A wild trade deadline has now passed, with contenders fortifying themselves for a World Series run or a playoff push, rebuilding teams looking towards the future, and some teams in both camps being more cautious in their moves. Here is the recap of every American League club’s most notable trades of the last few days, with the NL wrap-up coming on Wednesday….
New York: Though the Yankees’ rotation had been a big reason for their first-half dominance, the team still added Frankie Montas (one of the biggest trade candidates of the last few months) to reinforce the pitching staff. Bringing in Montas and reliever Lou Trivino cost New York four noteworthy prospects, yet the Yankees were able to hang onto everyone in their true top tier. Beyond Trivino, the Yankees further bolstered the relief corps by landing Scott Effross from the Cubs. Acquiring Montas also gave New York the rotation depth for a fascinating one-for-one trade, as Jordan Montgomery was sent to the Cardinals for Gold Glove-winning center fielder Harrison Bader.
Assuming Bader returns from his current bout of plantar fasciitis in his normal form, he’ll form quite a defensive tandem with another reigning Gold Glover in Andrew Benintendi, acquired from the Royals earlier in the week. The struggling Joey Gallo was subtracted from the outfield mix, as New York sent Gallo (a big get at last year’s trade deadline) to the Dodgers for pitching prospect Clayton Beeter. Gallo is an example of how sometimes the best deadline moves on paper don’t work out, but the Yankees look to have fortified themselves well for a return to the World Series.
Houston: The Astros are in hot pursuit of the Yankees for top spot in the AL, and also made multiple moves to shore up some weaker spots on the roster. With catcher Martin Maldonado and first baseman Yuli Gurriel both struggling at the plate, Houston brought in two longtime faces of AL East franchises — former Oriole stalwart Trey Mancini and former Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, for the combined cost of three prospects and young center fielder Jose Siri.
The Astros also dipped into their rotation depth to move veteran Jake Odorizzi for an experienced bullpen arm, moving Odorizzi to the Braves for Will Smith. One need Houston didn’t address was center field, so it looks like the team will stick with the tandem of Jake Meyers and Chas McCormick down the stretch.
Seattle: The Mariners are chomping at the bit to finally make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001, and this aggressiveness manifested itself in one of the summer’s biggest blockbusters. After months of speculation, the Reds finally moved Luis Castillo, and it was the Mariners who stepped up with a big package of four prospects (including top-50 types Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo) to land the All-Star right-hander.
Castillo only adds to a rotation that was already among baseball’s best, and on deadline day itself, the M’s patched a few more holes. Curt Casali and Jake Lamb were acquired for bench depth, and Matthew Boyd was acquired from the Giants as an intriguing flier for September. Boyd has missed the entire season rehabbing from flexor tendon surgery, but if he is able to return, he projects as a left-handed option for a bullpen short on southpaws.
Minnesota: Speaking of trading for Reds starters, the Twins nabbed Cincinnati’s other available (and controllable through 2023) righty in Tyler Mahle, after checking in on most of the bigger starters available. While Castillo’s better track record meant the Mariners had to pay more, Minnesota’s concession was nothing to sneeze at, with three young prospects headlined by infielder Spencer Steer. Still, having Mahle for as many as two postseason runs was worth the cost in the Twins’ view, and Mahle should only help a Twins rotation that has already been quite respectable amidst several injuries.
The bullpen was the greater pitching need, and the upgrades came at the cost of a total of five prospects. But, the Twins made two significant trades in landing Jorge Lopez from the Orioles and Michael Fulmer from the Tigers. The duo could instantly step right in as Minnesota’s primary late-game combo, or at least take some of the pressure off rookie Jhoan Duran and second-year hurler Griffin Jax. The Twins also got Sandy Leon in a minor trade with the Guardians, bringing some catching depth on board with Ryan Jeffers still injured.
Toronto: The Blue Jays also mostly checked in on pitching, reportedly coming close to landing Noah Syndergaard and also being linked to such pitchers as Raisel Iglesias, Michael Fulmer, Luis Castillo, and Frankie Montas. Instead of a headline-grabbing move, Toronto settled for reinforcing the bullpen by acquiring the hard-throwing Zach Pop and former Jay Anthony Bass from the Marlins, and getting swingman Mitch White from the Dodgers. The Jays had to move some of their own young pitching to get White, and dealt top-100 prospect (but struggling at Triple-A) Jordan Groshans to Miami.
The Cubs’ Ian Happ was frequently mentioned as a Blue Jays target leading up to deadline day, yet Happ wasn’t dealt anywhere, and the Jays instead obtained longtime Royal Whit Merrifield. The former All-Star is struggling through his worst season, but the Jays are hoping that a change of scenery will help Merrifield get back into form, and add depth at multiple positions around the diamond. The trade with Kansas City was presumably made with the knowledge that Merrifield will be able to play in Toronto, as he recently missed a Royals/Blue Jays series because he wasn’t vaccinated.
Tampa Bay: Beset by injuries in the outfield, the Rays adjusted by acquiring Siri from the Astros (for young righties Seth Johnson and Jayden Murray) and David Peralta from the Diamondbacks (for catching prospect Christian Cerda). While fan favorite outfielder Brett Phillips was designated for assignment and then traded to the Orioles to make room, the Rays feel they’ve reinforced their lineup — the weak link on a wild card contender with excellent pitching.
Garrett Cleavinger and Jeremy Walker also acquired from the Dodgers and Giants to bring a couple more arms into the pipeline. The Rays did at least explore a real eye-opening move in checking in with the Nationals about Juan Soto, and one position left unaddressed was the catching position, though Tampa reportedly had interest in Willson Contreras.
Cleveland: The Guardians are another team with a longstanding need at catcher, and it seemed like Cleveland was getting close to a deal for A’s backstop Sean Murphy — especially since the Guards were reportedly open to making a big move by offering one of their controllable starters. However, though the Guardians were said to be looking hard for pitching of their own and also flirted with the idea of an offer for Juan Soto, all of the talk resulted in a very quiet deadline.
Other than moving Sandy Leon to Minnesota, the Guardians didn’t make a single trade. Especially with so many other contenders fortifying their rosters, the Guards’ inaction was a risky move for a team in the thick of the AL Central and wild card races. Cleveland is counting on its internal mix to step up over the last two months, but if the Guardians fall short of the postseason, there will be some what-ifs asked about this deadline.
