Old Time Family Baseball

You’ll find plenty of great trade analysis around the web, but if it’s an awards-style breakdown you’re looking for, you’ve come to the right place. This is an obviously very subjective list, so, as always, please chime in if you have some differing opinions. Trade lists are here and here.

Most Evenly Balanced Trade: The Mets send center fielder Carlos Beltran to the Giants for right-hander Zack Wheeler. Fans of both teams have to be satisfied with this. New York gets a highly ranked pitching prospect and can assume that because Omar Minaya will have nothing to do with Wheeler’s development, he has the potential to be a key rotation piece down the line. San Francisco desperately needed an offensive contributor, and they got a great one in Beltran and could potentially re-sign him in the off season.

Most One-Sided Trade: The Astros send center fielder Michael Bourn to the Braves for center fielder Jordan Schafer and minor league pitchers Brett Oberholtzer, Paul Clemens, and Juan Abreu. Michael Bourn is exactly the player that Atlanta needed - a Gold Glove caliber center fielder who’s turning into a solid leadoff hitter, gets on base at a .363 clip, and leads the league in steals. Ed Wade should have known this and should have pushed for a more solid package of prospects.

Smartest Moves: The Pittsburgh Pirates acquire Derrek Lee and Ryan Ludwick. Coming into the Trade Deadline, Pittsburgh was in a bit of a pickle or pierogi if you will. They’re contending in the NL Central with a team made up of in-house talent and low risk signings, and they’ve been sellers over the last few years. I don’t think Neal Huntington ever considered giving away the farm - Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence, or Ubaldo Jimenez would have helped, but they would have cost way too much in relation to how much of a boost they would have given the Pirates. Instead, the team gave up Aaron Baker, a good but by no means great minor league first baseman (Mike feel free to jump in…) and a player to be named later. Lee and Ludwick aren’t having great seasons, but they provide some pop, and Lee is a definite upgrade over Lyle Overbay at first base. Kudos to Huntington for not overextending and sacrificing the future.

Most Improved Team: The Phillies. Philadelphia is arguably the best team in baseball, and their rotation has been spectacular (as expected). That didn’t stop them from nabbing the second-best bat available. While Hunter Pence has slumped lately, he can easily hit .290 with ten home runs the rest of the way out. He’s slotted fifth in a better much lineup on a team that looks tailor-made for the playoffs. The Rangers are a close second with their much improved bullpen.

Missed Opportunity: The Padres don’t trade Health Bell. San Diego netted two great prospects - pitchers Joe Wieland and Robert Erlin - when they sent Mike Adams to Texas. I can’t understand why they couldn’t pull of a deal with Bell involved. The most obvious answer is that they were asking too much, but wouldn’t it have made sense for Jed Hoyer to drop is price a little? Maybe he did, or maybe the demand really wasn’t there, but failing to flip Bell seems like a definite missed opportunity.

Most Disappointing Deadline: The New York Yankees don’t do anything. I expected New York to snag Ubaldo Jimenez. When they missed out, I thought for sure that they’d pony up the prospects for Wandy Rodriguez or Heath Bell. I actually think that Brian Cashman showed some respectable restraint in not ponying up the prospects for Jimenez and the prospects and cash for Rodriguez. But New York has had some pitching and injury issues this year, and while the Red Sox didn’t improve a whole lot by acquiring Erik Bedard, they’re still the team to beat in the AL East. Of course, the Yankees could still be busy with waiver trades, so maybe there’s something in store. What to the Yankee fans think?

Dumbest Move: The Cubs Label Carlos Pena As Off Limits. Really?