MLB Trade Deadline Review

After the MLB non-waiver trade deadline took place on August 1, I wrote an article listing all of the major trades and whether I was correct or incorrect about where the MLB players would land.  Since the end of the regular season I have wanted to write a post about how the trades ended up for the teams involved and how the players who were traded performed for the remainder of the season.

Boston Red Sox

Acquired SP Drew Pomeranz from the San Diego Padres for SP prospect Anderson Espinoza

• Boston needed another starter in their rotation and got one of the better ones available at the deadline.  Pomeranz helped anchor the back end of the rotation and propel the Red Sox to a division title and pitched out of the bullpen in the playoffs.  Espinoza was a big price for Boston to pay for Pomeranz, but Pomeranz won't be eligible for free agency until 2019 so may be worth it.
• The Padres were in the position at the deadline where they were out of playoff contention and had a piece that many teams wanted.  In this deal they receive a young prospect who is just 18 (won't turn 19 until almost next year) and has lots of upside.  He was the Red Sox best pitching prospect and immediately jumps to the top of the Padres farm system as their best prospect. Although Espinoza has great upside and looks to be a possible future ace, he is extremely young and has lots of room for development.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Drew Pomeranz
• Regular Season - 13 GS, 3-5, 4.59 ERA, 68.2 IP, 71 K, 24 BB, 4.78 FIP, .6 WAR
• Playoffs - 2 G, 4.91 ERA, 3.2 IP, 7 K, 2 BB
• Anderson Espinoza - 
• 2016 preseason rankings: Baseball America (BA) - 19th, MLB - 39th, Baseball Prospectus (BP) - 73rd
• A Level - 7 GS, 1-3, 4.73 ERA, 32.1 IP, 28 K, 8 BB

Chicago Cubs

Acquired CP Aroldis Chapman from the New York Yankees for SS Gleyber Torres, RP Adam Warren, OF Billy McKinney, and OF Rashad Crawford

• The Cubs came into this season as the World Series favorite and were solid at all position groups and their rotation developed into one of the best in the majors with the way Kyle Hendricks pitched. The only area that never developed into an elite unit was the bullpen and it was always understood that the Cubs were going to do whatever it took to upgrade their bullpen. They went out and got the best reliever available in Aroldis Chapman who helped the Cubs achieve the best record in the majors and currently have them in the World Series.
• The Yankees entered the year with an outside chance at making the playoffs in a very tough division and an aging major league roster.  Their farm system was decent, ranking in the middle of the league prior to Opening Day and had several players on the top 100 prospect lists waiting to get the call up to the majors.  Prior to the trade deadline these prospects were blocked by veterans for regular playing time.  The Yankees happened to have the two most valuable commodities at the deadline in relief pitchers Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman.  The only one of the two that they needed to trade was Chapman since his contract expires after this season while Miller has another year left.  In the trade with the Cubs, the Yankees got the Cubs top prospect in shortstop Gleyber Torres, outfield prospects Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford, and major league reliever Adam Warren.  Torres comes into the Yankees system as their number two overall prospect while McKinney is ranked as their number fifteen prospect and Crawford is unranked.  After coming to the Yankees, Warren pitched significantly better than he had for the Cubs and became a trusted pitcher out of the bullpen down the stretch.  This trade worked out great for New York as they got an unbelievably large amount of talent in return for a pitcher they may have lost at the end of the season.  You can never have too much talent in a farm system and the Yankees jumped to the second best farm system in the majors after the trades they made.  The best part is that the trading of MLB players opened up spots in the lineup for their young players to jump in and continuing to develop at the major league level. They also can go out and sign Chapman again in the offseason if they decide they want him back.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Aroldis Chapman
• Regular Season - 28 G, 26.2 IP, 1-1, 16 saves, 1.01 ERA, 46 K, 10 BB, .82 FIP, 1.1 WAR
• Playoffs - 10 G, 10.1 IP, 1-0, 3 saves, 2.61 ERA, 14 K, 5 BB
• Gleyber Torres
• 2016 preseason rankings - BA - 41st, MLB 28th, BP - 41st
• High A - 31 G, .254/.341/.385, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 23 K, 16 BB
• Adam Warren
• MLB - 29 G, 30.1 IP, 4-2, 3.26 ERA, 25 K, 10 BB, 4.30 FIP, .4 WAR
• Billy McKinney
• AA - 35 G, .234/.310/.375, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 29 K, 12 BB
• Rashad Crawford
• High A - 29 G, .291/.381/.364, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 27 K, 15 BB