Chicago: In somewhat similar fashion to the Guardians, the White Sox are in the AL Central/wild card races, checked in on a big name (Shohei Ohtani), focused on pitching additions (linked to such familiar Chicago names as Jose Quintana, David Robertson, and Mychal Givens) and…ended up coming away without much on deadline day. White Sox GM Rick Hahn even openly stated that he was “disappointed” at his team’s relative inaction. The Sox did add some needed left-handed depth to the bullpen in landing Jake Diekman from the Red Sox in an exchange for backup catching Reese McGuire, even if Diekman’s control problems don’t exactly promise drama-free innings.
Boston: With a dismal July record, the Red Sox were exploring trading their veteran players leading up to the deadline, and to some extent this did happen when Christian Vazquez and Jake Diekman. But, the likes of Nathan Eovaldi, J.D. Martinez, and Rich Hill are all still in Red Sox uniforms, and the Sox even added two more veterans in Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer. In Pham’s case, he’ll likely be a rental player due to his mutual option for 2023, but Hosmer is signed through 2025.
In an odd turn of events, Hosmer used his no-trade clause to refuse heading to the Nationals as part of the Juan Soto blockbuster, and has now landed in Boston along with two prospects in exchange for former first-rounder Jay Groome. Since the Padres are paying virtually all of Hosmer’s salary, in a way it’s kind of a no-lose proposition for the Red Sox, except for the fact that Hosmer has been more or less a league-average player for the last four-plus seasons. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Sox look to flip Hosmer again after the season, but for now, the idea is that Hosmer and Pham can help the club regroup and make a late run at a wild card slot.
Baltimore: The surprisingly competitive Orioles entered today’s play 2.5 games out of a wild card berth, but rather than make a true playoff push, the O’s kept their eyes focused on the future. As a result, team leader Trey Mancini and breakout closer Jorge Lopez were each traded, with a total of six pitching prospects coming back as further reinforcements to Baltimore’s minor league system. The three-team Mancini trade involving the Astros and Rays also unofficially netted the Orioles Brett Phillips, as the O’s acquired Phillips as backup outfield depth after Tampa Bay designated him for assignment. It surely isn’t the outcome that Baltimore fans wanted to see after so many years of rebuilding, but with the steps forward the team has made in 2022, it now seems possible that the Orioles could again be on the buyer side of the ledger by the 2023 deadline.
Texas: Another “wait until next year” team, the Rangers spent a ton on its roster in the offseason but 2023 seemed like the real target point for the club’s return to contention. Perhaps reflecting this in-between state, Texas didn’t do much buying or selling at the deadline, apart from moving reliever Matt Bush to the Brewers in a swap for the versatile Mark Mathias and left-handed pitching prospect Antoine Kelly.
Detroit: 2022 was the go-for-it year for the Tigers, yet a swath of injuries and slumping players quickly put the team back into seller mode. Reflecting the disastrous nature of the season, the Tigers were reportedly willing to discuss “just about everyone” in trade talks, but rather than a truly transformative move, Detroit played it pretty safe on the trade front. Impending free agents Michael Fulmer (to the Twins) and Robbie Grossman (to the Braves) were dealt, but though Detroit had plenty of good bullpen arms on offer, GM Al Avila felt “the market was flooded with relievers,” limiting the Tigers’ leverage.
Kansas City: Trading Carlos Santana to the Mariners in late June gave the Royals an early jump on their trade plans, and they ended up making more significant deals in swapping Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees and longtime Royal Whit Merrifield to Toronto. It was pretty easy to figure out Kansas City’s goal — six of the seven young players acquired in those three trades were pitchers, adding more arms to all levels of the farm system. There was plenty of interest in other Kansas City veterans like Michael A. Taylor or Josh Staumont, but the Royals to some extent held steady on a true housecleaning.
The Royals also brought in a more experienced arm in Luke Weaver, giving K.C. a pitcher (who may used either as as a reliever or starter) controlled through the 2023 season. For Weaver, the Royals sent the Diamondbacks Emmanuel Rivera, who was likely an odd man out amidst Kansas City’s multitude of infield options. The Royals also acquired Brent Rooker to help fill the holes in the outfield, landing Rooker from the Padres for backup catcher Cam Gallagher.
Oakland: The Athletics have been in rebuild mode for months, and Frankie Montas was finally moved after countless rumors. As in their offseason moves of star players, the A’s continued to pursue a mix of big league-ready and longer-term prospects, getting four young pitchers back in return from the Yankees for Montas and Lou Trivino. JP Sears has already made his MLB debut and Ken Waldichuk is the highest-ranked prospect of the quartet.
With Montas so widely expected to be dealt, his situation took up much of the buzz surrounding the Athletics, though the club also looked into moving Sean Murphy and Ramon Laureano. Since Murphy and Laureano are each under arbitration control through 2025, however, the A’s didn’t quite have as much urgency in working out a trade immediately. Despite those years of control, it’s probably safe to expect Oakland to continue taking calls on both players this winter as the A’s continue their latest roster overhaul.
Los Angeles: Another disappointing season led the Angels to take perhaps more of a bigger-picture view of their roster, as the team at least heard out other clubs’ offers for Shohei Ohtani, even if nobody met the Halos’ understandably huge asking price. However, the Angels were still quite busy, and reloaded by dealing away Noah Syndergaard and Brandon Marsh to the Phillies, and Raisel Iglesias to the Braves.
Getting Iglesias’ remaining $51MM in salary off the books is itself a win for Anaheim, but the team also obtained a top young catching prospect (Logan O’Hoppe), a controllable starter (Tucker Davidson), a familiar face of a veteran pitcher (Jesse Chavez), an outfield prospect (Jadiel Sanchez) and a lottery ticket of a former first overall pick (Mickey Moniak). It is an interesting array that falls a bit short of a true reload for 2023, but it gives the Angels some options, flexibility, and plans for the future as they work out their next steps.
I feel the Yankees will regret trading Jordan Montgomery today, he was solid in the rotation, and so liked by his teammates, who are crushed. Cardinal fans, can you give me anything on Harrison Bader? I don’t know much about him, and thanks.
