It has only been a little over five weeks, so it’s too soon to judge with finality how this year’s trade deadline maneuvers will play out. That said, we’re already half of the way through the period — the regular season portion, at least — for which rental players were acquired. Even players with future control are usually added first and foremost for their immediate contributions (though there are some exceptions). It’d be awfully premature to say anything conclusive about the prospect side of any deals, but we do now have some additional information with which to work.
So, that’s why we’re going to take a glance back over our shoulders at the moves (and major non-moves) that organizations made in the run-up to this year’s trade deadline. We already covered the AL Central, NL Central, and AL East; now we’ll go to the National League East …
Braves
There was an argument for the Braves to consider rotation and even outfield improvements at the trade deadline, but the club ultimately focused on the bullpen after the mid-June signing of Dallas Keuchel. Otherwise, the club swung just one other deal, a minor swap of cash for catching depth in the form of John Ryan Murphy.
So, what about those relievers? The club picked up Chris Martin (link), Shane Greene (link), and Mark Melancon (link). That seemed like a sturdy trio, but each got off to an exceptionally rocky start. Thankfully, things have stabilized. Martin sports a 15:1 K/BB rate in Atlanta; Melancon sits at 20:2 and hasn’t yet blown a save in nine chances (though it may not seem that way). Greene gave up a pair of runs in his last outing, but that broke a 13-appearance scoreless streak.
On the other side of the coin, the price paid never figured to hurt the Braves too badly, as they largely parted with upper-level pieces that were stacked behind other prospects. If there’s one that could hurt, it may be Joey Wentz, who posted a 37:4 K/BB ratio while allowing just six earned runs in 25 2/3 innings with the Tigers’ Double-A affiliate after coming over in the Greene trade. Utilityman Travis Demeritte, who went with him, has struggled in brief MLB action. The Martin swap cost another young left, Kolby Allard, who has put a shine on a solid overall campaign by running a 3.78 ERA over six big league starts. He’s succeeding largely by limiting the long ball, which may not be fully sustainable, but his stuff has trended up noticeably since his brief debut last year with Atlanta. Tristan Beck, the key piece in the Melancon swap, has generated good results at the High-A level since the deal.
So, what about the possible needs in other areas? The starting staff has continued to be an internal operation (including Keuchel). While it’s not exactly an ace-laden outfit, the Braves do have plenty of depth and will likely plan to stack pitching in the postseason rather than hoping for lengthy starts. Position-player depth has been an issue, but the club has managed to find solutions by being one of the most aggressive accumulators of players in September. Minor-league signings and claims brought the team Adeiny Hechavarria, Billy Hamilton, and Francisco Cervelli. While it’s certainly arguable the Braves could or should have made at least one more significant addition, the overall approach of supplementing the existing roster has certainly not prevented the team from performing at an impressive level of late.
Nationals
The D.C. organization pursued something like a Braves-lite strategy, landing its own trio of relief arms but doing so at another tier lower than did the division leaders. Southpaw Roenis Elias (link) and righties Daniel Hudson (link) and Hunter Strickland (link) all arrived on deadline day to buttress a bullpen that has been a source of turnover and turmoil all season long.
Elias was arguably the biggest piece of the three, but has contributed the least due to injury. It’s an unlucky break, though the Nats still can salvage value from the deal by tendering him a contract for the next two seasons to come. The two right-handers have become important pieces in the late-inning mix of the rightly maligned Washington relief corps. Hudson owns a 2.40 ERA in 15 frames, with 9.0 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9; Strickland is sitting at a 4.40 ERA over 14 1/3 innings, with 6.3 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9. They’ve each allowed three home runs.
Securing the services of Elias meant sending Elvis Alvarado and Taylor Guilbeau to Seattle. The control problems of the former disappeared in a dozen-inning rookie ball stint after the trade, so perhaps the Seattle staff helped him figure something out. Gilbeau, 26, has earned his first time in the majors. In eight innings, the southpaw has been tough on lefties (.176/.263/.294) while being knocked around a bit by righties (.267/.353/.467). Another young lefty went to Seattle in the Strickland deal. Aaron Fletcher has thrown 13 innings of 3.46 ERA ball with 15 strikeouts and three walks in 13 Double-A innings. Adding Hudson cost 23-year-old Kyle Johnston, whose solid High-A numbers have tanked since the swap. He carries a brutal 13:20 K/BB ratio in 19 2/3 innings with the new organization.
Add it all up, and the Nats can’t be terribly displeased … but also haven’t been overwhelmingly boosted by their mid-season additions. Indications are that the club was working under tight payroll constraints this summer, so that’s to be expected. Fortunately, infielder Asdrubal Cabrera came cheap. He has been aflame since being signed as a September free agent. The club is still in very good position for the Wild Card, but has to wonder how far it will be able to advance with such an unreliable relief unit.