New York Mets

Acquired OF Jay Bruce from the Cincinnati Reds for 2B Dilson Herrera and P Max Wotell

• The Mets came into this season with high expectations after winning the National League pennant a year ago.  They knew that their starting rotation was going to be one of the best in the majors but there were always questions about their offense and those came to the surface as the season played on.  They struggled to drive in runs all season long and sought to bring in at least one player with some power.  They tried to fill this need by acquiring Bruce, but the Mets already had three outfielders who were having productive seasons, so they essentially had four quality outfielders for three spots.  Luckily for the Mets, they didn't have to give up much to get Bruce and they'll have him for next season if they exercise his $13 million team option, which should be a no brainer.  Perhaps the Mets wanted to bring in an outfielder knowing that there was always a possibility that Yoenis Cespedes, their best hitter, would opt out of his contract after this season, which he has said he will do.  If they are unable to sign him to a new contract, the Mets will have that third outfielder still, which makes the trade a smart move. After Bruce came over to New York, he struggled to get going and the trade looked to be a mistake. Towards the end of the season, however, Bruce got extremely hot and, after batting only .183 with 2 home runs in August, he hit .254 with 6 home runs in September.  The offense he brought helped push the Mets into the playoffs as the first wild card team in the National League.
• Cincinnati attempted to trade Jay Bruce to the Toronto Blue Jays last season and had a trade in process until a failed physical of one of the players coming back to the Reds nullified the deal. An agreed trade last season meant that the acquiring team would have had control of Bruce for two full seasons and would have yielded a big return to the Reds.  Instead, they were unable to get another trade to go through before the deadline expired and the Reds held onto Bruce for the rest of the season.  Bruce actually had a better year this season than he had last season but that still didn't equal a great return for Cincinnati.  They got two lower level prospects that don't even rank in the top 20 of their farm system and it's hard to believe that they couldn't have gotten a better package.  They needed to make the trade though because they weren't going to win this season and probably won't win in the near future so having Bruce wouldn't really help the Reds.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Jay Bruce
• Regular Season - 50 G, .219/.294/.391, 8 HR, 19 RBI, 0.0 WAR
• Dilson Herrera
• AAA - 24 G, .262/.372/.422, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 15 K, 11 BB
• Max Wotell
• Rookie - 3 GS, 6.0 IP, 0-1, 15.00 ERA, 5 K, 7 BB

Cleveland Indians

Traded OF Clint Frazier, SP Justus Sheffield, RP Ben Heller, and P J.P. Feyereisen to the New York Yankees for RP Andrew Miller

• I believe that Cleveland thought it had a solid chance to make the playoffs this season and I believe they were good enough to battle for the division title at the start of the season.  But with the Royals and Tigers in their division and both of those teams being talented enough to win the division, I don't know that the Indians expected hold with division lead at the trade deadline and by an almost comfortable margin at four games.  The Indians were a fairly solid team at the deadline with very few areas of improvement.  One area was catcher which they attempted to remedy by bringing in Jonathan Lucroy, a trade that fell through, and they had a hole in their bullpen, which they fixed by trading for Andrew Miller.  Miller was the most sought after commodity at the deadline this season since he is an extremely versatile reliever who has another year of control left after this season.  For the Indians to acquire him, they had to put together a very talented package headlined by outfielder Clint Frazier and starting pitcher Justus Sheffield.  After the trade Miller pitched great for the Indians, both in the regular season and thus far in the playoffs, combining with Indians' starters and Cody Allen to create a lights out pitching staff.  Miller has been an excellent acquisition for Cleveland as he has helped them get to the World Series and was worth paying the high price they paid.  They also have him under contract for next year so if the Indians wanted to trade him during the offseason they could probably get nearly as much in return for him as they gave up.
• Similar to what I wrote regarding the Cubs/Yankees trade the Yankees were able to get rid of their most marketable trade piece at the deadline in Andrew Miller.  The Indians were willing to put up the biggest package for Miller and it helped the Yankees jump all the way to the second best farm system in all of baseball.  They got outfielder Clint Frazier, who was ranked as the fifteenth best prospect in the game prior to the season and is now the Yankees best prospect, pitcher Justus Sheffield, the sixth best Yankees prospect, and two other prospects that don't even rank in the organization's top thirty.  In this trade, the Yankees bolstered an area of their team that could use a little help in the outfield and Sheffield looks to a number two or three starter with the possibility of developing into an ace.