Bader won gold glove last year in CF. This trades makes a lot more sense in the offseason but one can only assume the Yankees do not trust Hicks and do not want to play Stanton in the OF. Regarding pitching again one has to assume Yankees want to deploy a 4 man rotation in the playoffs (Cole-Montás-Tailon-Cortes) and felt the likes of Sevy-Britton-Schmidt-German was better for the playoffs then Monty (maybe German and Sevy can pitch out of the bullpen but Monty can’t) And last assumption (I know all assumptions but that’s what head scratching deals create) Cashman and Blake weren’t thrilled with Monty and think the world of Bader and when they saw his name available jumped at it
Very easy. Yanks are looking to win in 22. Barring injuries, Monte who I like as a depth starter simply would not be on the roster in October. If Hicks is healthy and hits like he did recently, be could start but if not, their outfield is now great with Judge back in right (AB is decent in left but not great despite his GG).
dewey – What do you think of the Red Sox moves? I am very, very pleased with Bloom. Red Sox Nation made it very clear we would not accept another selloff and meaningless two months of baseball. I’m sure the prospect of lost revenue was a factor, but either way I’m glad that only the dead wood (Vazquez and Diekman) was traded and also that the Sox got an OF’er and 1B who are at least real ML players.
You do know that Harrison Bader is wearing a boot for his plantar fasciitis and there’s no way of telling if he’ll even play again this year, right? This is often a chronic, recurring ailment.
Ryan Zimmerman missed 64 games with it in 2019 from April 27 to June 28, and then went back on the IL for another 42 days with a second bout of it from July 22 to September 1.
FeverPitchGuy, After all the trades, are the Red Sox in a better position to compete for a playoff spot than they were last week? Is the farm system better than it was last week? If so, I don’t think it moved the needle much. It feels like the Red Sox are treading water waiting to see what happens with Bogaerts and Rafael Devers.
By “deadwood” I’m guessing you mean impending free agents? Cuz I really like Vazquez. He can hit and he’s solid defensively and I would love to have him part of my favorite team.
man2014 – Yes they are in a better position. They have injured players coming back, they have a catcher who actually knows how to handle a pitching staff, they have a real 1B and a real RF who can hit on the road.
Farm system is debatable, I’d say probably yes it’s improved.
They really need a solution at 2B, that’s the biggest problem right now.
And if you noticed, Cora is actually managing for wins now. So far.
Coop – Vaz is absolutely having a rebound year at the plate, but he’s still got big issues behind the plate and that’s why the Sox have been trying to trade him for a while. They came very close to trading him for Stallings prior to the season. As for Diekman, he wasn’t a free agent and he was awful with his walk ratio.
He’s the master bader
Just read this in an 1850s slave voice. Could you imagine having to say that constantly lol
I think the Yankees (and their fans) will like Bader. He certainly has swagger. I know everyone talks about his defense and it may seem like it’s overstated, but it’s not. He has really improved as a hitter. Early in his career he was hard to watch at bat. In the last 3 seasons he has greatly improved his pitch recognition and approach. He can help you in a number of ways offensively and I think you’ll see an uptick in his power numbers at Yankee Stadium. He got off to a slow start (like so many others) and so his numbers this season appear underwhelming, but he was playing well before he got hurt. I was really surprised the Cardinals chose to trade him because he is a legit CFer in a league lacking at that position.
I don’t know why this posted twice
Harrison Bader = Aaron Hicks
They’re pretty much the same player.
I think that it’s a pretty fair trade (if Bader ends up playing this year). Bader is a decent bat for the bottom of the order, which is exactly where he should be when he is able to play again. He has good speed and is able to swipe some bases too. Very good defensive outfielder that is okay with the bat. I definitely think that both teams get better with this trade. It seems that the Cardinals FO has quite a bit of faith in Nootbar manning right and playing full time. Otherwise they would be hanging onto Bader and eventually moving Carlson back to right.
A Yankee fan not knowing anything about a player on a different team? Shocked I tell you! Bader is hardly an unknown! New Yorkers…they think they are the center of the universe.
Bader is an excellent defender. He plays with a lot of energy and he is fast. He has a little pop but isn’t much of a hitter save a week of getting hot from time to time. He is very vulnerable to hard sliders down and away from RH pitchers and he definitely hits LH pitching better than he does RH pitching. He will steal you a base and he can be a bit of a showboat but not in the way of showing up your opponent like so many of these young players today..
The Yankees outfield next year is Aaron Hicks, Harrison Bader, and Giancarlo Stanton with Estevan Florial as the fourth outfielder.
The Yankees rotation has Domingo German and Clarke Schmidt.
The pitching coach and GM aren’t under contract.
This could get really bad.
Lol
Stanton 100% is not playing the OF with any regularity for the rest of his career.
Why do you think Judge is gone?
Bc the Dodgers exist.
Judge is not going to la, la land but you my friend are due back in the enchanted kingdom. Ahahaha!
Judge isn’t playing anywhere but New York. And I am sure the FO won’t replace anyone, they never do!
Get a grip. And enjoy your current season.
Right- that will likely be Cashman’s next albatross contract- The 31 year old (31 in April), 6’7, 300 lb highly injury prone aaron judge- guaranteed to be a terrible contract. Rarely in MLB history has there been a free agent with a higher number of glaring red flags than him. The age, the size, the injury history: any 1 of those 3 things makes it stupid to keep him. The 3 of them combined guarantees that it will be a horrible contract.
It’s the Yankees so there’s plenty of talent on the roster already to compete for a division title next season and they’ll certainly make some moves in the winter. But they pretty much forced themselves to buy some starting pitching in an offseason where there’s really no top of the rotation guys available (unless Verlander opts out of his contract which is plausible) and most of the mid rotation guys have some notable injury histories. They can certainly pull of a trade for a starter too but most teams/front offices aren’t keen on dealing away pitching before the season starts. Again it’s the Yankees and they’re not my favorite team either so I’m not concerned but it’s an interesting storyline to follow this offseason.
What’s more amazing than the Soto trade?
The fact that the Yankees were able to trade gallo.
And that the Padres were able to trade hosmer
And that the Padres pretty much paid all of hosmer’s contract!
@hoofhearted
And not only did the Padres pay down Hosmer’s contract, they tosssed in some lottery ticket prospects for the privilege to do so!
hoof hearted
ice melted
Jerry must have either started drinking or stopped drinking after the Castillo trade.
I agree, horrible trade on Yankees part
It’s not horrible if Montas is insane and Bader comes back in Sept and regains his gold glove CF days from last year
I did hear that Harrison is a master
Good writeup
Mickey Moniak had a great spring, he couldn’t get it going after the injury but that is a coup for the Angels.
The Angels should have traded Stassi rather than Iglesias. Now they will have to sign a closer. Or trade for one this off-season. It makes no sense. Especially just giving him away.
less of a need at closer since they don’t leads. Would have rathered they throw some money in to grab better prospects. Plus Halos have good amount of talented relief in minors
There is a big difference between a reliever and a closer. This means most likely they will have to trade for or sign a FA closer.
they don’t need an expensive closer. this idea they need a closer is offset by the fact they need good starting pitching. for once they need to truly invest some big coin in the rotation. Guys like Robertson, Montero, Estevez, Colome, Fulmer and Givens available for cheap and could get 2, possibly 3 of those guys for one Iglesias.
if you don’t have a rotation that can go deep, you need quality depth in the pen and LAA could use that.