Phillies
After adding Jay Bruce earlier in the summer, the Phillies probably wanted to improve their pitching. But they didn’t end up matching their rivals in that regard — not even close, in fact.
Outfielder Corey Dickerson was the team’s biggest addition in the run-up to the deadline, in fact. The primary cost was his remaining salary, with the club also agreeing to send the cross-state Pirates some international bonus capacity and a PTBNL. Dickerson may not even have been added had it not been for Bruce’s health issues. It has turned out to be wise move, as Dickerson carries a .300/.313/.592 batting line through 134 plate appearances.
Taking on money was also a driver in the Jason Vargas deal. The veteran southpaw has taken the ball eight times for the Phillies, managing a 5.01 ERA over 41 1/3 innings with a 1.63 K/BB ratio. That’s a downgrade from the results he posted with the Mets before the trade — 4.01 ERA with 2.08 K/BB ratio — though he’s much the same pitcher by most measures.
Those moves have certainly helped the Phils hang in the Wild Card race, though the club could obviously have stood to make greater improvements. Minor deals for Mike Morin, Jose Pirela, and Dan Straily haven’t delivered a ton of benefit. Morin has seen 21 innings of action but owns a 5.14 ERA. Pirela has seen limited action in the majors, while Straily hasn’t been asked onto the 40-man roster.
Much like their competitors in the division, the Phils have made several additions by signing released players or placing post-deadline claims. Those methods have brought in Drew Smyly, Blake Parker, Nick Vincent, Logan Morrison, and Jared Hughes to help keep things afloat. While more significant reinforcements surely would’ve been preferred, the organization just wasn’t willing to pay what it would have cost.
Mets
The most surprising deadline approach came from New York, with the Mets deciding to chase dwindling postseason aspirations. While the organization was rewarded with an inspired run of play, it still seems likely the club will fall short of its goal.
It seemed as the deadline drew nigh that the Mets would function as sellers. Zack Wheeler was an obvious trade piece, with a variety of other veterans also possibilities to move. Instead, the club pursued a stunning swap for local product Marcus Stroman while sending Vargas to the Phils to help offset the cash.
Parting with Vargas hasn’t hurt, though it was curious to see him go to a division rival. Trouble is, Stroman hasn’t been any better. He’s carrying a 5.05 ERA in 35 2/3 frames. While he’s surely a better bet going forward than the aging lefty, Stroman will need to rein in the number of balls leaving the yard (1.8 per nine since the deal). Adding Stroman meant that the Mets ponied up another chunk of young talent from a farm that had already parted with key pieces. Most analysts felt the cost — Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods Richardson — was rather reasonable, though both hurlers have trended up since joining their new organization.
The real head-scratcher in all of this was that the Mets stopped with only the addition of Stroman. He was and is a piece with 2020 value as well, of course, but the club left its bullpen entirely unimproved. The club did go on to add Brad Brach as well as second bagger Joe Panik when they came available in September. Brodie Van Wagenen’s first trade deadline will be an interesting one to revisit down the line.
Marlins
It was a low-key fascinating trade period for the Fish. Not because they made sell-side moves — that was obvious — but because they ended up shipping out young talent.
It all got started innocently enough, as rental reliever Sergio Romo was sent to the Twins in a deal that netted first baseman Lewin Diaz. The youngster’s batting average and OBP dove with his new club, but he is still showing good power at Double-A. Unfortunately, the deal also cost the Fish 22-year-old righty Chris Vallimont. He had put up solid numbers all season long and finished with a bang, posting a 28:4 K/BB ratio and 3.63 ERA over 22 1/3 High-A innings.
It might have been supposed that the Marlins would try to spin off a few other veterans, with Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson among the short-term players that could hypothetically have been moved. Instead, the Miami club turned to cashing in controllable MLB pitching for buy-low position-player prospects.
First came an intriguing intra-state deal. The Marlins parted with righties Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards in order to pick up young outfielder Jesus Sanchez and reliever Ryne Stanek. With Anderson dominating and Richards performing quite well, there could be some second-guessing here. Then again, Sanchez is a well-regarded young player. He slashed .246/.338/.446 in 78 plate appearances at Triple-A after the swap. That’s hardly a big showing in this year’s hot offensive environment, but it was an improvement over his work in the Rays organization and he’s still just 21 years of age.
