Now that July’s trade deadline is in the books, here’s a look back at the last few days of moves for each AL West team.
Athletics: Acquired prospects Dustin Fowler, Jorge Mateo and James Kaprielian for righty Sonny Gray and international spending rights. Acquired pitching prospect Jeferson Mejia from Diamondbacks for infielder Adam Rosales.
Rangers: Acquired prospects Willie Calhoun, A.J. Alexy and Brendon Davis from Dodgers for starting pitcher Yu Darvish. Acquired a player to be named later from Rockies for catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Acquired minor-league righty Tayler Scott from Brewers for reliever Jeremy Jeffress. Claimed infielder Tyler Smith off waivers from Mariners.
Astros:Â Acquired lefty Francisco Liriano from Blue Jays for outfielder Nori Aoki and Teoscar Hernandez. Signed reliever Jumbo Diaz to a minor-league deal.
Mariners:Â Acquired righty Erasmo Ramirez from Rays for reliever Steve Cishek. Signed infielder Danny Espinosa. Lost infielder Tyler Smith on waivers to Rangers (see above).
Angels:Â Acquired pitching prospect Luis Madero from Diamondbacks for righty David Hernandez.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Astros needed a proven starter like lance lynn. Poor job
Liriano has started more games over the past five years than Lynn has.
He is a rp this year
He hasn’t thrown out of the pen one time
McCullers is hurt and keuchel. Ooof
They were injury risks coming into the season. Plus, Mccullers’ innings were probably going to be limited anyway. Really poor foresight and execution from Lunow.
That Gray+ return is garbage.
Rangers got a DH for Darvish
And the Astros wouldn’t do what it takes to win the World Series
For Gray the A’s got a 5 tool player who will be in the starting lineup opening day in Fowler, and a kid with 80 speed who is tearing up AA in Mateo. Both are top 100 prospects and both guys will be on the MLB roster for the A’s during 2018. The only question mark in the trade is Kaprelian because of the TJ surgery, but he was a #16 overall pick in 2015 and had TOR stuff before the surgery. He will begin a throwing regimen in the next few days and if he recovers well, he has the stuff to be as good as Gray. Either way, he will not make or break the trade. That was one of the most balanced trades I have seen this offseason. Tha Yankees got a starter t plug in at #2 or #3 for the next two seasons after CC, Pineda and possibly Tanaka are gone and the A’s got two players that will contribute in 2018 and beyond.
Darvish is a rental. 8-10 starts from him in the regular season and 1-4 starts in the post season is all the Dodgers get. The Rangers got 1 player who may contribute this season and two other good prospects. Calhoun is an elite hitting prospect. If hitting was all he was being graded on he would be in the top 10, possibly the top 5, but he can’t field well at any position. He will likely play a combination of LF and DH in the majors, but be assured that the kid will hit. The Rangers also got a pitcher that Koufax described as having the best curveball he has seen from a kid his age. High praise indeed. Brendon Davis is meh, but if he fills in, he is 6’4″ and only about 180 lbs sopping wet, and plays mostly at 3B/2B, he can find a spot on a major league roster as a utility guy. All for a rental. A trade that fills a need(s) for both teams.
The Astros I don’t understand.
Astros should’ve had step in for A’s Gray, past injuries or whatever! At the end of the day the A’s got two out of three injured prospects…
Houston really screwed the pooch here. I understand not wanting to give up everything in your farm system, but when most are you key guys on the diamond are still 2 or so years away from reaching their peak, there’s not many places for all these “top prospects” to play on your major league team. So, you cash them out for a high end starter and a back-end of the bullpen piece. With McCullers going on the DL, them not even acquiring a starter to eat innings like Marco Estrada (as a Blue Jays fan I would’ve been happy with a picture of Orbit as the return) or Lance Lynn, neither of whom was going to cost a high end prospect anyways.
I had the Astros against the Dodgers in the series this year with LA taking it 6. But I’m not so sure now.
Huston is still very good, but not pulling the trigger to obtain a better rotation piece was a fail.
astros needed sp depth…failed. a’s win it just because
Not a Houston fan but can’t believe they didn’t get a starter or relief help
Worst. Trade. Deadline. Ever.
Sure the Darvish and Gray moves were nice. Then you look at the position players and see Adam Rosales and Tim Beckham were the only ones. Seriously? We waiting all this time…for that? WEAK
Rosales is a beast! Have you seen him sprint around those bases when he hits a dinger? He most hate the A’s with how many times they’ve released or traded him
Rangers and As walk away with a sack full of potentials. Good for them.
As a Mariners fan, Dipoto really dropped the ball here. First off, he brought back a washed up RP in Hirasmo Ramirez, for what? Peanuts. He is depleting the farm system as we speak. Instead of using aged veterans as trade chips to restock the farm system he is up to his same tactics – bringing in position player veterans who he is betting will rejuvenate their careers – mind you in a pitcher friendly ballpark (at Safeco field).
