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July Trade Recap: AL East

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Next up on our July trade recap series is the always-interesting AL East …

Blue Jays

  • Did not make a trade.

Orioles

Rays

  • Acquired right-handed reliever Jesse Crain from the White Sox in exchange for compensation to be negotiated.

Red Sox

Yankees

Synopsis

After a quiet deadline period last year as the team emerged as one of baseball's biggest surprises, and a relatively non-impactful offseason, the Orioles upped the ante this time around. The O's were the division's most active team overall during the course of July, adding two highly-sought-after starters and a major bullpen piece. After slotting Feldman into its rotation earlier in the month, Baltimore added a rotation piece with present and future value in Norris on deadline day, with many observers surprised at the relatively light price he commanded. 

Right on the heels of the Orioles in terms of action were the Red Sox. With reported interest across a wide swath of the market, the Sox ultimately made their biggest splash with a creative, three-time deal that landed them a veteran starter. Opting to forego a blockbuster deal for ace Cliff Lee, Boston decided to pay a more modest price for the excellent, if injury-prone Peavy. As has been noted, the deal also allows the club to shore up its injury-plagued bullpen (which it also did by acquiring Thornton) while bolstering its overall rotation depth.  

For the division-leading Rays and fourth-place Yankees, meanwhile, the moves took place in the days prior to the deadline. Tampa picked up the injured Crain in a deal that has not yet been completed. Should he return to form, the Rays may have added one of 2013's most successful relievers at a discount. (Of course, it remains to be seen what price the club paid.) New York, meanwhile, brought former star Soriano back into the fold to add some much-needed power. The Yankees will only pay $6.8MM of the hefty remainder of Soriano's salary over this year and next, and gave up a relatively marginal return. Nevertheless, some observers felt that the move (which took place over the advice of GM Brian Cashman) was insufficient to boost the team this year and constituted an unnecessary outlay of assets. Despite reportedly dangling righty Phil Hughes and pursuing Phillies infielder Michael Young, nothing materialized on those fronts, though Young could still be an August trade target for the Yankes (or the Red Sox and Orioles, for that matter). 

Finally, the disappointing Blue Jays ultimately decided to hold entirely. There were some rumblings that the team might look to pick up some pieces with future value (such as Howie Kendrick), and may have considered dealing veterans like Darren Oliver, Emilio Bonifacio, and Melky Cabrera. Ultimately, the club's most important decision was to hold onto its biggest potential trade chips, underpaid sluggers Jose Batista and Edwin Encarnacion. While neither seemed particularly likely to be dealt, they would easily have been the best available bats and could have brought back a huge return. By standing pat, the Jays seem prepared to keep their core intact to make another run in 2014.

Reactions To The Jake Peavy Trade

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The Red Sox got creative last night, orchestrating a three-year deal with the White Sox and Tigers that sent Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal to Boston, Jose Iglesias to Detroit, Avisail Garcia to Chicago and three low-level minor leaguers (J.B. Wendelken, Francellis Montas and Cleuluis Rondon) from Boston to Chicago as well. Now that the baseball world has had some time to digest the move, here are some reactions…

  • Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs offers up his take on the trade, noting that the White Sox exchanged a questionable outfielder for a questionable infielder, while the Red Sox did well to acquire Peavy at a low cost.
  • Matt Eddy of Baseball America has a scouting report on all players involved, noting Garcia is the centerpiece for the White Sox and calling him "a five-tool talent who runs, throws and defends enough to handle center field in his youth and right field down the line."
  • Two years ago, the Red Sox wouldn't have made this trade, writes Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports. However, a strong desire to avoid the new Wildcard play-in game has changed the dynamic of the trade deadline. Passan goes on to write that no GM has had a better year than Ben Cherington, who has taken the Red Sox from one baseball's worst teams in 2012 to an AL East title race in 2013.
  • So long as he remains healthy, Peavy should be viewed as a top-of-the-rotation arm, according to ESPN's Keith Law (Insider subscription required). Law says that the Red Sox paid a "modest" price in the deal, and also opines that the Tigers did well to add a Jhonny Peralta replacement that has solid future value as a defense-first middle infielder. He is less rosy on the White Sox end of the trade, however, given his view that Garcia will not develop into an above-average MLB regular.
  • Boston was able to "parlay[] two lucky months from Iglesias into Jake Peavy," according to a rival executive that Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports spoke with. Another source told Rosenthal that the White Sox side of the deal was largely a salary dump, with a less-than-stellar prospect return (albeit one with some upside).
  • The Red Sox accomplished exactly what they needed to and did so at an extremely reasonable price, opines WEEI.com's Alex Speier. He notes that the trade not only upgrades the rotation this year and next with Peavy, but allows the Sox to improve their bullpen by shifting Brandon Workman to relief duty. 
  • Red Sox GM Ben Cherington discussed the trade in a conference call, with WEEI.com's Rob Bradford passing on the highlights. Noting that the deal came together late, Cherington said the team was comfortable moving Iglesias given the organization's depth at shortstop. He noted that the team also sees Villarreal as a promising power bullpen piece moving forward.
  • Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski acknowledged the role that the Biogenesis scandal had in nabbing Iglesias, reports MLB.com's Jason Beck. "There's a lot of uncertainty facing the situation which concerned me," said Dombrowski, "especially with our scenario trying to win a championship. … My problem ends up being that after 4 o'clock tomorrow, I cannot aggressively try to do anything that's assured. Because after 4 o'clock, if anything happens, and people know we're looking for a shortstop, there are shortstops that aren't going to make it through waivers." Dombrowski did make clear that the team would not have pulled the trigger if it hadn't been confident in Iglesias as a long-term solution at short.
  • In his own conference call, posted on CSNChicago.com, White Sox GM Rick Hahn explained that the deal evolved out of talks with many teams from prior to the All-Star break. According to Hahn, the three-team deal did not really come together until this afternoon. 

Jeff Todd contributed to this post.

Latest On Michael Young

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The latest on Phillies third baseman Michael Young…

Earlier Updates

  • Young would approve a trade to the Yankees, according to Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News (on Twitter).
  • Two executives believe the Phillies and Red Sox are discussing Young, and the Yankees would have interest if that falls through and Young would waive his no-trade for them, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Young is unlikely to waive his no-trade clause for anywhere but Texas, hears Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald, while WEEI's Rob Bradford has a source who's not confident Young will accept a trade to any team.
  • It is doubtful the Red Sox will make a move for Young, tweets Gordon Edes of ESPNBoston.
  • As of a few minutes ago the Phillies hadn't called the Red Sox about Young's willingness to go there, and Boston's interest is not certain, tweets Peter Gammons of Gammons Daily.
  • Young is unlikely to get through waivers in August, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Young has changed his mind and is now willing to waive his no-trade clause to go to the Red Sox, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Previously, he was only willing to go back to the Rangers.

Padres To Keep Gregerson

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The latest on the Padres, who host the Reds today 20 minutes prior to the trade deadline…

Earlier Updates

Quick Hits: Lee, A’s, Rays, Yankees

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In reality, the Red Sox were a "non factor" for Cliff Lee before they landed Jake Peavy, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com.  Will he get moved today to another club?  Baseball people are highly doubtful anyone would meet the supposed Phillies' asking price of three top prospects for a pitcher who has $70MM left on his deal through 2015.  "I don't know of a team in baseball that would [do] that. Taking on that much money and giving up three legit prospects seems like a stretch for anyone," one exec said.  Here's more from around baseball as we approach the 3pm central deadline..