There is no value in Stassi with $7 mil per next 2 seasons. And he may be the worst pitch calling catcher in baseball.
Well considering they basically gave their closer away, in a salary dump. Because Chavez will be DFA’d as soon as someone is ready to come off the 60 day IL. And the other guy will be bagging groceries within the next 2 years. They could have gotten that same return for Stassi.
LOL
No one that played a month in MLB will need to be “bagging groceries” any time soon.
Gotta start clearing the ledger if you want any chance whatsoever at extending Ohtani.
There is zero chance Ohtani signs on an extension. He wants to win and the Angels will not be winning with him.
What makes you think ohtani cares about $? He proved he didn’t by not waiting til he was 25 to be an international FA. He wants to win/be in playoffs and the Angels have shown no signs of that ever happening.
You can’t think like that if you’re Anaheim. You don’t just let your best player walk without giving every effort. And let’s not act like Ohtani is going to accept a 5 year/$100M deal. It’s still going to take big bucks.
Iglesias was stinking up the mound this year so I don’t think it hurt us too badly. We have options to close out games on the rare occasion we are leading in the 9th. There are more important holes to fill like the rotation, infield, outfield and catcher…and manager…and coaching staff.
Hard to believe that people still don’t understand how important the bullpen is.
Right, I forgot bullpen in the list of holes to fill.
To me it’s the most important position to fill. It’s also the biggest bang for your buck and can make or break a team.
But the Angels need a shortstop, catcher, two outfielders, a healthy Trout, and Rendon, and Walsh to start hitting again,
I don’t think those things are likely to happen.
I actually like our starting pitching. At least for 2023.
@ halo
Example #1- Seattle’s BP
If you can build a pen without spending money, that’s great.
The Angels can’t. Heck, the Angels can’t even when they do spend money, which isn’t very often.
I’d rather have Jose Quijada making near league minimum than overpay a closer to be just, “okay.” There was zero need to make Iglesias the second highest paid closer in baseball.
It’s not the closer I worry about, it’s the arms attempting to keep the game close prior to getting to the closer.
If you like Quijada, which I don’t, then they need him to get to the closer not be the closer.
Quijada is not particularly good at throwing strikes, missing bats, or throwing ground balls. He’s actually terrible at inducing ground balls and his home run rate of zero is so far beyond the realm of expectations it’s absurd.
He’s exactly the kind of RP that smart team don’t rely on.
Lots of players have great springs and horrible summers!
Even after a horrible July, the Angels team ERA is right around 4. Now that isn’t great. A lot of that is from the bullpen. Before the Angels traded Thor yesterday. They had 4 starters with a sub 4 ERA. Again not great, but not horrible either. But are tied for 24th in runs scored. Because half of the Angels lineup is an automatic out. Marsh is striking out at a 37.6% this season. With very little pop. Trading Marsh, and getting a need, sometimes you have to do it.
Hosmer stays in boston until at least Casas is ready to take over full time next year.
Like what the Angels did
Tor NY HOU solidified
Oddly a lot of Rp’s stayed put for no apparent reason in both leagues.
Must not have been as much of a sought out market as we’d expect
TOR was dissapointing, their bullpen is brutal for a playoff team. Pearson needs to be healthy for October.
Healthy and Pearson, is similar to military intelligence, its a non-sequitur
You mean, “oxymoron?”
Thor for Moniak? I’m surprised that’s all it took.
Someone forgot to tell the rangers that sitting on expiring contracts like the rockies during a rebuild is hardly a recipe for success
I wanted Matt Moore to get traded to my team who had no lefties of any talent in the bullpen. Cannot fathom why they kept Moore.
Probably because no one else wanted him.
What was the perpose of trading Marsh for, basically, nothing? That was simply talent dumping!
The Angels are loaded in speedy defensive first outfielders. What they don’t have, is a catching prospect, that is remotely close to the majors. Now they got one. Now Adell will get his first real opportunity to play every day. To see if he can handle playing every day or not.
And none of those have a potential that marsh does. Except adell.
Also, if the gm really needed catchers in the system, why the heck did he draft a 2b instead of a college catcher who were said to posess the highest upside? To me Minasian is just incapable of running a team. A perfect match for Arturo Moreno!
Now Adell will get his first real opportunity to play every day.
===========================================
That’s a bug, not a feature. He should be in AAA, maybe AA, learning how to recognize pitches. In his most current callup, he has a .506 OPS, with a 16/4 K/W. This bouncing up and down is killing him. He’s made no progress in 3 years.
Because he can’t get on base, strikes out 40% of his AB’s and plays a position that can be replaced by a better FA or current player on the roster. If you figure they have Ward, Trout and Adell in the OF, he’s not playing a need position. O’Happe plays a premium position, is a contact hitter and is an upgrade over the current roster options.
Wow, you see the numbers of a rookie playing in a losing team and define him by them? Trout had a terrible production in his first season. And he is not alone among many great players.
Trout had a terrible production in his first season.
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That’s a pretty bad comp. Trout was 19 when he was promoted.and had a .672 OPS. Marsh is 24 and has a .637. And I am not saying Marsh doesn’t have some talent. But just like Adell, he should be in AAA until he learns to recognize pitches.
Yes, baseball is a numbers game. You can either hit or you can’t. Over two years and 163 ML games, Marsh (at 24) has shown below average capability in every offensive metric. Mike Trout by age 21 was an MVP caliber player, get something more reasonable in your comps. Marsh at best is a plus defender, with above average base running skills. What’s his ceiling, JBJ?
Sorry, cheated Mike by a year. By 20 (his first full season) he was ROY, won a SS, 2nd in MVP, AS starter, had a .963 OPS. Hit 30HR’s and stole 49 bases. But let’s compare 19 year old 120 AB trout to 500+ AB Marsh who has struck out 200 times in one “full” season.
“Yes, baseball is a numbers game……”.
DC13;
Agreed. But if not put in context by understanding the variables that produced those numbers they can be red herrings. It helps to look for patterns……
The Angels seem to have a lot of position players that don’t hit well.
On the other hand, the Phillies have one of the best hitting coaches in MLB, and he tends to straighten out young hitters such as Bohm (who was slumping 6 weeks ago and is now pushing .300).