As the former GM for the Angels, his reputation is following him. Using statistical analysis for players that will most likely benefit from what?
Tearing down our ‘core’ in (Cruz, Cano, Hernandez) is MUCH NEEDED. This is no longer an effective combination. An insurgence of youth and minor league coaches whose sole focus is to mature pitcher and hitters alike is needed. The ‘rah rah’ motto of ‘controlling zone’ is not working.
This is not working for the Mariners at the trade deadline under GM Jerry Dipoto. As a fan, this absence of a playoff berth (the longest in mlb) has reached its tipping point
Seattle GM Jerry Dipoto did not deplete the farm system by trading two months of veteran reliever Steve Cishek for two years and two months of Erasmo Ramirez, who is scheduled to start (not relieve) Tuesday for the Mariners.
In his deals approaching the deadline, Dipoto did not bring “in position player veterans who he is betting will rejuvenate their careers.” Dipoto brought in only pitchers in his July trades.
Seattle preserved its window of winning in the next two years by acquiring players under control at least through 2018.
If you’re a Mariner’s fan you would know that our farm system was dog poo before he came. In two years he has done ok with it. Marte and walker got us Segura and haniger which I liked. Name one minor leaguer he has traded that’s killing it? Still have our best prospect in Lewis. Who will be good. Only have 2 top hundred minor leaguers and so not sure where this depth was. Dipoto has done a great job. Cruz is on a bargain deal, cano is still producing. Trading Felix now is pointless. He is old and expensive. We will be paying his salary regardless. Team is 500 and we at one point had all 5 sp injured at once. Felix is back, Paxton is back. Traded for Marco Gonzalez who should help and have miranda and Moore. I think the Mariner’s have done well and should get the second wild card spot if they can stay healthy.
Dodgers still suck they may have a good record but when it comes to the playoffs they choke
I am still laughing at the return that Oakland got for Gray!!! All those people that thought it would take MULTIPLE top 100 prospects to get it done….what a joke!!
I do think the A’s should have gotten more for him though. I guess 1 injured top 100 prospect is better then none LOL!!
They got two guys that have been ranked as top 100 prospects in Fowler and Mateo. Fowler is a potential 5 tool player that will be a starting OF for the A’s on opening day. He would have been a starting OF for the Yankees and thereby untouchable if not for an incredible unlucky injury. Mateo began 2016 as the Yankees’ top-rated prospect, a top 20 prospect to end the 2016 season, and to Yankees fans on here he was the untouchable one last year. Now he is what, chopped liver? Mateo has 80 speed and he is tearing up AA. He will also be on the MLB roster at some point in Oakland next season.
Good trade for the A’s and the Yankees.
Yes in 2016 he was the best prospect in a poor farm system at the time! How does a player that as you say ended 2016 as a top 20 prospect now not even sit in the top 100 overall? If he was ever in the top 20 and is now outside the top 100 then yes he is chopped liver…haha…I personally feel this is a STEAL for the Yankees! Especially when there was so many people saying they had to get Torres and\or Frazier or Albies and Maitan for a trade to even be considered.
Yes Fowler is a 5 tool player but the injury he has likely takes away 1 of those tools and could also effect his defense as well…so he could be a totally different player.
Mateo is a guy w great speed yes…but can he hit w the power at the MLB level they project him to? I don’t see it honestly.
As for the pitcher he is a 23 year old coming off Tommy John…
So yes this is a steal for the Yankees! The Yankees were able to keep their OF of the present and future in tact…Frazier, Florial, and Judge along with their future 3rd baseman in Torres.
The rangers have been getting a lot of crap today, but I think JD did pretty well with what he was given. We have the same chance at this moment of resigning Darvish that we did yesterday, but added a soon-to-be starting player and some potentially good others. Lucroy unfortunately just wasn’t working out, so cutting our losses with him and Jeffress was the right (albeit painful) call.
Would have liked to see some other guys on the last year of deals get moved for other prospects too, but in reality nobody has been playing well enough this year to warrant much of any return.
Now we just look forward to retooling in the offseason and maybe make a run next year, try to resign Darvish and maybe add a couple other FA pieces. Definitely a melancholy deadline for us this year, but we made the right moves.
Keep an eye on Alexy. In spring training Koufax said he had the best curveball he had ever seen from a player his age. Rumors are that what took so long was JD’s insistence that he be included.
Darvish said yesterday that regardless of where he finished 2017, that he wanted to be a Ranger long term. That has to be encouraging for Rangers fans.
For Dodgers fans having an arm that good means Kershaw doesn’t have to pitch on short rest in the playoffs and they have a better chance of going deeper or even all the way to the WS.
Oakland got a good return, meanwhile the trolls on here spew their Braves, Yanks, and Sox agendas
Makes you wonder if there is a cancer in the Brewers club house.
Beane is a genius. The Yanks have control over Gray till 19 while the A’s, with Yanks prospects having a recent good MLB track record, got 3 of their top grade in return.
Beane sold Gray at a high who, IMO, has durability concerns ahead although good stuff.