  • The A's are still pursuing bullpen depth, tweets Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio and ESPN.
  • Teams that have spoken with the Phillies say they're not upbeat about making any deals today, tweets ESPN.com's Jayson Stark.  Michael Young is still in play, but there's no clear destination for the third baseman.
  • The Cardinals are leaning towards standing pat at the deadline unless there is a last minute drastic change, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the Rays have been looking into at least one more potential deal, presumably to add a bat.  Tampa Bay made a splash earlier this week when they landed Jesse Crain in a swap with the White Sox.
  • The Yankees were mainly working on smaller acquisitions like Alberto Callaspo this week and didn't have any interest in Alex Rios once they landed Alfonso Soriano, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.  Callaspo wound up going from the Halos to the A's.
  • The Marlins don't expect to do much today and plan to keep Chad Qualls, Justin Ruggiano, and other trade chips if they can't get good value in return, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
  • Meanwhile, the Marlins are gauging interest in Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, tweets Buster Olney of ESPN.com. 
  • The Royals' search for a second baseman continues, but they don't appear to be close on anything at the moment, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star.  “Anything’s possible,” one club official said. “We looking at a lot of things, but I doubt anything get done unless things change in the last few hours.”
  • The Indians got the left-handed reliever they needed yesterday in Marc Rzepczynski and would still be open to a rotation upgrade, but they don't like the price so far, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (via Twitter).  For now, the Tribe is prepared to stand pat.
  • There are a lot of present and veteran Braves who think the club is making a serious mistake by allowing Brian McCann hit the open market at the end of the season, writes Peter Gammons at GammonsDaily.com. "Only the people around the team understand what he means to that pitching staff. He’s a star player in the team concept,” said David Ross of McCann, who also leads the team with a .884 OPS.
  • Dan Kolko of MASNsports.com spoke with Nationals players to get their take on the trade deadline.  Scott Hairston and Adam LaRoche have both been involved in multiple deadline deals.

Cliff Lee Rumors: Tuesday

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Phillies lefty Cliff Lee is "eminently available," writes Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.  Given that the 34-year-old has at least $70MM remaining on his contract through 2015, his availability has sparked a debate over his true trade value.  The latest:

  • The Phillies have no no obvious bidders for Lee at this point, tweets Heyman, who adds that he would be surprised to see a team give up three top prospects and take on the remaining $70MM on Lee's contract.

Earlier Updates

  • The Red Sox are no longer pursuing Cliff Lee, according to Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio (Twitter link).
  • There is "very little chance" of the Phillie trading Lee, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said on MLB Network on Tuesday afternoon.
  • The Red Sox feel a trade for Lee is highly unlikely, tweets Yahoo's Tim Brown, but Jake Peavyand Bud Norris are still in play for them.
  • The Phillies are believed to have asked for a package headed by Bogaerts and Brandon Workman, plus a big league ready outfielder, according to ESPN's Jayson Stark. Stark's source agrees with the consensus, that the Sox won't give up Bogaerts.
  • Though the Phillies want Bogaerts as the centerpiece of a Lee deal, the Red Sox "view his inclusion as a non-starter and will not consider proposals that involve him," writes John Tomase of the Boston Herald.  He says the Red Sox are willing to deal multiple top ten prospects though.
  • The Phillies won't settle for anything less than top Red Sox prospect Xander Bogaerts at the head of any package for Lee, tweets Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe.
  • The Red Sox are the biggest player in the Lee derby, writes Heyman.  "If there are other teams heavily involved in talks for Lee, they are doing it in an extremely stealthy manner," he adds.

Relief Rumors: Lopez, Gregerson, Thatcher, Red Sox

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Less than one day remains until the trade deadline, and relievers have been the most moved commodity in recent days, with Scott Downs, Jose Veras, Jesse Crain and Marc Rzepczynski all changing teams. Here's more on the relief market…

  • The Tigers remain open to adding relief help and have expressed interest in Javier Lopez, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports (on Twitter). It seems that Detroit isn't necessarily set in the bullpen department after adding Veras yesterday.
  • Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer tweets that the Indians called the Giants about Lopez but the talks ended quickly when San Francisco asked for top prospect Danny Salazar in return.
  • The Padres are listening on both Luke Gregerson and Joe Thatcher, but they'd need to be "inspired" to move either pitcher, according to ESPN's Buster Olney (Twitter link).
  • Andy Martino of the New York Daily News reported earlier today the Red Sox still consider bullpen help as a high priority (Twitter link). However, the team acquired Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal earlier tonight, so that may no longer be a need. Villarreal could slot into Boston's bullpen, and the Sox could also push Brandon Workman to the bullpen, as Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe noted (on Twitter).

Red Sox Acquire Jake Peavy In Three-Team Deal With White Sox, Tigers

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The Red Sox have announced a three-team trade with the Tigers and White Sox that will send right-handers Jake Peavy and Brayan Villarreal to Boston and shortstop Jose Iglesias to Detroit. The White Sox will receive outfield prospect Avisail Garcia as well as minor league right handers J.B. Wendelken and Francellis Montas and shortstop Cleuluis Rondon.

