American League MLB Trade Deadline Grades

The trade deadline has passed, and with only the trade-by-waiver deadline yet to pass, most teams have made their final moves of the year.  Major players were available at the deadline, including Carlos Beltran, Hunter Pence, B.J. Upton, Ubaldo Jimenez, and others.  Teams like the Rangers and Astros were very active, while some teams in contention like the Reds and Yankees did nothing.  Read on to see how your favorite team fared at the deadline.



AL EAST

Boston Red Sox: The Red Sox got Erik Bedard for little to nothing, a much better move than the move they almost made for Rich Harden but couldn't once Harden failed his physical (shocker).  Given that Buchholz is likely out for the season, Bedard becomes a very important piece, and a member of their playoff rotation.  They need him to stay healthy though, and that's no guarantee with Bedard.  They also acquired 2008 1st-round pick Daniel Fields in the Bedard deal, a reliever prospect who needs to rein his control in, but who is a great prospect to take a flyer on.  In their other trade, the Red Sox acquired 2B/SS Mike Aviles from the Boston Red Sox as bench depth.  Aviles is nothing special, but could at least provide pop from the bench in spots, but trading SS Yamaico Navarro for him was a bit silly.
Grade: B.  It's not overwhelming, but they didn't make any terribly stupid moves either.  A pretty decent deadline for the Red Sox.

New York Yankees:  Nothing.  The team for whom money is not an object sat on their hands, seemingly content with what they already have in the fold.  They were heavily in the Ubaldo Jimenez sweepstakes, and also inquired on Wandy Rodriguez, but the Rockies demanded too many prospects, and the Astros wouldn't foot any of the bill.  Assuming that Wandy wouldn't have cost much in the way of prospects, the Yankees should have jumped.  Their rotation is incredibly inconsistent though, and they needed to make a move.  I respect not wanting to trade your prospects, but not addressing your playoff rotation that is made up of Bartolo Colon, AJ Burnett, and Phil Hughes is ridiculous.
Grade: C-.  I respect not going to get Ubaldo, the Rockies' price was insane.  But they had the means necessary to at least acquire an option like Wandy Rodriguez. 

Baltimore Orioles:  The Orioles traded Koji Uehara as expected at the deadline and got two interesting players in return from Texas.  SP Tommy Hunter was a member of the Rangers' 2010 rotation on the way to the world series, and 1B Chris Davis is a player in the mold of Mark Reynolds but neither are all that impressive.  Davis offers outstanding power, horrible strikeout rates, and a low average.  Maybe they can figure him out, but in the AL East it's doubtful.  They also traded Derrek Lee for a very middling 23-year-old first baseman in high-A ball.  Lee had no value to them beyond this year, so that move is somewhat unimportant, at least it saved them money.
Grade: C+.  Decent deadline, but the Orioles should have shot for actual prospects rather than Chris Davis and a back-end starting pitcher, especially given what the Rangers surrendered for Mike Adams, under control through 2012 like Uehara.

Toronto Blue Jays:  The Blue Jays made three trades, two of them leading to Colby Rasmus.  Trading Juan Rivera for a PTBNL and cash was probably smart, as Eric Thames, Jose Bautista and Travis Snider should have the corner outfield spots locked down.  They absolutely hoodwinked the White Sox in the Edwin Jackson trade, trading merely a poor pitching prospect and Jason Frasor for him, and then turned Edwin Jackson and three mediocre relievers into CF Colby Rasmus, a genius move.  They also received three relievers back, although none of them stand to have a long-term impact on the team more than likely. 
Grade: A.  The Blue Jays made away like bandits in the Rasmus trade, and for that, they get an A.

Tampa Bay Rays:  Like the Yankees, the Rays opted to stand pat and keep their team together for a 2012 run.  B.J. Upton was the hot name the Rays were dangling, and teams like the Indians and Nationals were close to acquiring the perennial 30 HR, 40 SB threat.  Upton may very well be dealt next year, because the Rays don't have a history of giving players big deals (James Shields and Evan Longoria are the only two in recent memory, and Evan Longoria signed his a mere week after reaching the MLB ranks).  They did trade Felipe Lopez for cash, but that's a very small move in the big scheme of things.  The Rays should have traded closer Kyle Farnsworth however, who can't hope to be this good in 2012.
Grade: B-.  The Rays were smart to keep Upton, the return just wouldn't have been great enough.  But failing to trade Farnsworth was a major mishap.