MLB is about coaching today. When the Orioles / Astros / Rays / others look at acquiring poor performing young prospects they don’t look at their stats – rotisserie league GM’s do that. They look at what they’re doing wrong and what their coaches can do to get their potential to the surface.
Let’s see how Mr. Marsh hits in the next year or so before we pronounce his hitting a failure at age 24.
Trout vs Adell is a horrible comp.
The fact is Adell and Marsh have not developed. Since June, Ward has played worse than a 4th outfielder.
Walsh and Stassi have taken huge steps back. Fletcher hasn’t been good in a while.
Why?
I’m curious how Marsh does in Philadelphia. If he makes progress, I think it’s obvious this is an organizational problem.
@Samuel
I’m not pronouncing him a hitting failure, he’s doing a pretty good job of that himself. Obviously the Angels saw enough that they moved on from him to get a position of need. I see a ceiling of JBJ. For his sake, I hope he cuts the K’s down considerably.
For nothing? For the best C prospect in baseball. He will likely be in the MLB next season. He is excellent both behind the plate and with the bat. This could be a steal for the Angels.
LMAO! He is not a top ten. not even top13! Are you telling me he was the best prospect in lowly Philly system?
thegoodphight.com/2022/3/2/22948881/the-good-phigh…
Do try to do a minimal amount of research
When people have an agenda they tend to misrepresent what others are saying.
mlb.com/prospects/c/
Dumbest in a bow tie.
The best C prospect in baseball? I hope you’re being sarcastic
Francisco Alvarez and Diego Cartaya would like a word.
As well as Gabriel Moreno, Henry Davis and Shea Langeliers
@Bart: He’s not in the Top 10 according to mlb.com/prospects/c. He’s talented, and I’m thrilled to have him as he serves a greater need for the Angels than Marsh at the moment, but let’s manage our expectations for O’Hoppe.
The entire Angels ownership and FO should be banned from MLB for life for sheer incompetence.
Absolutely!
How poetic , McGuire for Diekman
Angels win!!!!
Hahn has no one to be disappointed with other than himself.
White Sox fans need to understand that while the national media and those that think MLB and Rotisserie Baseball are one and the same believe the Sox are loaded with talent that other teams salivate over, it’s simply not true. The position players are primarily 1B / DH types that have proven to have both low baseball IQ’s as well as most being totally uncoachable (in an age where coaching is the major factor in a teams overall success). Many of the pitchers are very good, but most are either fully paid or wanting large raises in coming contracts. Then there’s the fact that the Sox have few, if any, prospects that other teams value.
Add in that the Sox are at their payroll limit (based on revenues) so they can’t take on a salary in trade.
Make no mistake, the Sox FO for at least a year has realized the situation is unworkable, that the rebuild had peaked and was heading downhill. It’s why they “went for it” with the Kimbrall trade.
I’m still surprised they didn’t get Donavan Solano. Wouldn’t have cost much and he would have filled a hole. Guy’s been on fire for a month or so..
You had me on the gist of WSox critique up until final paragraph. Besides frequent injuries, they just didn’t think Madrigal was all that good where it would bite them. Don’t agree with FO, but they truly believed heading into ’22 its struggles against RHPs would solve itself through maturation/improvement of its core even though a proven lefty bat was advisable to acquire. Their next solution attempt will wind up internal in Oscar Colas. He’s reportedly 23 and tearing up AA early on following strong high A. As for lack of defense/baserunning, imagine FO will be embarrassed enough to retool (not rebuild) if they don’t make the playoffs. Kind of like ’05 trading off Carlos Lee and acquiring speed/defense/grit (Podsednik/Uribe/AJ Pierzynski).
Uncoachable assuming that everything is wrong except at Manager?! You forgot the mummy at manager that was great 10 years ago.. LaRussa was completely the wrong guy for this club (heck has he really done any better with this club than Renteria in 2020?). Like Thomas and Guillen said on the pre game show last night, they need someone that is going to go in there and hold players accountable and also a new Conditioning staff.. The Sox have talent. They have each showed it in fits and spurts, the problem is lack of consistency which is where much of the fan base SHOULD be frustrated at. The litany of injuries, the lackadaisical attitude with this club and the poor fundamentals (so much so Stone just called them out over it publicly). Lets face it, if you can go out and make three boneheaded errors in one game and know you will be out there again tomorrow, what is your motivation to get better?! I know some revere LaRussa, but he is not the same guy that was successful all of those years, hes a guy that is well past his prime and took this on as a cash grab and a favor to JR because JR thinks its still 2010 as well.
My criticism is more on how they conduct the off season. The fact that they “were in on Ohtani” was a joke. Agreed, they don’t have anything of value in the minors. I am less bullish on the major league talent. The assessment that they have a bunch of 1B/DH isn’t accurate, but it isn’t far off either. The talent is their, but they have got to knock it off with these constant injuries. At this rate it will take them 6 years just to complete 1 full season’s worth of games together.
It’s a much better show this way. We don’t get another piece this year, we gotta believe in ourselves.
Boom, Let’s go!
Merrifield is able to play in Toronto even if he’s unvaccinated. It means he has to quarantine for 14 days and test and then he wouldn’t be able to play in the US because their rules around unvaccinated people are the same.
Great. He will be able to play on the 15th day of every home stand.
He will get vaxxed. Not sure what it says about KC when he would not get vaccinated to play for them but will for a good team.
Ducey – I think it says those players don’t have much principle.
Either you believe the vax is dangerous and you therefore don’t want it, or you get it. The future success or failure of the team you’re on shouldn’t be a factor.
2nd day in a row I agree 100%. I think everyone should get the shot. But, much like if you enjoy visiting an opium den, I won’t bust your chops either way.
But don’t come to me with all personal belief stuff, and then throw it out the window because those beliefs are now inconvenient, I would be royally PO’d if I were his former teammates. Like, you’ll do it for some guys you don’t know, but not for the guys you spent the last 6 years with?
or he was waiting for a different type of vax, like Novavax, or wanted to see the accumulated data on efficacy given he would only lose a few games by missing a TOR series rather being on the the team where he would lose significantly more, or waiting for these ridiculous mandates to be dismantled, or perhaps the prospect of losing half his income. Regardless its his body and his decision on what goes in it.
I mean people had a decent reason to not get vaxxxed initially, but now its been proven over and over that there are no side-effects, its not out to kill you or turn you into someone else, there’s just no good reason anymore, other than for those who have turned it into a team sports thing, like “the other team loves it, therefore I must hate it by proxy” which is the dumbest and dangerous way to exist in a society.
