Archives for August 2016

Last up in our series of divisional trade deadline recaps is the AL West, where the Rangers and Athletics made the most noise.

• The Astros shipped veteran righty Scott Feldman to Toronto in exchange for minor league pitcher Lupe Chavez, and they sent reliever Josh Fields to the Dodgers for young first baseman Yordan Alvarez.
• The Angels landed pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer from Minnesota in return for pitchers Hector Santiago and Alan Busenitz. They also sent righty Joe Smith to the Cubs for minor league pitcher Jesus Castillo.
• The Athletics sent lefty Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick to the Dodgers in exchange for young right-handers Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton. They also shipped speedy outfielder Billy Burns to Kansas City for fellow OF Brett Eibner.
• The Mariners dealt lefty Wade Miley to Baltimore for minor-league lefty Ariel Miranda. They also sent reliever Joaquin Benoit to Toronto in exchange for fellow reliever Drew Storen. Finally, they got close on a trade that would have netted Cincinnati shortstop Zack Cozart, but were unable to complete it.
• The Rangers landed one of the season’s biggest prizes, getting catcher Jonathan Lucroy (as well as reliever Jeremy Jeffress) from Milwaukee for outfielder Lewis Brinson, righty Luis Ortiz and a player to be named. They also acquired Carlos Beltran from the Yankees for righties Dillon Tate, Erik Swanson and Nick Green. Finally, they added pitchers Lucas Harrell and Dario Alvarez from Atlanta, giving up minor league infielder Travis Demeritte.

Our series of trade deadline recaps continues with the AL Central, where the Indians grabbed the majority of the headlines.

• The White Sox sent lefty Zach Duke to St. Louis in exchange for outfielder Charlie Tilson but did not make any other significant moves.
• The Indians’ potential trade for star catcher Jonathan Lucroy was scuttled when Lucroy vetoed the deal, but they still managed huge move this week, albeit at a significant cost — they got Andrew Miller from the Yankees for minor-league outfielder Clint Frazier and pitchers Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen. They also got outfielder Brandon Guyer from Tampa Bay for prospects Nathan Lukes and Jhonleider Salinas.
• The Tigers hunted for pitching help but ultimately did not make any significant moves.
• There was no shortage of rumors surrounding various Royals pitchers, including Wade Davis, but Kansas City’s deadline was mostly quiet, as they only swapped Brett Eibner to Oakland for fellow outfielder Billy Burns.
• The Twins added Hector Santiago and minor-league righty Alan Busenitz from the Angels, giving up pitchers Ricky Nolasco and Alex Meyer. They also sent reliever Fernando Abad to Boston in return for relief prospect Pat Light, and infielder Eduardo Nunez to San Francisco for lefty Adalberto Mejia.

Our series of recaps of this week’s action continues with the AL East, which featured plenty of activity, particularly from the Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays.

• The Orioles acquired infielder Steve Pearce from the Rays in return for catching prospect Jonah Heim. They also picked up lefty Wade Miley from Seattle, giving up minor-league lefty Ariel Miranda. Finally, they signed righty Logan Ondrusek to a big-league deal.
• The Red Sox did most of their deadline shopping early and were relatively quiet this week. They did, however, acquire lefty reliever Fernando Abad from Minnesota for relief prospect Pat Light.
• The Yankees were one of the busiest teams this week. They shipped reliever Andrew Miller to Cleveland for a very impressive prospect package: outfielder Clint Frazier and pitchers Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen. They also announced their trade of Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs, in which they received reliever Adam Warren and prospects Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford. They sent Carlos Beltran to Texas for righties Dillon Tate (the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft), Erik Swanson and Nick Green. They also made a trade for a veteran, getting reliever Tyler Clippard from Arizona for righty Vicente Campos. Finally, they shipped righty Ivan Nova to Pittsburgh, receiving two players to be named in return.
• The Rays traded starter Matt Moore to San Francisco for infielder Matt Duffy and prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos. The Rays also shipped outfielder Brandon Guyer to Cleveland for minor league outfielder Nathan Lukes and pitcher Jhonleider Salinas. Finally, as mentioned above, they acquired Jonah Heim from the Orioles in return for Steve Pearce.
• The Blue Jays acquired Francisco Liriano plus prospects Harold Ramirez and Reese McGuire from Pittsburgh in exchange for righty Drew Hutchison. They also acquired Scott Feldman from Houston for minor league pitcher Lupe Chavez, then sent Jesse Chavez to the Dodgers in return for fellow righty Mike Bolsinger. They also made somewhat of a challenge trade with Seattle, sending Drew Storen (who had previously been designated for assignment) west in exchange for Joaquin Benoit, and they acquired Melvin Upton from San Diego for pitcher Hansel Rodriguez and cash.

