MLB Fastball 08.01.08: Assessing The Big Deals

Posted by Neil Borenstein on 08.01.2008

The non-waiver trade deadline has come and gone, and some pretty big deals went down over the past week. In this week’s MLB Fastball, Neil Borenstein takes a look at some of the biggest trades, including Manny Ramirez’ move to Los Angeles and Ken Griffey, Jr. bringing his World Series ambitions to Chicago.

When you're wrong, you're wrong. And I most certainly was when I said last week that I didn't believe any remarkable trades would go down by yesterday afternoon's 4 p.m. non-waiver trade deadline. When the likes of Mark Teixeira, Manny Ramirez, Ivan Rodriguez and Ken Griffey, Jr. are moved within a week, plenty of big trades were made that could impact organizations beyond just the remaining two-three months this year.

So, let's take a gander at some of the big deals made around Major League Baseball …

Mark Teixeira To The Angels

Mark Teixeira

Replacing Casey Kotchman at first base

Despite a pretty good season by Casey Kotchman, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim wanted an upgrade at first base. So, they shipped Kotchman along with minor league pitcher Stephen Marek to the Atlanta Braves in exchange for Mark Teixeira.

With their season basically in the dumps considering the numerous notable injuries currently plaguing the team – Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson and Tom Glavine, Teixeira became highly expendable. Not only was it pointless to hold onto Teixeira based on the lost season and the fact that the Braves were guaranteed to get something good in return; he is also undoubtedly headed toward free agency. And with an agent like Scott Boras and rumors swirling that he's seeking $20 million a year, the Braves weren't going to fork over the cash to re-sign Teixeira and would thus lose him soon enough anyway.

In Kotchman, they don't get a player with the same pop at the plate that Teixeira possessed. But what the Braves do get is a 25-year old former first round draft pick who is in the middle of the best season in his MLB career. And Marek, who ranked as the Angels' sixth best prospect and fourth best right handed pitching prospect according to BaseballAmerica.com, will add depth to a pitching core that can always use some good, young arms.

Don't be mistaken, though. The true winner here is the Angels. Steve Phillips of ESPN does have an interesting argument that runs contrary to Los Angeles coming out on top. That is, the Angels were going to make the playoffs with Kotchman. And if they only last a few games and get something like 30 postseason at-bats out of Teixeira, the move is a bust. To a point, that's true. The Angels were going to make the playoffs regardless and Teixeira is there to provide impactful hitting in October.

But I think this deal is also about beyond October. Teixeira may be on the market for a lot of money with teams like the New York Yankees ready to pony up some serious cash for the 28-year old switch hitter. If the Angels are willing to join that race, however, and perhaps get a bit of a discount to $17-18 million per season, they managed to upgrade their first base situation on the long-term and not just the remainder of this season.

On the short-term, though, this trade makes a good team all that much better. The Angels are certainly going to the playoffs as the American League West champs and should be a much more formidable foe with Teixeira at the plate.

The Other LA Snags Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez

Got His Wish – Out Of Boston

The ongoing saga that is "Manny Being Manny" has finally reached its conclusion. Year-after-year, Manny Ramirez either flat out declares or alludes to his desire to be moved out of Boston. And year-after-year, the Red Sox ponder trade opportunities until realizing he's Manny freakin' Ramirez and they have a much better shot at winning a world title with him in the lineup. This go-around, Theo Epstein was sick of playing this game. And after a more vocal Ramirez made the wound deeper than usual, Boston chose to cut the cord. After seven and a half years, Ramirez' tenure roaming left field in Fenway Park is over. Now, he will call Los Angeles home after being shipped to the Dodgers in a three-way trade.

In this deal, the Red Sox landed Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates, while the Pirates received four prospects – outfielder Brandon Moss and right-handed pitcher Craig Hansen from Boston and third baseman Andy LaRoche and Single-A right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris from Los Angeles.

This was a very tumultuous situation for the Red Sox, and Epstein was basically backed into a corner. Ramirez was making things a lot more uncomfortable than usual and a real possibility existed that his distaste for being with Boston could very well cause him to sit out games or even coast throughout the rest of the season – one in which the Red Sox are fighting to defend their second championship in three years. Even more, this would be Ramirez' final year with Boston regardless, as Epstein was not going to exercise Ramirez' $20 million option for next season considering his behavior over the last week. This was Boston's last chance to get something in return for Ramirez before losing him for nothing this offseason through free agency.

And grabbing Bay is not too shabby. Bay is by no means the same caliber star Ramirez is. He is, however, a career-.281 hitter with the ability to hit 30 or more home runs and 100 or more RBIs a season. With a .282 batting average, 22 home runs, 64 RBIs and 72 runs scored this season, Bay's production is actually very comparable to Ramirez' (.299/20/68/66). And, Bay is already locked in for next season with $7.5 million set to come his way – much less than the $20 million that could go to Ramirez on a picked-up option year. So, I don't anticipate Ramirez' loss to really affect the Red Sox' chase toward the playoffs.

