Trade Deadline Recap

Quick recap of some of the major moves from the past few days.

Yesterday
Jonathan Broxton to Reds
Broxton returns to the Senior Circuit after filling in as Kansas City's closer while Joakim Soria recovers from Tommy John surgery.  He won't get to close in Cincy--the Reds pay Aroldis Chapman to do that--but he might see some action as the set-up man.  I'm surprised Cincinnati made this move given the strength of their bullpen, but relief pitchers are volatile by nature and it never hurts to load up the bullpen with talented arms.

Ryan Dempster to Rangers
After losing both Neftali Feliz and Colby Lewis for the season and failing to land Zack Greinke, Texas sought another arm.  Even with regression looming on the horizon, Dempster should provide some much needed stability to the rotation. I think the lifelong National Leaguer is going to struggle in his new digs much like Roy Oswalt did earlier in the season with the Rangers.

Hunter Pence to Giants
As the great Yogi Berra once said, this must feel like "deja vu all over again" for Pence, who was dealt on July 29th last year from Houston to Philly.  Great move for the Giants, who have all the pitching you could ask for but always seem to be short a bat or two, especially with Pablo Sandoval on the DL again.  Pence is a productive middle of the order threat on the verge of clearing the 20 homer threshold for the fifth consecutive season, and he arrives just in time for San Fran's playoff push.

Shane Victorino to Dodgers
Teams up with Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier to create a formidable outfield.  The Flyin' Hawaiian has been mired in a slump for much of the season (did he forget 2012 was his contract year?) but recently showed some signs of life at the plate by batting .385 with eight extra-base hits over his past 14 games.  If he can continue to get on base for Kemp and Ethier, he's going to score a ton of runs and make the Dodgers' lineup that much better. 

Casey McGehee to Yankees
Just some third base depth while Alex Rodriguez is on the mend, because backup Eric Chavez can no longer man the hot corner everyday.  The Yankees were reportedly interested in Chase Headley as well, but settled for McGehee, a subpar defender who hasn't hit a lick since 2010.

Older moves
Greinke to Angels
To sum it up, I tweeted at Matthew Berry that his trade made the Angels' already stacked starting rotation (Jered Weaver, Dan Haren, C.J. Wilson, and Ervin Santana) just as powerful as the Avengers.  To see more in-depth analysis, look here.

Ichiro Suzuki to Yankees
Like the Boston Celtics, the Bronx Bombers just can't seem to get any younger.  The 38 year-old Ichiro is nothing more than a shell of his former self, but still brings plenty of defense and speed to the table (a poor man's Brett Gardner, minus the walks).  I'm surprised he still gets to play everyday at this stage in his career, especially since Suzuki's lefty-righty splits (OPS nearly 200 points lower against southpaws) make him more of a platoon candidate.  Obviously he benefits from moving to a superior lineup and friendlier home park.

Hanley Ramirez to Dodgers
It had become increasingly clear that HanRam needed a change of scenery to rejuvenate his bat, and sure enough he's performed like his old self since packing his bags for the west coast.  Playing for a contender should keep him motivated down the stretch, and don't be surprised if he goes on a tear in the near future.  Who knows--maybe the sulking star will put together a Manny Ramirez (circa 2008) finishing touch on his season.  He certainly has the talent.

Wandy Rodriguez to the Pirates
Finally!  Way-Rod's name has surfaced in trade rumors for years, and now he's escaped the baseball black hole known as the Houston Astros.  He bolsters an already solid Pittsburgh staff, and may be arriving just in time as the wheels start to fall off James McDonald's season.  Rodriguez is nothing special, but he's a consistent, slightly above average southpaw.  You can never have enough pitching.

Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante to Tigers
Sanchez's numbers bear an eery resemblance to Rodriguez's statistics.  After dominating through the end of May he's regressed, posting an ugly 5.82 ERA over the past two months.  I expect that he'll more or less maintain his four-plus ERA going forward, with some good starts canceled out by a few stinkers.  The rotation, other than Justin Verlander, has lacked consistency, but Max Scherzer and Doug Fister have pitched well lately.  Infante is nothing to get excited about; a middle infielder who can hit for decent average but doesn't do much else.  Blah.

Carlos Lee to Marlins
This move would have been a big deal five years ago, when "El Caballo" could eclipse .300-30-100 in his sleep.  But he's 36 now, and his home run totals declined in each of the past five seasons.  With just six round-trippers to date, expect that trend to continue.  I know Gaby Sanchez wasn't getting the job done at first base, but honestly Lee isn't much of an upgrade.

Marco Scutaro to Giants
See Infante, Omar.  But for some reason, I like Scutaro better (is it because he played for the Red Sox?)

Geovany Soto to Rangers
A nice backup catcher to have for Mike Napoli, who isn't exactly known for his durability.  Soto has decent pop, and you could do a whole lot worse than the 2008 NL Rookie of the Year.


Francisco Liriano to White Sox
Francisco Liriano is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get.  The White Sox hope he can keep up his recent hot streak.

And for what it's worth, I'm glad Boston didn't sell low on Josh Beckett.  Already made that mistake with Kevin Youkilis.