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July Trade Recap: NL Central

By Mark Polishuk | August 2, 2014 at 9:54am CDT

After covering the AL Central, AL East and NL East in our look back at the July trade market, let’s turn the spotlight on the NL Central:

Brewers

  • Acquired outfielder Gerardo Parra from Diamondbacks for outfielder Mitch Haniger and lefty Anthony Banda

Cardinals

  • Acquired righty John Lackey, lefty Corey Littrell, and cash from Red Sox in exchange for righty Joe Kelly and outfielder/first baseman Allen Craig
  • Acquired righty Justin Masterson from Indians in exchange for outfielder James Ramsey

Cubs

  • Acquired catcher Victor Caratini from Braves in exchange for lefty James Russell and infielder/outfielder Emilio Bonifacio
  • Acquired lefty Felix Doubront from Red Sox in exchange for PTBNL
  • Acquired righty Jonathan Martinez from the Dodgers in exchange for second baseman Darwin Barney
  • Acquired shortstop Addison Russell, outfielder Billy McKinney, and pitcher Dan Straily from Athletics in exchange for righties Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel

Pirates

  • None

Reds

  • Acquired first baseman Harold Riggins from the Rockies in exchange for right-hander Jair Jurrjens

Synopsis

With four teams over .500 and only 5.5 games separating first place from fourth place after Friday’s games, it wasn’t hard to imagine that the NL Central would see a lot of action heading into the trade deadline.  While a few major arms came and went from the division, however, the action was a bit muted overall thanks to inactivity from two of those contending teams.

The Pirates didn’t swing a single deal in July despite being connected to many of the major pitching names known to be available.  David Price, Jon Lester, Lackey, Ian Kennedy, A.J. Burnett…all of these upper-tier starters were linked to the Bucs in trade rumors over the summer yet none ended up wearing the black-and-gold.  Pittsburgh likewise came up short in finding a left-handed reliever to help reinforce the bullpen.  While the Pirates had a pretty quiet July, however, it’s too early to say that they won’t still add to their roster — they didn’t make any major moves in July 2013 either yet picked up Marlon Byrd, John Buck and Justin Morneau before the August 31st deadline.  The Pirates’ payroll limitations will keep from them going for any of the more expensive names that might pop up on the waiver wire this month, yet it wouldn’t be surprising to see them add another useful piece or two.

A minor deal involving Jair Jurrjens notwithstanding, the Reds also didn’t do anything in July, and they’re another team that could be more active in August simply because they might not know if they’re contenders yet.  Cincinnati is 55-54 despite major injuries to several key players (i.e. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips) and a brutal 2-10 slide following the All-Star break.  It seemed like the Reds themselves were on the fence about being buyers or sellers given that they checked in on Bonifacio and Alex Rios yet were also listening to offers for Mat Latos and Ryan Ludwick.  Like with Pittsburgh, a lack of available payroll space played a role in Cincinnati’s inaction, so moving Latos or Ludwick could’ve been ways of freeing up salary and (in Latos’ case) trading a big chip to help elsewhere on the Major League roster than than add prospects.

With a rotation that lacks a true ace but is otherwise quite solid from one to five, the Brewers’ rumored interest in the likes of Price and Lackey seemed more like due diligence rather than a genuine desire to make a big splash.  The division leaders were known to be looking for relief help but overall, Milwaukee didn’t have many roster holes that were in drastic need of an upgrade.  In Parra, the Brew Crew adds a very solid fourth outfielder who can play all three OF positions can provide above-average or better defense at any of them, and while he’s slumped at the plate this year, Parra has been a useful hitter in a platoon role.  Khris Davis left Friday’s game with a calf injury, so it’s possible Parra could quickly take on a bigger role.

It’s hard to believe that pitching was the Cardinals’ deadline focus given their seemingly inexhaustible supply of talented minor league arms, yet St. Louis was involved in talks for Price, Lester and Jake Peavy before eventually making the division’s two biggest acquisitions in Lackey and Masterson.  The Cardinal clubhouse might not be pleased about some of the players lost, yet the two veteran arms could provide needed help to a rotation that has been thinned by injuries and ineffectiveness.

In acquiring these pitchers, the Cards didn’t give up anyone who was providing any value to the 2014 squad.  After contributing heavily to last year’s pennant winners, Kelly (0.2 fWAR) and Craig (-0.6 fWAR) became expendable this season, especially on a team with so many young replacements in the minors.  Ramsey would be a top-three prospect on many clubs, yet since the Cardinals have a plethora of young outfield talent, they felt comfortable in sending him to Cleveland for Masterson.

Lackey should provide good value for this season and next, especially given that he’s under contract for only a league minimum salary in 2015.  Masterson is a free agent this winter and has been bothered by a bad knee, a drop in fastball velocity and control issues this season, yet his peripheral numbers indicate that his 5.51 ERA should be around a run and a half lower.  You could think that Masterson, an extreme ground ball pitcher, will improve in St. Louis simply because he’s going from the league’s worst defensive team to its best in terms of defensive runs saved.