Its like the annual flu vaccine we all were used to getting.
Lol just because you don’t get vaxxed doesn’t mean you think it’s dangerous. Most people received all their vaccines as a child and simply don’t want this one as an adult because it’s proven to not work as intended.
It probably means that he was okay forfeiting 2% of his salary before but not okay with forfeiting 50% of his salary down the stretch.
Merrifield is able to play in Toronto even if he’s unvaccinatedw. It means he has to quarantine for 14 days and test and then he wouldn’t be able to play in the US because their rules around unvaccinated people are the same.
Sending OHoppe to the Angels stings a bit, especially if you only look at it as a Marsh acquisition. If you view both PHI-LAA trades as one, though, I do think the Phils got the better end for now. Time will tell, of course, but with JT blocking OHoppe anyway, I do like the gamble here to shore up some of the defensive woes that plague the Phils, and even bringing in Thor in the process.
Like most trade/prospect trades, you got beaten. But you had to do it. And you held onto Abel and Painter, and that’s your future.
Beaten? how exactly?
Over the long run, the team giving up the prospects will lose value.
I’m not writing off Marsh yet, since I think the Angels rushed him, but the 208/42 career K/W is super troubling. Add to that the fact that he has not hit lefties at any level, makes him problematic for me. I would like him more if he was going to a team that could demote, which Philly can’t. I like O’Hoppe better by a decent amount.
After that, it is basically adding two months of Syndergaard & Robertson for 6 years of Brown. Brown has had a really good year and is a legit future rotation candidate.
you also have to remember prospects are exactly what they are: prospects.
If we all got a nickel for how many prospects were deemed “legit” that turned out to be nothing, we’d be millionaires
Yuli Gurriel is not struggling at the plate… Hitting around 350 the last two or three weeks. Also stealing bases for some reason. Maldonado also has been showing a lot of power recently and decent batting average… Vasquez is an OK bat but these two Astros are not going out to pasture… I do not think Mancini will do much in Houston either…
Once Mancini learns the garbage can code he will immediately improve.
@TigerFan1968, .307 for the past month. .292 the past two weeks. .379 the past week. Gurriel is undoubtedly trending upwards.
Mancini will help the Astros, though.
There’s not one team where I thought they filled all their holes. The Yankees left their rotation vulnerable, Frankie while a upgrade has had a shoulder issue in the past and it’s not like other Oakland former starters haven’t struggled in the big apple. Bader if he comes back healthy will certainly shore up the d concerns they have in the OF. Getting rid of Gallo for anything resembling value is a giant plus.
Astros could have probably used another lefty RP and still look like they have a giant hole in CF.
Twins probably needed to add two SP not one
Jays still don’t have any decent LH bats, leaves them exposed in the post season and easy to match up against this has been a problem since 2015. Pen also needed another guy or two who can get K’s.
Rays did very little. With all their injuries it was probably wise they didn’t make a bigger push. Not sure much a Wilson Contreras would have helped them.
Redsox were confusing. They didn’t get under the tax which I thought was going to be there motivation. I would have traded jd Martinez and kept Vazquez. Hosmer and Pham they basically got for free so get healthy and maybe make the last wildcard.
White Sox just gotta get healthy and play better.
Cleveland I felt really coulda benefited from getting a guy like jd Martinez. For a team always searching for OF. They have a done f guys who I think got to be protected from rule 5 this winter so getting a rental wouldn’t have hurt the farm all that much.
Mariners lineup still looks weak to me. Haniger I guess they feel will be there deadline pick up for a hitter.
The Red Sox got a controllable catcher. Listening to JD yesterday he sounded like a bit of a baby. They left them reasonably in tact, which was what they asked for. With the injured guys hopefully coming back they can make a bit of a run. They now have some better defense in Pham and Hosmer. Cordero has been atrocious in CF. These guys made their bed looking a mess too many games. They should be thankful they didn’t blow up the team.
Lots of ifs for the Yanks on the Montgomery trade. He was solid and reasonably priced, and a good guy. That was the only blemish on their stellar deadline, and it may haunt them. That and they po’d Severino with the 60 IL placement.
Thank you Samuel
I’m okay with the moves.
They traded Vazquez, Diekman & Groome for Hosmer, McGuire, Pham and two prospects only slightly lower than Groome, and the two prospects from Houston.
And I’d make a modest wager that McGuire & Hosmer have a higher WAR than Vazquez & Cordero (projected) going forward.
I wouldn’t dismiss the argument that this was a missed opportunity to trade JD & Eovaldi, but we should recoup some value via QO(s).
Excellent write-up / review.
Why didn’t the Yankees trade for laureano instead of montas?
Because a good starting pitcher is more important than another outfielder.
Not even remotely true. Andy Ashby doesn’t clear George Springer.
And Gerritr Cole is more important (clear?) than Aaron Hicks. Don’t use a bad comparison–of course Springer > Ashby, pitchers as a whole are more important than more outfielders…you win w pitching. That’s one reason NYY is killing it this year.
Laureano should have been included in that trade, and the Yanks should have included Oswald Peraza on their end, as an A’s fan, that’s what I was hoping would happen.
No you wanted Volpe. You said he was the only Yankees prospect that was worth getting and if Cashman didn’t include him in a deal, he wasn’t getting Montas.
While the Red Sox trading for Hosmer has to be considered one of the odder moves of the day the more I think about it the more I think it only has upsides for the Red Sox. Groome didn’t appear to be going anywhere, maybe a new pitching coach could help him become something but he was more or less at the height of his value as a trade chip for the Red Sox. As for Hosmer they’re paying him the league minimum which means if he does well over the next two months then first base won’t be a question mark next year or he gets flipped for something else.
‘
‘One other thing to add. Bogaerts was vocal about not wanting the team to sell everyone off. I have to wonder if trading for Hosmer is Bloom’s way of showing Bogaerts that he should sign long term with the Red Sox. In other words showing him the Red Sox mean to be competitive over the next few years.
Saber – Bottom line, Xander took a hometown discount last time but now wants to get paid. Winning or losing won’t matter if the difference in money is significant.
Fever Pitch Guy;
It seems most Red Sox fans that see the direction the owner and FO are going in don’t believe they’ll sign Bogaerts to a contract for the years and dollars he’s demanding….nevertheless, they want him signed.
As an observer it seems to me that he’s a clutch player, team leader, and top 5% hitter in MLB. However, he’s adamant about staying at SS with the shift going away in 2023 so that he won’t have the 2B on his side of the bag when RH batters are up to cover for his lack of range. Ideally the man should be moved to 2B or 3B, maybe even 1B. But the ego is there and that’s understandable.
