Well the MLB trade deadline has come and gone and a lot of good players were on the move over the weekend but a few were surprisingly staying in their place. Let's look back and see what teams made good moves and what teams stayed pat.
Arizona Diamondbacks- Acquired SP Jason Marquis from the Nationals and acquired RP Brad Ziegler from the Athletics for a handful of medium talented minor leaguers. Grade: B-, Marquis isn't flashy and neither is Ziegler but both help the squad. Loss of Stephen Drew to injury hurts though.
Atlanta Braves- Acquired OF Michael Bourn from the Astros for OF Jordan Schafer and 3 minor league pitchers. Grade: A-, should've gotten another arm but Bourn is a great talent and table-setter.
Baltimore Orioles- Acquired SP Tommy Hunter and 1B Chris Davis from the Rangers for RP Koji Uehara and traded 1B Derrek Lee to the Pirates for Aaron Baker. Grade: B-, Uehara is a great reliever and Lee is old so they certainly upgraded a bit in young talent.
Boston Red Sox- Acquired SP Erik Bedard and minor league P Josh Fields for 3 minor league prospects from the Mariners. Grade: C+, Sox got a pitcher... just not a great one.
Chicago Cubs- Traded Kosuke Fukudome to the Indians for 2 minor leaguers. Grade: C, surprisingly the Cubs didn't shed some payroll since they are on their way to another losing season.
Chicago White Sox- Stayed put... no moves. Grade: C, if they thought they had a shot they should have upgraded their roster a bit but underachievers like Rios and Dunn really hurt.
Cincinnati Reds- No moves over the weekend but they did trade Jonny Gomes to the Nationals for 2 minor league prospects. Grade: C-, their bullpen needs help and they are injured in the middle infield.
Cleveland Indians- Acquired SP Ubaldo Jimenez from the Rockies for 3 minor league players and a player to be named later. They also acquired Kosuke Fukudome as earlier stated from the Cubs. Grade: A-, they gave up a lot for Ubaldo but they feel they have a real shot and they certainly made a big splash.
Colorado Rockies- As I just wrote, they traded away Ubaldo Jimenez for 3 prospects, 2 being highly regarded talent. Grade: C, they gave up Ubaldo who has a reasonable contract for a few prospects, no sure things.
Detroit Tigers- Acquired SP Doug Fister from the Mariners. The Tigers could have used some extra arms in their bullpen but decided they were good enough as is. Grade: B.
Florida Marlins- Stayed put at the deadline. Many thought the Marlins would sell but they are committed to turning it all around next year in their new ball park. Grade: B.
Houston Astros- Acquired OF Jordan Schafer and 3 prospects from the Braves for OF Michael Bourn as well as acquired a few top prospects in 1B Jonathan Singleton and P Jarred Cosart from the Phillies for all-star OF Hunter Pence. Grade: B+, Bourn was somewhat of a losing trade, but they did get a lot of prospects for Pence.
Kansas City Royals- Acquired 2 minor leaguers from the Red Sox for INF Mike Aviles. Grade: C, not much went on for the Royals who are still super young and are gaining some experience.
Los Angeles Angels- Stayed put at the deadline. Angels are in a pennant race and made no moves... seems odd but they are confident. Grade: C-.
Los Angeles Dodgers- Acquired a high minor league prospect in OF Alex Castellanos for oft injured SS Rafael Furcal. Grade: C+, I thought the Dodgers would be more of a seller but they stayed pretty foot but did move a costly piece in Furcal.
Milwaukee Brewers- Acquired INF Jerry Hairston, Jr. from the Nationals for a minor leaguer but their bigger move was after the all-star game, when they acquired RP Francisco Rodriguez from the Mets. Grade: B+, bolstered the bullpen and got infield depth which helps even more since Rickie Weeks went down with an injury.
Minnesota Twins- Stayed put at the trade deadline. Jason Kubel was thought to be moved but was not. Grade: C.
New York Mets- Acquired P Zack Wheeler from the Giants for OF Carlos Beltran. They also traded away costly closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers earlier in July. Grade: A-, Mets were obvious sellers and got good value for Beltran and freed up money to resign Reyes.
New York Yankees- Stayed put at the trade deadline. Unbelievably they did not make a move. Grade: C-, needed another SP and could have used another bullpen arm or two.
Oakland Athletics- Acquired two prospects from the Diamondbacks for RP Brad Ziegler. Grade: C, this move didn't do much and the A's had a few pieces they could have moved like Willingham, Dejesus or Crisp.
Philadelphia Phillies- Acquired Hunter Pence for prospects as mentioned before from the Astros. Grade: A, the Phillies got a huge OF bat and upgrade to Dominic Brown and look primed for a deep run in the playoffs.
Pittsburgh Pirates- Acquired Derrek Lee from the Orioles as stated earlier, and also acquired OF Ryan Ludwick from the Padres for a player to be named later or cash. Grade: B+, the Pirates got 2 bigger bats for a very poor offense, so these moves should really help their playoff push without risking the farm.
San Diego Padres- Acquired two top pitching prospects from the Rangers for RP Mike Adams. Also traded away Ryan Ludwick for almost nothing to the Pirates. Grade: B-, Heath Bell stayed put but they did get a lot for Adams.
San Francisco Giants- Acquired Carlos Beltran from the Mets for top prospect Zack Wheeler. Grade: A-, got a big bat to help in the playoff push and didn't give away any pro-ready prospects.
Seattle Mariners- Traded away SP's Erik Bedard and Doug Fister for a handful of prospects from the Tigers and Red Sox. Grade: B+, the Mariners are going no where fast and these moves are certainly for the future.
St. Louis Cardinals- Traded away OF Colby Rasmus in the three-team deal with the Blue Jays and White Sox earlier in the week and received SP Edwin Jackson and a few relievers. They also acquired SS Rafael Furcal for a prospect from the Dodgers. Grade: B+, they got another power arm and a very good SS replacement.
Tampa Bay Rays- Traded INF Felipe Lopez to the Brewers for cash. Other than that deal the Rays did nothing. Grade: C-, the Rays couldn't find anyone to take BJ Upton off their hands and that will hurt them this year.
Texas Rangers- Acquired relievers Koji Uehara and Mike Adams from the Orioles and Padres respectively to bolster their bullpen and help them return to the World Series. Grade: A-, the Rangers did a great job not giving away their coveted top 2-3 prospects but could have used another bat off the bench since Beltre went down.
Toronto Blue Jays- Acquired Colby Rasmus in that 3 team deal described. Traded OF Juan Rivera to the Dodgers for a player to be named later or cash. Grade: B, Rasmus has a great upside but the Jays need some help in the rotation desperately.
Washington Nationals- Traded away INF Hairston and SP Jason Marquis and acquired a few prospects for them. Grade: C+, could have done more but still look good for the future.
Hope you enjoyed my breakdown of the MLB Trade Deadline!
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