How'd They do After the Trade?

• Andrew Miller
• Regular Season - 26 G, 29.0 IP, 4-0, 3 saves, 1.55 ERA, 46 K, 2 BB, 1.53 FIP, 1.6 WAR
• Playoffs - 9 G, 17.0 IP, 2-0, 1 save, 0.53 ERA, 29 K, 4 BB
• Clint Frazier
• 2016 Preseason Rankings: BA - 44th, MLB - 27th, BP - 53rd
• AAA - 25 G, .228/.278/.396, 3 HR, 7 RBI, 7 BB, 30 K
• Justus Sheffield
• 2016 Preseason Ranking - BA - 81st
• High A - 5 GS, 26.0 IP, 3-1, 1.73 ERA, 27 K, 10 BB
• AA - 1 GS, 4.0 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 9 K, 3 BB
• Ben Heller
• AAA - 6 G, 6.1 IP, 0-1, 1 save, 1.42 ERA, 7 K, 2 BB
• MLB - 10 G, 7.0 IP, 1-0, 6.43 ERA, 6 K, 4 BB, 9.58 FIP
• J.P. Feyereisen
• AA - 9 G, 18.0 IP, 3-0, 0.50 ERA, 22 K, 6 BB

Los Angeles Dodgers

Acquired SP Rich Hill and OF Josh Reddick from the Oakland Athletics for pitching prospects Frankie Montas, Grant Holmes, and Jharel Cotton

• Over last offseason, the Dodgers lost starter Zach Greinke to free agency, choosing to let him walk rather than pay the nearly $30 million per year it was going to cost to re-sign him.  The front office had to have known that there was a possibility that this decision could come back and haunt them.  When healthy, the Dodgers' rotation was really good and ace Clayton Kershaw continued to prove that he is the best pitcher in the game, turning in one of the best seasons in history.  But their pitching staff struggled with injuries all season long and the need for pitching depth became evident very early in the year.  They went out and acquired veteran lefty Rich Hill from the Oakland A's in a package that also included outfielder Josh Reddick to hit in a platoon against righties.  Prior to the trade deadline, Hill was having the best season of his career and continued his success for LA.  Reddick, on the other hand, failed to ever really turn it on and only drove in 9 runs in the 47 games he played with them.  The Dodgers did end up winning the NL West and made it to the NLCS and were helped greatly by their trade deadline acquisitions. The cost to get both of these players also wasn't that high, just three mid-level pitching prospects that probably won't hurt the Dodgers in the long run considering the depth of their farm system.
• For Oakland, this season never really got going so any of the players they had that aren't a future core piece needed to be traded.  Hill and Reddick were two of these tradeable assets but they waited too long on Hill, who missed some time right before the deadline with a blister issue.  This most likely ended up costing the A's a bit in their return but they still got three pitching prospects to add to the depth of their farm system.  None of the three prospects they received are real high-end players with Frankie Montas being ranked the highest, and he is still only the tenth best prospect in the A's system.  There is still a chance that one of these players develop into something big for Oakland and acquiring as much pitching talent as possible is always a good move.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Rich Hill
• Regular Season - 6 GS, 34.1 IP, 3-2, 1.83 ERA, 39 K, 5 BB, 2.07 FIP, 1.3 WAR
• Playoffs - 3 GS, 13.0 IP, 1-1, 3.46 ERA, 19 K, 6 BB
• Josh Reddick
• Regular Season - 47 G, .258/.307/.335, 2 HR, 9 RBI, .2 WAR
• Playoffs - 10 G, .308/.333/.308, 0 HR, 2 RBI
• Frankie Montas - Did not pitch after trade
• Grant Holmes
• 2016 Preseason Rankings - BA - 74th, MLB - 62nd, BP - 40th 
• High A - 5 GS, 28.2 IP, 303, 6.91 ERA, 24 K, 10 BB
• Jharel Cotton
• AAA - 6 GS, 38.1 IP, 3-1, 2.82 ERA, 36 K, 7 BB
• MLB - 5 GS, 29.1 IP, 2-0, 2.15 ERA, 23 K, 4 BB, 3.76 FIP, .9 WAR