We continue our series of roundups of this week’s trade activity with the NL West.

• The Diamondbacks traded veteran reliever Tyler Clippard to the Yankees for righty Vicente Campos. They also attempted to deal reliever Daniel Hudson, but were not able to complete a trade.
• The Rockies did not make any significant moves, notably holding onto Carlos Gonzalez, Charlie Blackmon and Boone Logan.
• The Dodgers struck a significant deal with Oakland, getting lefty Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick for young righties Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton. They also picked up Jesse Chavez from Toronto for fellow righty Mike Bolsinger, and they acquired reliever Josh Fields from Houston for young first baseman Yordan Alvarez.
• The Padres sent Matt Kemp to Atlanta for Hector Olivera in an exchange of bad contracts, then quickly designated Olivera for assignment. They also sent pitchers Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea and Tayron Guerrero to Miami for pitcher Jarred Cosart, injured hurler Carter Capps, first base prospect Josh Naylor and minor league pitcher Luis Castillo, although they sent Castillo back to Miami in exchange for Rea after Rea had an elbow injury. Finally, they sent outfielder Melvin Upton to Toronto for pitcher Hansel Rodriguez and cash.
• The Giants got young starter Matt Moore from Tampa Bay in exchange for third baseman Matt Duffy and prospects Lucius Fox and Michael Santos. They also picked up lefty reliever Will Smith from Milwaukee for catcher Andrew Susac and pitching prospect Phil Bickford. Finally, they snagged infielder Eduardo Nunez from Minnesota, giving up lefty Adalberto Mejia.

Next up in our series of trade deadline roundups is the NL Central.

• The Cubs acquired righty Joe Smith from the Angels for pitching prospect Jesus Castillo. They also completed their deal for Aroldis Chapman, in which they sent Adam Warren and prospects Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney and Rashad Crawford to New York.
• The Reds got infield prospect Dilson Herrera and lefty Max Wotell from the Mets in exchange for outfielder Jay Bruce. They came close to trading shortstop Zack Cozart to Seattle, but that deal was never consummated.
• After star catcher Jonathan Lucroy vetoed a trade to Cleveland, the Brewers sent him and reliever Jeremy Jeffress to Texas in exchange for outfielder Lewis Brinson, pitcher Luis Ortiz and a player to be named. They also sent lefty Will Smith to San Francisco in exchange for pitching prospect Phil Bickford and catcher Andrew Susac.
• The Pirates shipped closer Mark Melancon to Washington in exchange for lefty reliever Felipe Rivero and lefty prospect Taylor Hearn. Later, in a surprising move, they sent lefty Francisco Liriano and top prospects Harold Ramirez and Reese McGuire to Toronto in exchange for righty Drew Hutchison and relief from Liriano’s contract. They also dealt struggling lefty Jon Niese to the Mets in exchange for lefty reliever Antonio Bastardo, and they acquired righty Ivan Nova from the Yankees for two players to be named.
• The Cardinals had a quiet deadline, but they got lefty Zach Duke from the White Sox in exchange for minor league outfielder Charlie Tilson.

The NL East is first up in our series of roundups for each division in the week leading to today’s non-waiver trade deadline.

• The Braves’ key move was to deal Hector Olivera’s bad contract to San Diego for Matt Kemp and cash. They also acquired minor league infielder Travis Demeritte from Texas for righty Lucas Harrell and lefty Dario Alvarez. They did not, however, deal pitchers Julio Teheran and Jim Johnson.
• The Marlins acquired pitchers Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea and Tayron Guerrero from San Diego for pitchers Jarred Cosart and the injured Carter Capps, plus prospects Josh Naylor and Luis Castillo. Then, however, they sent Rea, who left his Marlins debut due to elbow trouble, back to San Diego in exchange for Castillo.
• The Mets acquired outfielder Jay Bruce from Cincinnati in return for prospects Dilson Herrera and Max Wotell. They also shipped struggling reliever Antonio Bastardo to Pittsburgh for their own former starter Jon Niese. Finally, they signed veteran outfielder Justin Ruggiano to a big-league deal.
• The Phillies had a quiet trade deadline, as GM Matt Klentak explained to reporters, including MLBTR’s Jason Martinez. Jeremy Hellickson, David Hernandez and Carlos Ruiz all remained with Philadelphia. The Phillies did make one small transaction, sending Rule 5 pick Daniel Stumpf back to the Royals.
• The Nationals spent the week connected to a variety of big names, and they finally landed one of them — their key move was to acquire closer Mark Melancon from Pittsburgh in return for reliever Felipe Rivero and lefty prospect Taylor Hearn.