A prerequisite to teams winning in today’s MLB demand 2 disciplines: 1) superior scouting and coaching; and 2) payroll flexibility.
With the money he and Devers are demanding the Red Sox are looking at a long-term Trout / Ohtani-type situation where they eat up a huge percentage of the payroll. This limits the amount they can pay other players so they’ll have to field a nice amount of cheap players, and their flexibility to take on salary as future needs and opportunities present themselves will be severely limited. And as with Trout / Ohtani if one or both get injured for any length of time…….
If the Red Sox have to pick one for a long-term contract, it seems they go with the younger Devers.
So then why not trade him when you know you’re not going to resign him? The Red Sox brass penny pinching on a team with billions of dollars of revenue each year is an insult to fans.
I don’t know how adamant Bogaerts is about staying at SS. It could be that he only wanted to stay at SS this year, to enhance his off-season value. He has to know he is unlikely to stay at SS, even if he goes elsewhere.
And I agree with some of your other comments. I want him back a lot more than I wanted Betts back. He looks like the next Papi while Betts merely looked like the next Williams.
Bottom Line…. Xander’s contract that he signed that he has an opt out at the end of the year was probably just right. His current play (lack of power and average defensive play at SS) should not merit a pay increase from any team in free agency unless he switches to 3B.
His play Monday night was a perfect example …. routine double play ball hit by a slow catcher he tries to field off one foot and complete whiffs on the ball…. cost Sox 2 runs and Eovaldi 20 to 25 pitches.
Sorry your buddy Vasquez got traded, but get your head out of your butt, and move on. Shake the hands of your new teammates when they arrive and make sure you wash them after shaking the new catchers hand….lol
Well he’s surely not going to sign cheap but even when it comes down to money I’d suspect given two similar offers a player might favor the team more likely to get him a WS ring. Now it’s just a matter of seeing whether or not Boston will actually pay Bogaerts
Great read. Thanks for the recap.
So, at the end of the day, the four prospects Cashman sent to the Rangers for Gallo, three of whom are already in the bigs, netted the Dodgers’ #15 prospect, a AA pitcher with a 5.40 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. That’s some shrewd dealing there, Brian.
While I was against the trade from day one, it’s not like the guys we traded are tearing it up in Texas. At least Cashman put his ego aside and moved Gallo. Can’t win every trade.
And it’s not like Beeter is tearing it up in AA. Both Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran have a positive fWAR and bWAR in limited play in the majors; Duran is ranked the Rangers’ #3 prospect and #54 in the MLB Pipeline and has a .919 OPS in AAA; and Trevor Hauver is their #18 prospect in A+. Glenn Otto has struggled to a 4-7 record as a starter, but he has wins against the A’s, Angels, Rays and Mariners.
Wins, lol.
(“Yuk, yuk! Fangraphs says wins don’t count!”)
Yeah, wins — in which he held the A’s to 2 hits and 1 ER through 5 innings; he held the Angels to 1 ER on 3 hits through 5 innings, striking out Trout and Ohtani twice; he held the Rays to 1 ER on 4 hits through 6 innings; and held the Mariners to 2 ER on 2 hits through 5 innings.
Wins are out of a pitcher’s control. People who analyze data pay more attention to things within a pitcher’s control.
I’m aware of the argument. I subscribe to Fangraphs. I’m also aware that a rookie who strikes out Trout and Ohtani twice each in a game has promising stuff. In his 2020 major league debut with the Rangers, Otto started six games and won only one of them. His ERA was 9.26, but his FIP was 3.17.
Wins do matter. They sure mattered to the Yankees when Cole couldn’t get past the second inning in last year’s Wild Card.
Since his debut in 2020, Otto has an 8.02 K/9 ranking him just below Quintana and just above Walker Beuhler and Logan Webb. He’s still a rookie, so his trouble with walks isn’t surprising, but I think he does have promise; and if the Rangers didn’t, he wouldn’t still be in their rotation — but he is.
Yes, Cashman has his W’s but he also has heavy L’s, much like Beane. That says to me us fans PROBABLY should not go to war and defend their bad moves just because of stupid homerism. We should roast them like anyone else. These FO guys largely don’t know what they’re doing (hence the heavy turnover rate in the profession), so to act like Cashman is a “god” is just pure delusion and you all need to knock it off.
You really don’t know how to go about making a point do you? You use high turnover rate to bash the GM who has had the job since 1998.and has been with the organization since 1986.
If Yankees win the WS, Montgomery can get his ring too right?
This comment will age like milk when the Cardinals win the WS lol
Hosmer has the right to opt out of the final three seasons of his $144 million, eight-year contract, a deal that has $13 million salaries in each of those years. The trade includes $36.78 million in conditional cash if he keeps the contract: $12.28 million in 2023, $12.26 million in 2024 and $12.24 million in 2025.. He will opt out, and SD will not have to pay.
Not even Hosmer is THAT delusional to walk away from that money – no chance anyone gives him more money than that on the open market.
What would be the rational for Hosmer opting out? To replace a $39M/3 deal with a $5M/1 deal?
That was funny. Hosmer opting out.
Hosmer will opt out right after Sale does.
Avila again proving why he’s the worst GM in baseball. The only way to screw up his trade deadline was to not do much and that’s exactly what he did.
Enjoy the 13th consecutive season without a World Series- despite staggering payrolls (very often the biggest payroll in MLB) year after year after year. 1 World Series in 22 years. Cashman should have been fired years ago- pathetic.
“One of the few individuals on earth more unlikable than Derek Jeter”
-V. Scully
Yankees:
Better hope Montas isn’t damaged goods and healthy. With Severino out until mid-September and Montgomery traded, SP could be an issue.
Benintendi is better than Gallo but still just a singles hitter. Bader is always injured but useful if he’s healthy like Aaron Hicks.Both the same type of players.
Not sure how good the Yankees did this deadline. They will need some pieces to fall into place and be healthy for them to have helped which is possible but not definite.
A 1st round bye is happening regardless of the deadline outcomes!
Benintendi is NOT good, i just watched him for 5 years with the red sox do nothing to below nothing every game, if he was why would a last place team trade him?
The Sox couldn’t tweak him like k.c. did pretty simple weight shift In Swing mechanics more like his college days.
David Ortiz roid rage jus a lil bit
Benint3ndi is more than useful should be Bronx leadoff hitter now
What if Lou Whitaker had played in New York? He would have been in the Hall of Fame a long time ago. It’s sad that he is not.