Texas Rangers

Acquired C Jonathan Lucroy and RP Jeremy Jeffress from Milwaukee for OF Lewis Brinson and SP Luis Ortiz

• Texas entered the trade deadline time period in first place in the AL West with a lead of 5.5 games over Houston.  They knew they were in a good place to make the playoffs at that point and had one of the most talented rosters in all of baseball.  They only had two real weaknesses: at catcher and at designated hitter after Prince Fielder was forced to retire due to injuries.  They filled one of these needs by acquiring all-star catcher Jonathan Lucroy along with hard-throwing reliever Jeremy Jeffress from Milwaukee for prospects Lewis Brinson and Luiz Ortiz.  Brinson and Ortiz were a big price to pay for Lucroy and Jeffress, but the Rangers had one of the deepest farm systems in baseball, recognized that they had an excellent chance to have a deep run in the playoffs, and with Lucroy and Jeffress both being more than rental players, a bigger price was worth it.  Both Lucroy and Jeffress were great down the stretch and got the Rangers into the playoffs before being swept in the ALDS by the Blue Jays.
• Milwaukee came into 2016 as a rebuilding franchise not even really attempting to win this season.  It was always kind of assumed that any players that they could get young talent in return for they were going to consider trading, excluding a few select players.  With Lucroy having an excellent first half of the season and having another year left on his deal after this season, the Brewers had to have known that any return for him was going to be substantial. They packaged Lucroy and Jeffress to Rangers for two high-end prospects in Lewis Brinson and Luiz Ortiz, both top 100 prospects and top 5 organizational talents.  Brinson closed out 2016 at the AAA level and will certainly be playing in the majors next season, although he will probably start the season in the minors to put off his service time clock starting.  Ortiz profiles as a top of the rotation starter with the very real possibility of him developing into an ace.  With this return, the Brewers have added to their deep and highly talented farm system, one that is currently ranked as the best in the game.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Jonathan Lucroy
• Regular Season - 47 G, .276/.345/.539, 11 HR, 31 RBI, 1.5 WAR
• Playoffs - 3 G, .083/.083/.083, 0 HR, 0 RBI
• Jeremy Jeffress
• Regular Season - 12 G, 13.1 IP, 1-0, 2.70 ERA,, 7 K, 7 BB, 3.76 FIP, .4 WAR
• Playoffs - 1 G, 1.0 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1 K, 1 BB
• Lewis Brinson
• 2016 Preseason Rankings - BA - 16th , MLB - 16th, BP - 15th
• AAA - 23 G, .382/.387/.618, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 2 BB, 21 K
• Luis Ortiz
• 2016 Preseason Rankings - BA - 64th, MLB - 73rd, BP - 68th
• AA - 6 GS, 23.1 IP, 2-2, 1.93 ERA, 16 K, 10 BB

Acquired OF/DH Carlos Beltran from the New York Yankees for P Dillon Tate

• Beltran filled the DH need that the Rangers had and could also play in the outfield.  He brought a veteran presence with World Series experience to a younger Texas team and came at a cheaper cost compared to their other move, since Beltran will be a free agent after this year.
• The Yankees got pitcher Dillon Tate, who was in the preseason top 100 and who slots in as the tenth best prospect in the Yankees system by MLB.com.  The Yankees didn't have a need for Beltran anymore and acquiring as much pitching as possible will always help in the future.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Carlos Beltran
• Regular Season - 52 G, .280/.325/.451, 7 HR, 29 RBI, .3 WAR
• Playoffs - 3 G, .182/.250/.182, 0 HR, 1 RBI
• Dillon Tate
• 2016 Preseason Rankings - BA - 69th, MLB - 36th, BP - 59th 
• A - 7 G, 17.1 IP, 1-0, 3.12 ERA, 15 K, 6 BB