At least as surprising was the deal that saw rookie righty Zac Gallen head to the D-Backs in exchange for Jazz Chisholm. Entering the season, this swap would’ve seemed ridiculous. But the two players involved headed in quite different directions. By the time the deal was struck, the former was in the midst of a breakout season, with the age and cheap control needed to serve as a part of a new core. But the Marlins elected to cash in his breakout to take a shot at the long-lauded Chisholm, who had shown big strikeout numbers at Double-A (33.8%). Gallen has continued to excel in Arizona, raising the stakes for Chisholm. But the 21-year-old shortstop did trend up after the move, paring back the Ks and slashing .284/.383/.494 (156 wRC+) in 94 plate appearances with the Marlins’ Double-A affiliate.
It’s impossible to say how this slate of transactions will look in the long run, but it’ll be fun to track these intriguing deals from the rebuilding Marlins.
i dont agree on Wentz being more likely to harm Atlanta in trading then Allard. Even before the trade Wentz hadnt exactly wowed in AA at just a few months younger then Allard. People tend to forget that Allard was for some time ranked above Soroka as a prospect, and was very strongly in the top-100 boards.
The writer claims Allard’s stuff has ticked up since last year which is interesting. Either way Wentz has a higher ceiling than Allard with his build and stuff. Both may not have ever gotten shots with the Braves thougb so it will be hard to ever judge
Trading Allard was a bad move.
Actually it’s not that they traded, more that they sold low on him. They never really gave him a chance last year to start. If anything they would have been better off dumping Wright and keeping Allard.
Dumping Wright who has a strong chance to develop 4 plus pitches instead Allard? I agree the Braves gave up way too early on Allard. I think the Texas made out like a bandit on that deal. Allard who I like very much is IMO not in the same level as Wright. Soroka is on his own level in my mind. Wright, Ian, Wilson, Weigel, Muller, Davidson, Ynoa and Touki all could be in the same level of hope and promise and needing to take that next step. Allard is not ahead of any of these guys IMO. These prospects are all in AAA (except Muller who will probaly be in AAA the start of next year)–much less whats coming behind. I guess the reason for the overpay with Allard.
Jeff, Panik and Brach were added in August. Small correction; enjoy your work!
Lots of references to September additions, rather than August. Hechevarria, Hamilton and Cervelli (ATL) and Cabrera (WAS) too.
Atlantas deals look really bad in retrospect. Got terrible rental reliever production from two high upside arms, gohara might and i use this lightly also pan out in a different teams system. Goes to show you that an embarrassment of riches doesn’t mean much if you cant assess the asset.
I have to respectably disagree. It looked really bad at first because all 3 relievers were failing in dramatic fashion. After that 1st week or so they have all been pretty solid though. We wouldn’t be running away with it or even coming close to challenging your dodgers for NLs best record if it weren’t for those guys. We probably gave up too much for Martin and Greene but most of those prospects were likely to get traded anyway. We have too many prospects that are better than them in our system. We didn’t have to trade Waters, Wright, Anderson or Pache and that is a huge plus. Before the trades we were sending Luke Jackson out there and watching him blow save after save. Now he rarely makes appearances in meaningful games. Right now I would take the Braves bullpen stacked up against any other playoff team bullpen in the NL.
The only “rental” they got was Martin
Gohara was gotten for almost nothing in terms of prospect cost. They gave up on him after giving him alot of chances. Its tough with what happened with his family. They tried but eventually had to cut bait. Allard was an over pay for Martin. But the deal doesn’t look really bad in retrospect. They jusr over paid a bit for a guy they need for the post season and is doing well. Meh. Big Deal.
The part that looks bad for Atlanta is that the issue could’ve been addressed this offseason for nothing but maybe a draft pick (if it were Kimbrel) and the cash to pay the reliever(s) of their choice salary. Allard has obviously looked very good in Texas and Wentz has gone to a different level thus far in Erie. Regardless of being blocked it was evident the bullpen was going to be an issue in February.
Braves needed to make the moves for pen help. Luke Jackson was solid but not a closer and we didn’t have much else. Sucks giving up young talent but needed for playoff baseball.
The Marlins baffles me on what they are doing as a organization. Next to the Pittsburgh Pirates, the organization has no direction and just pocketing money they get from the league. Both organizations need to be investigated by the MLB and MLBPA immediately. They are ruining the league and has lowered the value of each of their organizations. Totally an embarrassment and needs to be addressed promptly. It’s like watching NBA teams tank each year. I quit watch NBA because of it. I am on the verge of not watching baseball. I just hope the new agreement between MLB and MLBPA improves the quality and prevents teams from tanking each year.
Just because you’re not smart doesn’t mean they’re directionless. Hint: how that farm system has been turned around in less than 2 years
I don’t understand how the Marlins are directionless. They’re doing a ground up rebuild because they have very little major league talent. Jeter and co. Are taking high ceiling players like Chisholm and both Sanchez’s over guys w higher floors. Like Gallen and Richards. Though I really think Gallen was their best starter and they may have overestimated what the rest of their SP’s could give them.