The Pirates also did fairly well, grabbing several potentially impactful youngsters for giving up just one player that they were inevitably going to let go anyway when the time comes around for Bay's next contract negotiation.

Then there's the Dodgers, who just happened to get the star of the hour. A team in dire need of more offense, Ramirez instantly becomes the best player in Los Angeles. He currently leads the team in home runs and runs scored, with Matt Kemp sitting second in both with 12 and 57, respectively. This offensive boost should compliment what's been one of the league's best pitching staffs to really make some noise in the National League West, where they already sit only one game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks going into Thursday night's action. It's really a perfect fit, though it's going to be extremely odd seeing Joe Torre manage the man who used to be a bitter enemy. And if Los Angeles is willing to fork over a ton of cash again this offseason (probably in the range of $22-25 million a season over four), Ramirez would make a good longer-term addition to the lineup.

Of course, that is until the "Manny Being Manny" sensation debuts at Dodgers Stadium.

Pudge, Nady, Marte Are Bronx Bombers

Pudge Rodriguez

Jorge Posada's substitute for the rest of the year

The New York Yankees didn't procrastinate until Thursday to address their needs. Instead, they acquired utility man Xavier Nady and relief pitcher Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates last Thursday evening for a package of four prospects. They followed that this Wednesday with a deal that sent reliever Kyle Farnsworth to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

The first deal addressed the Yankees' need for an everyday left fielder to replace the injured Hideki Matsui and added some more depth to the bullpen. Nady and Marte have begun their Yankees careers in mixed fashion. Prior to Thursday night's action, Nady is only batting .200 in five games, but he went 2-4 with two doubles and two RBIs against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday. Marte gave up three hits and two runs against the Orioles in the Yankees 7-6 loss Tuesday. However, he also struck out David Ortiz in his one batter debut with the Bronx Bombers at Fenway Park. In the end, I think these deals will work out real well for New York and some minor bumps in the road in the first week isn't going derail the success of this trade.

What this trade also did by bringing in Marte was allow Brian Cashman to unload an arm from the bullpen. On Wednesday, Cashman worked out a straight one-for-one deal with the Detroit Tigers that sent Farnsworth to the Motor City in exchange for the 18-year veteran backstop, Pudge Rodriguez. Despite Farnsworth's recent string of strong performances with New York, he has mostly been a disappointment since joining the Yankees in 2006. If anything, Farnsworth just inflated his trade value by pitching well as of late. Unloading Farnsworth alone makes this trade a great value for New York.

But to acquire Rodriguez, who now steps in as the team's No. 1 catcher in place of the injured Jorge Posada, is a sign that the Yankees are both committed and confident in their ability to make a strong run toward the World Series this year. Rodriguez is only a rental player, since he will be a free agent this offseason and won't have a stop on the Yankees' roster with Posada back next season. Rodriguez plays a very integral role with the Yankees now, though. Not as good of a hitter as he used to be, the 14-time All Star can still do a decent job at the plate and will be a great defensive asset behind the plate.

Griffey's World Series Hunt Hits Chicago

Ken Griffey, Jr.

Bringing World Series Dreams To White Sox

Ken Griffey, Jr.'s time as a Major League Baseball player is dwindling down. If the 38-year old is to become a World Series Champion, it's going to have to happen real soon. Griffey may have received his opportunity to realize the dream on Thursday. That's when he was traded to the American League Central leading Chicago White Sox for reliever Nick Masset, infield prospect Danny Richar and cash.

Griffey needed to agree to the trade before it could go down. And he was motivated enough by never reaching the World Series and having not seen playoff action since 1997 as a member of the Seattle Mariners to move away from Cincinnati and take a run on Ozzie Guillen's squad. With a 60-46 record, the White Sox currently sit 1.5 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins.

After two years toeing the grass in right field, Griffey will take over for Nick Swisher in center field. Swisher will move to first base because of Paul Konerko's struggles this season.

It's the end of an era in Reds baseball. When Griffey came to Cincinnati in 2000, there were grand expectations of perhaps the best player in baseball turning his hometown franchise into a winning one. Injuries have marred his career with the Reds, though, and he's never been able to re-establish himself as the dominant star he was in Seattle. The only ease to Cincinnati's disappointment is the fact that Griffey did reach a rather large milestone with 600 home runs, and he did it with them.

But now he moves onto the White Sox, taking the remaining $12.5 million of this year's contract and a $16.5 million option in 2009 along with him.

An unexpected move for sure, I really like that general manager Kenny Williams took a chance here. Masset is a pretty good bullpen arm and Richar has a lot of potential as witnessed by his current rookie campaign with six homers and 30 runs in 56 games. But I think giving up those two players is worth it to grab a guy that even with diminished talent can definitely help the White Sox in pursuance of an unexpected pennant. With limited time left and plenty of motivation on his side, Griffey should be quite an asset. He won't be the star and won't be on every night. But Williams wants Griffey to use his instincts. And when it counts the most, I think Griffey will come through.

All photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports & AP Photo

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Until next time!

~ Neil Borenstein