San Francisco Giants

Acquired SP Matt Moore from the Tampa Bay Rays for 3B Matt Duffy, SS Lucius Fox, and P Michael Santos

• Last offseason the Giants went out and signed two starting pitchers in Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto.  However, Samardzija didn't pitch well for most of the season and the back end of the Giants' rotation wasn't strong enough going down the stretch.  They went out and acquired one of the better starting pitchers available at the deadline in Matt Moore, who won't be a free agent until after the 2018 season.  This is definitely a Giants move as they typically don't give up valuable packages for rental players.  In order to trade for Moore, the Giants had to put together a group of players that was fairly costly.  They gave up MLB 3B Matt Duffy and prospects Lucius Fox (SS) and Michael Santos (P).  The prospects may not have much of an effect on the Giants future since their farm system wasn't strong anyway, but giving up Duffy hurt the Giants this season and especially in the playoffs.  This team probably is a trade that the Giants wish they could have back as Moore didn't pitch well after the trade and AT&T Park, where the Giants play, is a pitcher-friendly stadium.  They'll have a better understanding of the success of this trade next season as he'll begin the season familiar with Giants players.
• The Rays probably knew pretty early in the season that they weren't a playoff team this year and were willing to listen to offers for their starting pitchers, which is the deepest area of their roster. Moore appears to have been the easiest starter for the Rays to give up, knowing that they could get a sizable return for him and they can replace him fairly easily.  Them receiving Matt Duffy in the trade is the most important piece for the Rays as he can play both third base and shortstop, an area of need for the team.  They also get two pitching prospects back whom they'll look to develop into major leaguers in the coming years.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Matt Moore
• Regular Season - 12 GS, 68.1 IP, 6-5, 4.08 ERA, 69 K, 32 BB, 3.53 FIP, .8 WAR
• Playoffs - 1 GS, 8.0 IP, 0-0, 1.13 ERA, 10 K, 2 BB
• Matt Duffy
• Regular Season - 21 G, .276/.300/.355, 1 HR, 7 RBI, .1 WAR
• Lucius Foxx - No stats after trade
• Michael Santos - No stats after trade

Washington Nationals

Acquired CP Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitchers Felipe Rivero and Taylor Hearn

• The only area where the Nationals struggled this season was in their bullpen, and especially at closer, where no relievers stepped up and became a shut down closer.  The Pirates made their closer Mark Melancon available at the deadline since he will be a free agent after this season and the Pirates weren't going to be able to pay him market value.  The Nationals gave up two pitching prospects in Felipe Rivero, who profiles as a reliever, and Taylor Hearn, who has experience as a starter and throwing out of the bullpen.
• The Pirates entered 2016 with high aspirations for the season after having made the playoffs each of the past three seasons.  However, they struggled to get it going most of the season and found themselves on the outside looking in at the trade deadline.  While they didn't go into full rebuild mode, they were willing to trade any players whose contracts were expiring and Mark Melancon was one of those players.  Melancon has been one of the best relievers in baseball since he became a closer in 2014 and many people thought that the Pirates could have gotten a bigger return for him.  Despite this, they still got two pitchers in return, including a reliever in Felipe Rivero, who could be Melancon's replacement in the future and Taylor Hearn, who has the upside of a back end starter.

How'd They Do After the Trade?

• Mark Melancon
• Regular Season - 30 G, 29.2 IP, 1-1, 17 saves, 1.82 ERA, 27 K, 2 BB, 2.07 FIP, 1.1 WAR
• Playoffs - 4 G, 4.1 IP, 1 save, 5 K, 2 BB
• Felipe Rivero
• MLB - 28 G, 27.1 IP, 1-3, 3.29 ERA, 39 K, 18 BB, 3.81 FIP, .2 WAR
• Taylor Hearn
• A - 8 G, 3 GS, 22.2 IP, 1-1, 1.99 ERA, 36 K, 10 BB

*All stats and information came from baseball-reference.com, mlb.com baseballprospectus.com, and baseballamerica.com.