Three clubs in the league’s western division may have the greatest trade deadline regrets, in the opinion of MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince (writing for Sports On Earth). The Athletics have seen their fortunes fade since dealing away Yoenis Cespedes for Jon Lester, though of course Lester has been outstanding. The Mariners’ three key additions — Austin Jackson, Kendrys Morales, and Chris Denorfia — have generally failed to hit. And the Dodgers passed on a chance to add an impact starter.
- Of course, it is eminently arguable that the Athletics’ underperformance since the deadline is really not a reflection on Cespedes-Lester swap at all, as Tony Blengino of Fangraphs explains. The team has failed to score runs, to be sure, but that is due in large part to the production fall-offs from key first-half contributors like Brandon Moss, Derek Norris, and John Jaso (the latter, in large part, due to injury).
- The one-year extensions signed before the season by Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson and then-GM Kevin Towers contain rollover clauses that provide for automatic re-extensions if they are not dismissed by a certain date, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. (Such an anti-lame duck provision is also a feature of the Blue Jays’ contract with manager John Gibbons.) Player support for Gibson is “all but gone,” sources tell Rosenthal, but he could still be retained by chief baseball officer Tony La Russa.
- Meanwhile, Rosenthal joins others in reporting that Dave Stewart is the leading candidate to take over as GM. Stewart says he is “very interested” in the position, and his hiring would make it likely that Towers stays on in a senior scouting role, according to Rosenthal.
- Of course, the status of Stewart’s agency business (Sports Management Partners) would be up in the air if he takes the job. Rosenthal reports that some key clients such as Matt Kemp of the Dodgers have said they would stay on with SMP if the agency continues without Stewart.
- The Angels’ run to the AL West crown represents a remarkable turnaround for GM Jerry Dipoto, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times writes. One year after most of his moves backfired, Dipoto has pulled off a series of largely successful trades and signings that helped fuel the team’s success. Most remarkably, perhaps, the team has received solid production from a variety of arms that have generally outperformed expectations.
- Another remarkable turnaround in Halos land is the working relationship between Dipoto and manager Mike Scioscia, as Pedro Moura of the Orange County Register writes. Last August, it was even reported that things had deteriorated to the point that one or the other would have to go, though Scioscia shot down the suggestion at the time. Now, Dipoto credits Scioscia with doing an “unbelievable job” at making adjustments and acting on new information — as reflected in the team’s lineup construction and use of defensive shifts.
No mention of the best trade of the deadline? Giants getting Jake Peavy? Come on, man!
That was a good trade and they have a shot. If only they could play the D’backs the rest of the way.
Huston Street has been great.
His article was about trade deadline regrets.
Wow… he’s been CRAZY good.
In close to one third the innings with SF he has been better than Vogelsong and close to as valuable as Tim Hudson (in fWAR, maybe more in bWAR?).
The A’s have failed to score runs, to be sure, but that is due in large
part to the production fall-offs from key first-half contributors (Paraphrased)
Anyway, Billy Beane is usually the ‘all’ knowing genius that sees into the future.
If he thought he was going to have a hitting problem, he would have traded for a bat.
Adam Dunn is nice, but that’s not my idea of a bat.
He wanted pitching and he got it! The other problem is it’s not like the A’s are losing 1 run games, they are getting smushed. I am unsure what the problem is in Oakland.
Lastly, I didn’t realize Kirk Gibson lost the player’s support, that usually isn’t a good thing when that happens.
I’ve watched nearly every Diamondbacks game this year and am an avid fan, this is the first I’ve heard or even suspected that Gibson had lost his player’s respect/support. It’s always curious how this is discovered and if it’s true. Nothing about how the players react to Gibson has changed. Could it be as simple as losing too many games can lead to that lack of support?
In a smaller way, I’d add the Stephen Drew deal. The Yankees probably regret paying for him and for Drew it’s been a catastrophe. He was so poor he’s mostly been sitting, severely impairing his future value. And, for the Yankees, he’s been so poor that it’s harder to nudge Jeter to sit a little more. Drew’s a better glove, but with a .130 BA…..I can’t help but think if he had stayed with Boston, at the position, he might have had a chance to get his head straight.
I’d say the A’s regret the Samardzija trade more than the Lester trade.
I guess unless it is not being considered a “deadline trade”