AL CENTRAL:

Chicago White Sox:  I wish I had any idea what Kenny Williams was doing.  First, the rumor was he'd trade Edwin Jackson, who posted a 3.2 ERA in his year in Chicago, along with Matt Thornton and others for Colby Rasmus.  Admittedly this move would have improved the White Sox, and scared me as a Tigers fan.  Thankfully, Kenny failed to do that, and instead dealt Edwin to Toronto and only received a mediocre SP prospect along with RP Jason Frasor, a good reliever, but not worth Edwin Jackson.  Considering the opportunity cost here, the White Sox fell flat on their face.  Wisely, they kept Carlos Quentin, but they should have dealt Edwin and Matt Thornton for Colby Rasmus, because now they're stuck with the .207-hitting Alex Rios in CF.
Grade: C-.  They traded one of their most effective starters, and then decided not to trade him for the optimal return.  The grade would be lower had they dealt Carlos Quentin as well, that's their only saving grace.

Minnesota Twins:  The Twins did a lot of talking at the deadline, but none of their conversations resulted in a trade.  Apparently, even though they were 6 games back and 4th place in the AL Central on July 30th, the Twins still felt they can make the playoffs.  They dangled Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, Jim Thome, Denard Span and a couple pitchers and came away with nothing.  Kubel will leave in the offseason, Cuddyer may as well, NL teams were interested in Jim Thome, and they almost dealt Denard Span for Drew Storen, who is great but merely a reliever.  The Twins' inability to decide which approach to take made them absolute losers at the deadline. 
Grade: F.  If they had been either buyers or sellers, they would be much better off right now.  Instead, they preferred to suffer through mediocrity the rest of the year and pray they make the playoffs.  GM Bill Smith really mangled this situation.

Detroit Tigers:  The Tigers were in talks about literally any decent pitcher on the market, from Derek Lowe to Ubaldo Jimenez.  What they ended up with is about the best they could have reasonably hoped for.  They traded SP Charlie Furbush (current long-reliever, 6th starter), OF Casper Wells (5th outfielder for the team), 3B Francisco Martinez, and one of their top 3 picks of last year's draft (probably RP Chance Ruffin).  They received Doug Fister, who profiles as a solid #3 pitcher, and RP David Pauley, who's been phenomenal this year with an ERA hovering in the 1's for most of the year.  They surrendered a lot in quantity, but none of the players really grade out as top quality, so I commend Dombrowski for this move.  Rather than trading Jacob Turner, Rick Porcello, and Brennan Boesch for Ubaldo Jimenez, he settled for a lesser pitcher and a great reliever who are both under team control through 2015 and still profiles well to Comerica Park.  The acquisition of 3B Wilson Betemit from the Royals for little to nothing was also a great move, as it signified the end of Brandon Inge starting at third base.
Grade: A-.  They didn't surrender top guys, and still got quality contributors.  Their additions SHOULD be enough to get them to the playoffs.  That is, as long as Leyland actually plays them.

Kansas City Royals:  The Royals had plenty of pieces available including: Starters Bruce Chen and Jeff Francis, Outfielders Melky Cabrera and Jeff Francoeur, and 2B/SS Mike Aviles.  For some reason, they only traded Mike Aviles though to the Red Sox.  While I like the return they got for him, as Yamaico Navarro should end up being a better MLB shortstop, they really managed to mess this up by becoming too lovestruck with their own players.  Francoeur's counting stats should get him a multi-year deal elsewhere, and Melky Cabrera will never be this good again.
Grade: D+.  The Royals did absolutely nothing, even though they're so far out of the race and have no reason to hold onto these veterans that will be replaced by prospects within a year or two.  They avoid an F because the return on Aviles was good. 