The Marlins just sold for a billion plus dollars. Franchise values are not an issue. Competitive balance is the true issue.
I actually agree with you Shannon. Some of these folks are giving you harsh responses because you may not be totally up to date with what is going on but your comment is dead on. They actually did investigate the Marlins and that is a big reason why Jeter and Co. ended up buying it. Jeffrey Loria used to own the Marlins and he exploited the luxury tax distribution blatantly. I think one year he actually paid his entire team around $15 million. To put that in retrospect Alex Rodriguez alone was making $10+ million more than that the same year. THE ENTIRE MARLINS 25 MAN ROSTER MADE $10 MILLION LESS THAN 1 PLAYER OVER THE SAME PERIOD OF TIME. MLB got onto him and he handed out contracts to Beuhrle and Jose Reyes. Then he extended Josh Johnson and gave Giancarlo Stanton $325 million. After they didn’t make the playoffs in the first season he stripped the team down and traded them all away to Toronto and New York. We are talking about a guy that traded away Derek Lee for Hee Sop Choi. Choice was clearly inferior and Lee was in his prime. They played the exact same position. He took less talent for the sole purpose of saving money. He did the same thing with the Expos before that and we all know how that turned out. He is out of baseball now but the Pirates are similar. They all want to win but they have realized that if their payroll is low enough they can make money even if they lose. They care more about their wallets than the actual franchise. I can’t totally blame them because most people are that way. I can, however, say that anyone that functions like that is probably not the best person(s) to run a Major League Baseball team. I think the financial structure needs to be changed similar to the NFL. Salary Cap AND Salary Basement. In the NFL every team must spend somewhere around 98% of the cap every year. I would be stoked if MLB required even 75%. Maybe $200 mill max $150 mill min? It would have to increase on an annual basis but that’s how it is in every league. Teams should not get revenue sharing dollars just so they can pocket it. The only problem is the MLBPA. They tried to enforce a salary cap in ’93/’94 but players went on strike. That dug attendance in a hole that only steroids could dig it out of. I don’t understand why players would be against it though. If every MLB team spent $150+ million a year the average player salary would skyrocket. Best of all it would increase parity and more fans would come. I know teams are a business but there is a reason MLB passed a rule that said single owners are not allowed to sell teams to corporations anymore. It is supposed to be about more than the annual profit margin. If you aren’t willing to grow the franchise you shouldn’t own the team. Even Tampa Bay remains competitive and they are in a much smaller market than Pittsburgh or Miami.
It’s pretty tough to defend Brodie at this point. Questionable to poor decisions all round.
I wouldn’t worry about Braves pitching prospects. None of them are good other than Soraka and he is not an ace.
Somebody better inform Soroka to stop pitching like one then. 4th best ERA in the MLB.
Ian Anderson is good. You must be listening to that poster who went by AllOurGodsHaveAbandonedUs. He was a total loser and everyone on this site thought he was a joke of a human being. I haven’t seen him in awhile. He probably just changed his screen name to something even more idiotic to get attention and then kept posting.
Phillies overestimated the strength (?) of their starting pitching in March. They committed the same mortal sin in July. Exactly how many times do Eflin, Velasquez and Pivetta (now a relief pitcher) have to start games and implode before the suits in the executive offices admit they have no clue about evaluating pitching?
Yeah, Klentak picked up Smyly and Vargas for the proverbial bag of balls, but neither one is much of an improvement over what we already had, which as I’ve noted, is pretty bad.
Phillies probably won’t make the postseason and I lay the blame for that directly at the feet of Klentak. Guy has been on the job for four years and hasn’t done anything that even remotely puts him in the GM of the Year conversation.
Sadly, Cigar Guy (Our owner, John Middleton) has already given Klentak a three-year extension, so we’re stuck with this Ivy League stiff for the foreseeable future.
Yeah. I have to agree. I have never seen a team spend so much $ while almost totally ignoring starting pitching. In addition to that they traded away one if their best pitching prospects in Sixto Sanchez this offseason. I don’t know if he will be great or anything but they should have acquired more SP’s after trading him. They basically have only one starting pitcher that is more than servicable. I read that after Keuchel dominated them last night someone asked the Phils brass why they didn’t go after him in June considering their obvious need for starters and the fact that they had “stupid money” to spend. I guess they felt stupid so they claimed they went after a contract for Keuchel. Unfortunately for them they didn’t really think that one through because Keuchel was still in the stadium at that point. Of course the same people went and asked Keuchel about it and he laughed. They didn’t even call about him. Not one time. I’m sure they regret it now but they really shouldn’t have lied to cover it up in that situation. As a Braves fan I fear the Phillies payroll. Luckily (just like the Mets) I don’t have to fear their front office or management.