With the Major League Baseball season winding down, and the passing of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, several contenders made bold moves to improve their clubs for the stretch run, while others decided to stand pat, citing fiscal constraints and a general lack of talent available with so many teams in the thick of the wild card race. The following is a run-down of the winners and losers from last week's flurry of activity.
WINNERS:
- Boston Red Sox
Credit 28-year-old wunderkind general manager Theo Epstein for making several quality deals at the deadline. He was able to add pitchers Jeff Suppan (10-7, 3.57 ERA, 78 Ks in 141.0 innings) and Scott Sauerbeck (3-4, 3.80 ERA, 35 Ks in 42.2 innings) from Pittsburgh and Scott Williamson (5-3, 3.12 ERA, 21 saves) from Cincinnati, while only giving up prospects Freddie Sanchez (.341 BA, 5 HR, 46 runs scored, 8 steals for AAA Pawtucket) and Phil Dumatrait (3.02 ERA, 74 Ks in 104 innings). While both Sanchez, a solid second-base prospect with a lot of upside, and Dumatrait, a former first round pick, have excellent potential, Epstein should be lauded for turning two prospects into three major league arms.
The addition of Sauerbeck, a left-handed specialist, and Williamson, the Reds' former closer, immediately stabilizes the Sox bullpen and also provides insurance should incumbent closer Byung-Hyun Kim struggle down the road. Suppan is an inning-eating right-hander who gives the Sox one of the most solid, if unspectacular, rotations in the American League, while allowing Sox fans to breathe easier now that the words "Ramiro Mendoza" and "rotation" won't be heard in Boston for the rest of the year.
- New York Yankees
Love them or hate them, you have to admit the Yankees always make the necessary moves to maintain a high level of excellence. This year is certainly no exception. Yankees GM Brian Cashman identified one of his team's few remaining holes (third base), identified the best player available at that position (Cincinnati's Aaron Boone), and made a deal for him. Boone (.269 BA, 18 HR, 66 RBI, 16 SB) gives the Yankees a unique blend of speed and power, along with solid glove-work at third. Now the only noticeable weakness in the Yankees lineup is in right field, where a platoon of Karim Garcia, David Dellucci and Juan Rivera is hardly imposing. However, the addition of Boone makes the Yankee lineup eight deep in good hitters on any given day, an accomplishment few teams can boast.
Boone did not come without a steep price. LHP Brandon Claussen (2-1, 2.75 ERA in 68 2/3 innings at AAA Columbus), obtained by the Reds in the swap, projects as a solid top-of-the-rotation starter at the Major League level. Though there are concerns about his health as he had Tommy John surgery to replace a ligament in his elbow a year ago, those fears have been allayed by his remarkable recovery and solid performance to date. The Reds were hungry for starting pitching, and Claussen is an excellent pitcher to build a rotation around.
- San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles
One trade that made a lot of sense for both teams involved was the swap that sent pitcher Sidney Ponson (14-6, 3.77 ERA, 100 Ks) to the Giants for pitchers Damian Moss (9-7, 4.70 ERA, 57 Ks) Kurt Ainsworth (5-4, 3.82 ERA, 48 Ks in 66 innings) and Ryan Hannaman (4.74 ERA, 72/33 BB/K ratio in 63 innings). Ponson, a free agent after the season, only works out for the fiscally strained Giants if they win the World Series this year, as he is unlikely to re-sign. That being said, his acquisition certainly bolsters the Giants' chances of at least winning the National League pennant. Always viewed as a young pitcher with loads of talent, yet unable to put it together, Ponson finally seems to have harnessed his potential into production. While there are concerns about his conditioning, Ponson, along with Jason Schmidt, gives the Giants two excellent, ace-caliber pitchers, a great advantage in a playoff series.
However, the O's made the Giants give up quite a bit. Moss is a solid, soft-tossing, left-hander who plugs the hole left by Ponson's departure. Ainsworth was widely considered one of the best right-handed power-pitching prospects in baseball until he fractured his shoulder earlier this year, leading to questions about possible long-term effects of the injury. However, according to the Orioles, Ainsworth is ahead in his rehabilitation, and will be ready to pitch in September. Hannaman is a left-handed prospect in the low minors who has shown promise in his limited professional experience.
LOSERS:
- Atlanta Braves
While the other NL powerhouse, the Giants, acquired Ponson for the stretch run, the Braves, who were also allegedly in the Ponson sweepstakes, did nothing to fix their somewhat suspect pitching. Braves GM John Schuerholz needed to have a contingency plan should a trade for Ponson fall through. Now Schuerholz, spoiled by years of bountiful pitching and mediocre hitting, will have to hope that veteran starters Greg Maddux and Mike Hampton turn it around as the season comes to a close.
- Seattle Mariners
Another team that needed to make a move but failed to pull the trigger. The M's are sorely deficient in the outfield and at third base, but they were unable to consummate a deal for St. Louis' J.D. Drew, and lost out to the Yankees on Aaron Boone, despite public pleas by Boone's brother, Mariners star second baseman Bret, for the Mariners to make a move. Again, Mariners GM, "Stand" Pat Gillick (so known from his days as Toronto's GM) needed to have a back-up plan for an outfielder like San Diego's Rondell White. Unfortunately for him, while the other AL contenders loaded up at the deadline, Seattle was left out in the cold on all of the action, and may stand to regret it come the final week in September.