Both Whitaker and Grich belong in the Hall. It’s a complete travesty they have been overlooked. It’s a reflection of how little the Veterans Committee knows about baseball.
They were great players in every way measurable and possessed positive intangibles went beyond what could be measured.
I was excited the way this trade deadline started in trading for Nintendo and Effros. Then it all went to crap. The team is now worse than before the deadline and it’s a head scratcher.
It’s time for Hal to start making the difficult decisions that an owner needs to make. Too bad Cashman is your bffae from your college days, the game has passed him by and it’s time to kick him to the curb and start figuring out how to get Theo to take over this teams day to day.
if you mean theo epstein whos no longer a baseball president i may be wrong but i think he retired
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am personally kind of disappointed in Seattle’s deadline deals. I personally thought they should have gone after another starting pitcher and maybe a bullpen arm or two.
George Kirby is already at his career high in innings pitched and awfully close to the point that they will need to shut him down for the year. You replace him with Luis Castillo (I loved this trade, if that wasn’t obvious) and get great quality innings to replace the innings that George Kirby can’t throw anymore.
Logan Gilbert is either at his career high in innings already, or will be very soon. And not too long after that, you are going to need to shut him down for the year to make sure he doesn’t put too much wear and tear on his arm. Who is going to replace him? This is where I wish they would have gone out to get a Jose Quintana/Jon Lester type pitcher, not the highest tier of pitcher that is going to gut the farm system, but someone who can provide decent quality innings to cover what Logan Gilbert can’t throw. And yes, I realize Jose Quintana wasn’t actually an option for the Mariners, but someone along those lines.
I very much wish they would have gotten a bullpen arm or two, I think we are going to find that Servais has burned his bullpen and they won’t have anything left for the playoff push or the playoffs (assuming they make it). I will be happy to admit I am wrong, if that ends up being the case.
But moreso, I wish they had added a bat or two. The offense is too likely to stall out right now. Too many guys waiting for the homer instead of getting base hits and keepin the offense rolling. Part of that is due to injuries, and maybe Haniger, JRod, and Ty France all coming back healthy will fix that, but the offense just doesn’t feel playoff worthy right now.
The deals the Red Sox made were okay but they weren’t enough and not made with a clear direction. Not trading Martinez or Eovaldi is a missed opportunity, especially since the postseason isn’t really in our favor to make.
I like getting Hosmer at league minimum but there was no reason to trade Vazquez if Martinez was also not traded. Diekman was one of the better pitchers that was only traded to replace our catcher sutuation. Bloom really hurt himself here for the future as he didn’t really buy or sell here.
dikeman was not at all one of our ‘ better pitchers’ his walk rate was astronomically high
While the Sox got a lefty reliever, Im glad the White Sox stood pat after. I mean sure they probably could have even moved someone in the locker room to send a message to the rest of the locker room, but the issues with this club are far deeper than just needing ‘a’ position player and pitcher. Poor work ethic, lackadaisical attitudes, poor fundamentals.. a guy like Joc Pederson is not going to help with the god awful base running, he is not going to help with Anderson’s whoopsies at short, he is not going to help the abhorrent situational hitting, the stupid soft tissue injuries. He is not going to get Giolito better. All of those things fall squarely on this coaching staff and the ‘conditioning’ staff. Yeah there are some players that are not as good as promised, but there are guys who have shown flashes of greatness only to be held back by an apparent lack of motivation, silly injuries that most legit training staffs would not let happen. A third base coach that tries to send everyone home even though some of these guys will never have a prayer of getting there before the ball. This team also cannot drive runners in, I mean if a leadoff hitter reaches first he has a 75% chance of scoring, the Sox have to be in that 25%. Heck the Sox only won a game because of a wild pitch the other night ( not like Anderson is driving him in)… I swear the coaching staff also gets paid on how many contact plays they run (even though every time I see the Sox run it they run themselves out of a big inning by being dead to rights at home). Some poor players, a lot of underachievers …sure, but a coaching staff that should be released. I’m glad Hahn did not fritter away the few developing prospects they have in hope that one guy was going to fix all that (or even two or three).
Yeah, sink or swim was the right approach.
I hope the Yankee fan who was insisting yesterday that Cole is “the best pitcher in baseball” enjoyed his performance today against a Mariners team that’s missing their two best hitters
Another Ninja Cash move — getting played by Boras into throwing a fortune at a guy who couldn’t make it to the third inning in the 2021 Wild Card game. Cole had been called out publicly by Bauer for using Spider Tack a year before Cashman signed him, but did the Ninja bother to ask him about it while he was wining and dining him and bidding against himself? The “best pitcher in baseball” sports a 3.56 ERA, 33rd among qualified starters. Know who’s 35th, with a 3.69 ERA? Jordan Montgomery. Cole has by far the largest contract of all starting pitchers and he’s not in the Top 10 in fWAR or bWAR this year.
I’m looking forward to the debut of Montas in pinstripes; a fastball pitcher coming off a shoulder injury whose fastball velocity lost 4 MPH by the fourth inning in his last outing (which only lasted 5 innings) before the Ninja traded for him. That should be fun. And then he traded away one of the two horses in the rotation (second in IP to Cole since 2020) for a mediocre hitter whose calling card is speed and who’s on the IL with his foot in a boot to treat plantar fasciitis.
Good thing the Yanks aren’t competing against Houston for home field advantage.
Oh, wait . . .
The Ninja — seizing defeat from the jaws of victory.
The red sox,
I have never in my life seen this team more directionless, i rather them loose 110 games, atleast then they can simply tell fans’ were rebuilding’ , they have won 4 WS series since 2004, most teams would kill to win 1, NOBODY is tear them apart if they go through a few years of bad rosters, but this? atrocious, i guess the only other team i can compare them to are the angels, no hope and no direction, a good( not great) team with no future, its the same with us, granted i do think Bostons a tick better, i mean we havent fired our manager( even though we should or i hope he doesnt manage next year) but either way, these are 2 franchises with absolutely no plan, Pedro Martinez, the greatest pitcher we EVER had, said last night on the MLB network he doesnt see any path forward for boston, thank god we have a man who says exactly what needs to be said.
i didnt get the montas deal myself for NY, i assumed they would have gotten someone better, even though its the red sox, is evoldi was healthy they would have probaly tried to get him.
Months was okay bit I didn’t get why they traded Montgomery.
After all the mlb trades. Any idea who the top 5 farm systems are?