With all of the action that's going to be taking place over the last few days before the deadline, Tim decided it'd be a good idea to make a review post each night for those who don't have time to parse through all of the mayhem. Let's dive into it:
What we know:
- Tough to imagine that anyone could miss this one, but the Phillies acquired 2008 AL Cy Young winner Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco from the Indians in exchange for Jason Knapp, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Donald, and Lou Marson. The Phillies managed to land a Cy Young winner without trading Kyle Drabek, Michael Taylor, or Dominic Brown. Fans gotta like that.
- We've heard a lot of Freddy Sanchez rumors lately, mostly involving the Giants and the Twins. In the end, it was the Giants who acquired the 2006 batting champion, paying a steep price of Tim Alderson and taking on the remainder of Sanchez's contract.
- If the Phillies and Indians' six-player trade isn't enough, the Mariners and Pirates are there for you. The two teams agreed on a seven-player deal today that saw Jack Wilson and Ian Snell head off to Seattle, while Ronny Cedeno, Jeff Clement, Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin, and Nathan Adcock went to Pittsburgh. Commenters seemed divided over this trade… who got the better end of the deal?
- The Reds made a low-risk move today, when they acquired Wladimir Balentien in exchange for Robert Manuel. Balentien, 25, hasn't panned out yet at the Major League level, but he's loaded with power, and moving to a smaller park like Cincinnati could be just what the doctor ordered. In exchange, the Mariners got an arm that's excelled the past two seasons in the Minors.
- The Yankees acquired Jason Hirsh from Colorado, releasing Brett Tomko, who has now appeared on just about every team except for the Seattle Pilots and Washington Senators (slight exaggeration, sorry). No word on what the Yanks gave up, but it can't be much, given Hirsch's 6.66 ERA and 1.63 WHIP in 101 Triple-A innings this year.
Potential moves on the horizon:
- No shortage of Roy Halladay rumors for you today. The Jays' ace made his start tonight, and we've passed J.P. Ricciardi's soft deadline of July 28, but anything can happen. You can likely cross Philadelphia off the list (although wouldn't it be fun to see them put together a Drabek package and go for both Lee AND Halladay?), but the Red Sox, Dodgers, Rangers, Angels, and Yankees have all been linked to Doc at one point or another. There's still some time to see a move, and we heard tonight the Rangers are ready to buy.
- Sounds like Lee might not be the only one on his way out of Cleveland; Victor Martinez may be the next to go, and there will be no shortage of suitors for the All-Star. The Giants expressed interest, but their recent acquisitions may take them out of the race. The Red Sox and Rays have both been linked, and both have the pitching depth to acquire him… who ends up with V-Mart? At what cost?
- George Sherrill continues to draw interest. At least eight teams are interested in the Baltimore closer who's posting a fine season thus far. Hard to imagine Sherrill not being traded.
- The Jays are stepping up their efforts to deal Lyle Overbay, and his .835 OPS will likely attract some suitors, though the $7MM pricetag in 2010 certainly will not.
- Last week, White Sox outfielder Brian Anderson asked to be traded. He landed himself in Boston in exchange for Mark Kotsay. Will Josh Fields see a similar fate? The third baseman asked to be traded as well. A team looking to gamble could take Fields with visions of his 23 HR rookie season in their head.
- The biggest headline the Yankees make this year might be one saying that they had themselves a surprisingly quiet deadline. The Yankees may elect not to acquire anyone after all, even with Chien-Ming Wang's struggles and season-ending injury. Do the Yanks make a move, or hold tight?
- Not long ago, we heard the Padres weren't taking offers Adrian Gonzalez or Heath Bell. That tune might change though, with teams drooling over Bell due to his tremendous numbers and minimal salary. The Marlins are reportedly the most aggressive for now; will the Pads move their All-Star closer? What about Gonzalez? We know there have been talks with Boston, though Olney says nothing significant yet.
- Add Jeremy Guthrie to the list of players drawing interest; though the O's don't want to move him.
- Other names to remember: Nick Johnson, Jarrod Washburn, Orlando Cabrera, John Grabow, Danys Baez, Aubrey Huff, Joe Beimel, Marco Scutaro, Mark Teahen, Jon Garland, Doug Davis, Zach Duke, Michael Wuertz, Russ Springer, Chad Qualls and call out anyone else that I didn't include!
Did I miss anything? We'll be burning the midnight oil to keep you updated just as fast as we can over the next couple of days!