The Cubs are the only NL Central team not still in the playoff hunt, and they continued their rebuilding effort in four deals that added even more young talent to an already-impressive farm system.  One trade involved adding an established big leaguer in Doubront, as perhaps a reunion with Theo Epstein will help get his career back on track after a tough season in Boston.

The other three trades saw the Cubs move veterans who had little value to a non-contender.  Russell drew a lot of attention from several teams and the Cubs packaged the southpaw and Bonifacio for switch-hitting catcher Caratini, the Braves’ second round pick in 2013.  Defensive specialist Barney was moved in a lower-level deal (he had already been designated for assignment by the Cubs) for a lottery ticket in Martinez, a 20-year-old with a live arm in Class A.

After over a year of rumors, the Cubs finally pulled the trigger on trading Samardzija, sending both the Shark and Jason Hammel to Oakland for a major prospect package.  Addison Russell gives the Cubs yet another young blue-chip middle infielder, and his acquisition has already generated rumors that the Cubs’ next step could be trading Starlin Castro for another established big league talent to upgrade the outfield or rotation in the offseason.  While Russell was the headliner of that trade, McKinney is also ranked ninth amongst Cubs prospects according to MLB.com’s midseason rankings, and Straily was considered a top-85 prospect by Baseball Prospectus before the 2013 season.

There were some whispers that the Cubs could use their prospect depth to make a deal for Price, yet that would’ve been a puzzling move for a team that isn’t planning to win now.  For where the Cubs are in their rebuilding process, it’s hard to see their July moves as anything less than a big win for the Cubs front office, turning four short-term veterans in Hammel, Bonifacio (both under contract only through 2014), Samardzija and Russell (through 2015) into four promising young players who combine for over two decades’ worth of controllable years.  Some more moves could be coming in August, as outfielders Justin Ruggiano, Nate Schierholtz and Ryan Sweeney would all likely not have much trouble passing through waivers.

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Post a Comment

14 Comments

  1. DarthMurph

    11 years ago

    July saw 5 available starters go to two teams. Which separates those who want to win from those who don’t. The Cardinals were smart. The Pirates were not.

    Reply
  2. tfence

    11 years ago

    Can someone explain how the cardinals are first in anything defensive?

    Reply
    • stl_cards16

      11 years ago

      By being good defensively, particularly the infield.

      Reply
    • mattt-3

      11 years ago

      Matt Adams is, by defensive metrics, one of the best defensive first basemen in the game. Bourjos (in limited time) and Molina (who is hurt now, but obviously has played the lion’s share of games at catcher this year) are perhaps the best defensive players in MLB at their positions, Carpenter’s a pretty decent 3B, and at least according to fangraphs, apparently Peralta’s actually a really good defensive shortstop (at least this year, who knew?)

      stl_cards is right. Their infield carries the defensive. Clearly Matt Holliday and Allen Craig before his departure weren’t on their way to winning any gold gloves, but the rest of the guys are all at least average defensively, and most of them are noticeably above average.

      Reply
  3. bigbadjohnny

    11 years ago

    Starting around 2017, the Chicago Cubs will be on top of this division for the next ten years with the farm system they have developed.

    Reply
  4. eedwards027

    11 years ago

    Neil Huntington always “just misses”

    2012- Justin Upton
    2013- Giancarlo Stanton
    2014- David Price and Jon Lester

    I knew the Pirates wouldn’t make a move at the deadline. NH never gives up prospects. It’s ridiculous that the Pirates are contending, have the best farm system in baseball, and still won’t trade any prospects. Seriously, who is the best prospect NH has traded? Robbie Grossman? Dilson Herrera? I hate being one of those people but I think they get in on big names just to say, “look we tried!”

    Reply
    • Todd Smith

      11 years ago

      None of the sellers seemed interested in prospects. They all wanted major league talent in return. Does it really make sense to give up guys like Alvarez and Locke to get John Lackey back?

      Hard to make a deal when all you have to offer is prospects, and nobody wants prospects.

      Reply
      • Hurdled Again

        11 years ago

        Agreed. Moreover, the best commodity in the MLB for decades has been good, young pitching with long-term control. I’m fine with waiting another year for Taillon and other highly touted young pitchers rather than take a long-shot gamble among eight teams vying for five spots, only three of which they could get, obviously. Based on the weak schedules for the Cards, Braves, Nats, Dodgers, and Giants, make that qualification even less likely. Even if they qualified, this team wouldn’t be a contender even with Price or whomever.

        Reply
  5. Halvy Buckets

    11 years ago

    Why does the Grilli trade get listed under the Angels and not the Pirates?

    Reply

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