Here’s a roundup of AL Central activity in the last few days before this afternoon’s trade deadline.
- The first-place Royals bought heavily at the deadline, pulling off one of the biggest trades of the season when they acquired Johnny Cueto from the Reds for lefties Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed. They followed that up with a second big move, acquiring infielder/outfielder Ben Zobrist from the A’s for pitchers Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks. The Royals also shipped pitcher Joe Blanton to the Pirates for cash considerations.
- The 50-52 Tigers, meanwhile, went the opposite direction, ultimately selling heavily rather than pursuing hopes of a Wild Card berth. They traded ace David Price to Toronto and got lefties Daniel Norris, Jairo Labourt and Matt Boyd in return, then sent Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets for a pair of righties, Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa. Along the way, they shipped closer Joakim Soria to the Pirates for infield prospect JaCoby Jones.
- The Indians reportedly discussed trading Carlos Carrasco with several teams, but didn’t make a move of that magnitude. They got a good pitching prospect, Rob Kaminsky, from the Cardinals in return for Brandon Moss. They also dealt outfielder David Murphy to the Angels for infield prospect Eric Stamets, and they traded lefty Marc Rzepczynski to the Padres for outfielder Abraham Almonte. In a minor move, they also acquired lefty Jayson Aquino from the Pirates for cash considerations.
- The Twins had a relatively uneventful deadline, with their biggest move being the acquisition of reliever Kevin Jepsen from the Rays for pitchers Chih-Wei Hu and Alexis Tapia. They’re also set to designate reliever Caleb Thielbar for assignment.
- The White Sox had one of the quietest deadlines of any team despite their recent surge, with GM Rick Hahn feeling frustrated that they weren’t able to make a significant move. Ultimately, the only deal they made involving a remotely well known player was shipping infielder Conor Gillaspie to the Angels for cash.
Hey! I was able to get through!
I dunno what the Sox are thinking. In their position right now, I say if you cannot add, subtract. But still there is the waiver wire where Hahn may get his rentals for only mostly cash. They really need a DH and catcher if they are serious, but I still think that people are making too much of this recent surge against bad teams.
they don’t need a catcher, soto is solid power guy, flowers is a good framer. DH sure, RF was biggest area of need, parra would have been perfect. plus defense and likely slightly better offense than avi.
Both are nice backup catchers, but it is not a difficult task to list catchers that are better than either of those two. They DO need a catcher.
Agreed.. Catcher should have been an area at they upgraded at the deadline.. Soto is a solid backup and Flowers should be a backup on a non non contender..
White sox probably biggest losers in the trade deadline. Didn’t move anybody or get any real help. And ken Griffey jr is already retired. I’d expect to see players moved during the august 31 waiver wire period.
Avi is having a down year for his potential if you ask me. Parra would have been an upgrade for this year as long as Avi comes through with his potential
I think you are overrating avi’s potential. Despite his huge frame, he has never shown much power at any level yet he Ks ~25% of the time. He only walks at a 5-6% clip. Imo, his lack of plate discipline (40+ o-swing%) is a huge problem that limits his potential. On the positive side, he hits to all fields and the power might come as he gains experience. I’m selling Garcia right now.
I’m not shocked the White Sox didn’t sell. I’m not sure of what they would have brought in would have this season. They’ll get a comp pick or resign Samardzija. They’ll make some lateral moves in the offseason and go again in 2016. Gonna be tough…KC and MN will be solid for some seasons to come and Detroit is in about the same reload position. Ultimately the team this season might not be far off the projections most had…improved, over .500 and close to a wild card. You can definitely see how if this roster offensively had broke right they’d have a much better record. Still time I suppose. LaRoche has bombed so far… But that starting staff is as legit as.baseball has.
I am with you as usual Red.. LaRoche should have stayed in the NL.. He seems over matched in the AL.. Similar to what Matt Holiday went through when he went from Colorado to Oakland. He would have made sense being traded to a team like Pittsburgh which could use a long term solution at 1st. We might still see that this month on the waiver wire.. I think its doubtful any team puts in a claim on him..
Tigers did a nice job of reloading the starting pitching. It’s doubtful they will be able to afford Price in free agency. Kazmir might fit the bill though. Rumors are that Cespedes wants to return, but I don’t know if LF will be their most pressing need, even though he was a fun player to watch. The Tigers did not address the bullpen at all. Until they “successfully” fix the bullpen, it won’t matter what they do elsewhere. As long as Storen is talking to his agent, maybe he could be a target. What they will need to do is find a few mid inning relievers that are “reliable”, which is hard to do. What Dave accomplished appears to be a solid start.