MLB Betting – Top 10 Trade Deadline Deals
Which moves rocked the boat in Major League Baseball the most as the trade deadline passed over the weekend?
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Let’s look at the 10 biggest moves – excluding transactions that happened before last Friday (i.e. Carlos Beltran).
1. Philadelphia Phillies acquire Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros for Jarred Cosart, Jonathan Singleton, Josh Zeid and a player to be named.
Kudos to the Phillies for pulling off this deal without trading Domonic Brown. By acquiring Pence, the Phillies essentially admitted that they missed having Jayson Worth around. Pence brings similar power and athleticism to the table but he’s younger and less injury-prone. If there was any doubt that the Phillies were the World Series frontrunner, it’s gone now.
2. Cleveland Indians acquire Ubaldo Jimenez from the Colorado Rockies for Drew Pomeranz, Alex White, Matt McBride and Joe Gardner.
On paper, a trade-deadline deal wouldn’t make sense for Cleveland, a team barely north of .500. But a 53-52 record makes you a contender in the American League Central. The Rockies got a nice package of prospects for their prized righty Ubaldo Jimenez but it feels like they gave up on him too quickly. He’s 27 years old and a season removed from seriously contending for the National League Cy Young.
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3. Boston Red Sox acquire Erik Bedard and Josh Fields from the Seattle Mariners for Trayvon Robinson and Chih-Hsien Chiang.
Bedard is no sure thing, as he’s constantly getting hurt and he’s never pitched for a contending team. But he’s talented. If he can stay healthy for the stretch run in Boston, he could be a more than adequate replacement for injured Clay Buchholz.
4. Atlanta Braves acquire Michael Bourn from the Houston Astros for Jordan Schafer, Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens and Juan Abreu.
It looks on paper like the Braves surrendered a lot for a speedster like Bourn but none of the players Houston received projects to be a star. With his tremendous speed and defensive ability in center field, Bourn can give the Braves’ playoff push a serious spark.
5. Texas Rangers acquire Mike Adams from the San Diego Padres for Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland.
Two solid pitching prospects is a large price to pay for a reliever – and not even a closer – but Mike Adams is the best setup man in the game. Along with Koji Uehara, whom the Rangers also acquired at the deadline, he’ll join Neftali Feliz to give Texas a formidable bullpen. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
6. St. Louis Cardinals acquire Rafael Furcal from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Alex Castellanos.
Cardinals fans – feel free to comment on this article. I want to know how you feel about your team’s deadline moves. First St. Louis ships off young gun Colby Rasmus; next, it acquires creaky shortstop Rafael Furcal, who could shatter into a million pieces at any moment. Hmmm.
7. Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Ryan Ludwick from the San Diego Padres for a player to be named.
Why not? The Pirates never know when they’ll contend again. I like to see them trying to get better, even if it’s through a pair of relatively minor moves. Ludwick has more pop left than his PETCO-suppressed numbers in San Diego suggested.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Derek Lee from the Baltimore Orioles for Aaron Baker.
Lee will likely form some sort of platoon with Lyle Overbay at first base. Like the Ludwick trade, it’s an incremental gain for the Pirates, but any little move can help in the NL Central.
9. Arizona Diamondbacks acquire Brad Ziegler from the Oakland Athletics for Brandon Allen and Jordan Norberto.
Allen projects as a pretty useful bat, so the Ziegler move was a bit curious for the D-backs, who already had J.J. Putz and David Hernandez leading the way in their pen.
10. San Francisco Giants acquire Orlando Cabrera from the Cleveland Indians for Thomas Neal.
Meh. Cabrera won’t help a ton. But it wouldn’t be a trade deadline without the veteran middle infielder being dealt, right?