Cleveland Indians:  It seemed like the Indians jumped in on discussions for every player the Tigers wanted, and I assumed they were just driving up the price.  I was wrong.  They made the blockbuster acquisition of SP Ubaldo Jimenez, and traded their top two prospects (SP Alex White and SP Drew Pomeranz) to do so.  Both former #1 picks projected as frontline starters, and Alex White had looked great in limited MLB action this year already.  However, Ubaldo is under team control through 2013, affordable, and has ace potential.  He's the riskiest acquisition at the deadline (his average fastball velocity is down from 96.1 mph in 2010 to 93.4 this year), but one I commend the Indians for.  They really needed hitting more at the deadline, and they added OF Kosuke Fukudome, who admittedly can be great against right-handed hitters, but is awful against lefty pitchers.  They also traded Orlando Cabrera for an actual prospect, which floors me.  Brian Sabean is an idiot for trading for Orlando Cabrera who is only a late-innings replacement fielder at best.  They could have traded for 2 outfielders, but with Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore returning this year, it wasnt worth it.
Grade: A.  The Ubaldo move was ballsy, but I like it.  They've gotta work on getting Ubaldo's velocity back up or this deal blows up in their face.  Kosuke was a cheap, nice pickup and should help.  They didn't completely sacrifice their future and did improve their rotation markedly, so bravo to the Indians.

AL WEST:

Oakland Athletics:  The As listened to offers on OF Josh Willingham, SP Rich Harden and a couple relievers.  In the end, they only dealt RP Brad Ziegler, and received 1B Brandon Allen and mediocre RP Jordan Norberto from the Diamondbacks.  Brandon Allen could work out well, he profiles well for Oakland's style with patience at the plate, but has yet to turn that into MLB production.  I don't quite understand the move from Oakland's end, as Ziegler is a great reliever, and an affordable one.  They had a deal set up for Rich Harden, but he failed his physical in the least surprising happening of the trade deadline, so he's still an Oakland Athletic. 
Grade: B+.  They should have been able to deal Harden but his failed physical was out of their control.  They got a player with high upside in Allen, although Ziegler is more valuable at this point.  And lastly, they kept Willingham, who will net them two draft picks at year's end because he's a Type A Free Agent.

Los Angeles Angels:  Somehow, they did absolutely nothing at the deadline.  They needed hitting badly, but did nothing to address that need, and didn't acquire any bullpen arms either who they could use.  They could have used help at almost every position, and failed to do so.
Grade: F.  The Angels are within striking distance of the AL West lead, and just watched the Rangers completely revamp their bullpen.  The Angels had the worst trade deadline of any team in MLB in my opinion.

Seattle Mariners:  The Mariners' 16-game losing streak knocked them out of contention real quickly, so they were sellers.  Unfortunately, they didnt have many commodities TO sell.  They could have dealt IF Adam Kennedy, but I don't blame them for keeping him if they want him back in 2012, he's been useful.  They turned Erik Bedard and closer Josh Fields into the Dodgers' best OF prospect in Trayvon Robinson and a nice Red Sox OF prospect Chih-Hsien Chang.  They also traded Doug Fister and David Pauley for four players from the Tigers.  SP Charlie Furbush could work into their plans as a back-end starter, Casper Wells can start in the outfield immediately and help them, and the two prospects they receive are fairly high-caliber.  They got out from under Fister and Pauley's career years, and got great value back for them.  That trade worked for them AND the Tigers.  They also traded Ryan Langerhans for cash from the Diamondbacks, which is smart, but inconsequential.  They also kept Brandon League, a smart move on their part.  They dealt their commodities and got decent returns. 
Grade: A-.  The Mariners did very well for themselves, and didn't trade Brandon League or any other super-valuable guys long-term.  Well done by Jack Zduriencik.

Texas Rangers:  The Rangers needed pitching, but they needed starting pitching more at the deadline.  Regardless, they got two fantastic relievers, and the last 3 innings are shutdown now with Koji Uehara, Mike Adams, and Neftali Feliz back there.  The best part of their acquisition of Uehara and Adams is that it allows Feliz to move to the rotation in 2012, improving their rotation in a creative way.  They did trade two great prospects for Mike Adams in SP Joe Wieland and SP Robert Erlin, but traded none of their top prospects, so they're to be commended for that.  They turned 1B Chris Davis who they see as a lost cause, and SP Tommy Hunter into Koji Uehara, which is fantastic value for the Rangers given the roles Davis and Hunter played.  They also acquired IF Nick Green, but that's of no consequence.  The starting pitching market wasn't going to help them at a cheap enough price, so the Rangers did the right thing by not overpaying for a mediocre starter like Jeremy Guthrie or Aaron Harang who would pitch worse in Arlington. 
Grade: A.  They made a great move acquiring Adams and Uehara, and none of the available starters provided marked upgrades over their current rotation, so great moves by Texas.