Trade deadline recap. 1034 comments


I will let Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports write this one today. Well, most of this one. Below is his re-cap of how the five AL West teams did at the trade deadline.

Before I get to that, though, I heard a great quote today from Casey Stern on MLB Network Radio. He said, “Prospects are cool, but parades are cooler.”

Couldn’t agree more.

While we can argue whether the Rangers gave up too much to get Cole Hamels, my opinion is this:

I’d much rather watch Cole Hamels this year and next year and the following year pitch for the Rangers than check the minor league box scores to see how Alfaro is doing, how Nick Williams is doing, or how any one of the prospects the Rangers traded to get Hamels is doing.

Often lost in the talk about losing prospects is the realization that you gain an All-Star-calibre pitcher that you get to watch and root for and marvel at and win actual major league games with.

Baseball is an entertainment business when it’s all said and done. And I’d much rather watch a movie I know is great rather than watch the coming attractions to movies that may or may not be duds.

We have seen far too many Rangers prospects perform in the major leagues. I’ve seen that movie. It’s one I’d walk out the theater on.

Now, the recap, from Jeff Passan, Yahoo Sports:

Houston Astros: Watch what happens when the sellers buy. As long as Carlos Gomez’s hips don’t lie—“eyeroll” emoji—this is what it looks like when a well-run team never deviates from its plan and executes with great clarity when it’s time. Adding the dynamic Gomez to a team with all sorts of dynamism already—Carlos Correa and George Springer and Jose Altuve are all fun as hell to watch—was a masterstroke, and a rotation of the just-acquired Scott Kazmir, Dallas Keuchel, Lance McCullers and two of the Vince Velasquez-Mike Fiers-Collin McHugh-Scott Feldman grab bag could be dangerous. This is your AL West favorite—and, when it’s all said and done, it might be the best team in the AL. Verdict: Winner.

Los Angeles Angels: Needed an impact outfield bat and instead got David Murphy, David DeJesus and Shane Victorino. Verdict: Underwhelming.

Texas Rangers: While they gave up a ton of talent to get Cole Hamels, the Rangers didn’t sacrifice their biggest-ticket prospects, and with Yovani Gallardo sticking around, they’re a sneaky bet to make a run at the postseason. Verdict: Played the market well.

Seattle Mariners: Traded free-agent-to-be J.A. Happ while holding onto Austin Jackson, Hisashi Iwakuma and Fernando Rodney, all the same, for no particularly good reason. Verdict: About right for them—in the wrong sort of way.

Oakland A’s: They jumped the market in trading Kazmir, Zobrist and Tyler Clippard, and came away with a nice haul of prospects to begin their reload for 2016. Verdict: About right for them—in the right sort of way.

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All in all, I’d say that’s a pretty fair assessment of the trade deadline, and the reloading for the final two month marathon. Your opinion may vary.

The Rangers have won three in a row. Cole Hamels takes the mound tonight. There is excitement for a team that ten days ago was left for dead. I’d say it was a good trade.