, he’s notched an incredible 328 strikeouts. Cleveland has him locked up until 2018, so that's a good plus for them. They've got the balanced offense now they have a bullpen that can also match the starting staff, so it turned out to be a win for Cleveland.

Loser:
Kansas City Royals
Things didn’t go the Royals’ way at the deadline, and it’s not really their fault. When Wade Davis went down with an arm injury just a few days before the deadline, the club lost its biggest trade chip. Despite the fact that the club is currently in fourth place, the Royals opted to stand pat. Other than the weird Brett Eibner for Billy Burns trade, Kansas City didn’t do anything else. Edinson Volquez stayed despite the fact that there weren’t many starters available. Sure, it’s possible the Royals could still make a second half run, but it seems like they should have traded any piece that wasn’t going to help moving forward and try to retool for next season. They mostly just stood pat.

Winner:
Los Angeles Dodgers
Playing second fiddle in the National League West right now to the San Franciso Giants, and not having Clayton Kershaw at the moment, kind of left the Dodgers in the need to make a move to get better. They didn't have to give up their top four prospects for basically two rental players in Rich Hill and Josh Reddick. Hill is dealing with a blister, but he’s been fantastic when healthy. The 36-year-old has a 2.25 ERA over 76 innings. Reddick has been quietly fantastic this year. He missed time due to a thumb injury, but has hit .296 in 272 plate appearances and can play a very solid right field. Formerly a low-average, high strikeout hitter, Reddick has worked hard to cut whiffs out of his approach in recent seasons. Combine that with his strong walk rate and power potential, and the Dodgers got a pretty solid contributor. The only question now is how the club will find playing time in an already crowded outfield. That kinda worked itself out shortly after the deadline passed. This team may still be able to go for it against the Giants in the West