Trade deadline yields little movement
So AJ Burnett is still with the Marlins, Alfonso Soriano is still in Texas and Manny Ramirez is still with Boston. What a boring deadline day for baseball, with no big names changing teams. Randy Winn? Geoff Blum? Ron Villone? Yawn.
Of course, a couple of teams managed to improve, with the Cubs picking up Matt Lawton from the Pirates for Jody Gerut and the Braves strengthening their bullpen by adding Tigers closer Kyle Farnsworth for two young arms. The Giants, meanwhile, may be better off with Winn in center field but Jesse Foppert was too much to pay in return.
But what about everyone else? All of the contenders have holes that needed to be filled: the Red Sox need help at the back end of their bullpen, regardless of whether or not Keith Foulke regains his form after returning from the DL, the Yankees have been trying to plug the leaks in their rotation with guys like Al Leiter and Shawn Chacon, and the Twins, White Sox, Mets and just about everyone in the NL West could use a bat or two. With all the build up we’ve been subjected to the past couple of weeks, the relative lack of movement is surprising and disappointing. In particular, the Red Sox seemed to have missed out on a golden opportunity, considering the problems the Yankees are having with their rotation. Getting a guy like Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays would’ve instantly improved their chances of winning the East, and you’re telling me they couldn’t do any better than Roman Colon and Zach Miner, the pitchers Atlanta gave up for Farnsworth? Farnsworth’s power arm would’ve been the perfect Foulke insurance. Plus, the Yankees’ struggles present a golden opportunity for everyone else in the AL to sneak into the playoffs, but teams like the Twins, Blue Jays, A’s and Indians failed to take advantage.
Now, the attention turns back to the standings, with the Red Sox, White Sox, Angels, Braves, Cardinals and Padres leading their respective divisions, and Oakland and Houston topping some tight wild-card races. It’ll be interesting, even if deadline day was anything but.
Follow the Scores Report editors on Twitter @TheScoresReport. You can also follow TSR editor Gerardo Orlando @clevelandteams and @bullzeyedotcom, and you can follow TSR editor Anthony Stalter @AnthonyStalter.
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As a Devil Rays fan, I’m glad to see that Huff, Baez and Lugo weren’t dealt away for more prospects. This team has been rebuilding for nearly all eight years of its existance, and it’s great to see some of the higher priced talent stay put. Next year’s projected line up of Huff, Lugo, Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, Delmon Young, B.J. Upton, Jorge Cantu and Jonny Gomes has the potential to be one of the best offensive line ups since the Indians of the mid to late 90s.
Huff is scheduled to make nearly $7 million next season, Baez $4.5 million and Lugo $4 million. Maybe this is a sign of things to come now that Stuart Sternberg’s ownership group will be taking the reins from Vince Naimoli.