Peavy

Peavy, 32, has a 4.28 ERA with 8.6 K/9, 1.9 BB/9 and a 35.2 percent ground-ball rate in 80 innings for the White Sox this season, though he's spent some time on the disabled list with a broken rib. Peavy hasn't had any pitch limitations since returning from the disabled list, however, as he fired 118 pitches in his final start with the White Sox. Advanced metrics like FIP (4.09) and xFIP (3.68) indicate that Peavy has been the recipient of some poor luck. He's more than a rental, as the Red Sox will control him for $14.5MM in 2014.

Villarreal allowed 10 runs in just 4 1/3 innings for the Tigers this season prior to the trade, but he was significantly better in 2012, posting a 2.63 ERA In 54 2/3 innings for the big league club. He averaged 97.1 mph on his heater last season, according to Fangraphs. In 34 1/3 innings at Triple-A Toledo this year, the 26-year-old Villarreal owns a 3.15 ERA with 10.7 K/9 but a troubling 6.8 BB/9 rate.

Iglesias, 23, is hitting .330/.377/.410 in 231 plate appearances for the Red Sox this season. While those numbers look terrific, Iglesias' bat has drawn been questioned, and he's been mired in a dreadful slump of late, hitting .212/.248/.222 with just one extra-base hit in his past 105 plate appearances. However, Baseball America ranked him ninth among Red Sox prospects prior to the season based largely on his glove, calling him perhaps "the best defensive shortstop prospect in the game." In a small sample of 452 1/3 Major League innings at shortstop, Iglesias has 22.2 UZR/150 and grades out as seven runs above average according to The Fielding Bible. He will provide the Tigers with an insurance policy in the event of a Biogenesis suspension for Jhonny Peralta and can take the reins as Detroit's full-time shortstop in 2014 should the club let Peralta depart via free agency.

Baseball America ranked the 22-year-old Garcia as the No. 74 prospect in baseball prior to the season, and he's delivered on that hype at Triple-A Toledo, hitting .382/.414/.549 with five home runs in 152 plate appearances. Garcia has the tools to be an everyday right fielder with average defense and All-Star upside, BA wrote in its preseason scouting report.

Montas, 20, has a 5.70 ERA with 10.1 K/9 and 3.4 BB/9 in 85 1/3 innings for Class-A Greensville this season. He ranked 22nd among Red Sox prospects prior to the season according to Baseball America. BA wrote that Montas "can light up a radar gun" better than anyone in Boston's system, as he regularly touches triple digits with his fastball. Montas flashes plus sliders at times but without consistency, BA adds. Ben Badler of Baseball America tweets that Montas has "freakish arm strength" and misses bats.

Wendelken, also 20, has worked out of the bullpen at Greenville this season. In 64 innings for Greenville, he has a 2.81 ERA with 7.6 K/0 and 2.8 BB/9. The Red Sox selected him in the 13th round of the 2012 draft, and BA noted that he was one of the country's most effective relievers, allowing just one run in 44 innings at Middle Georgia College and reaching 94 mph with his heater.

Baseball America's Ben Badler tweets that Rondon is a very smooth defender at short but offers little with the bat. The 19-year-old Rondon is hitting .277/.328/.353 for short-season Class-A Lowell this season.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports was the first to report that the Red Sox and White Sox had a deal for Peavy (Twitter link). WEEI.com's Alex Speier first broke the news that it was a three-team trade involving the Tigers, and Danny Knobler of CBS Sports tweeted that Iglesias was going to the Tigers. Bob Nightengale of USA Today was the first to tweet that Garcia was headed to the White Sox. Speier also reported that Rondon would be included in the trade (on Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Young Would Consider Trade To Red Sox

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The latest on Phillies third baseman Michael Young, who is in tonight's lineup against the Giants…

  • Young has told the Phillies that he will consider trades to other clubs if he isn't dealt to Texas, and the Red Sox are his second choice, reports ESPN's Jayson Stark (on Twitter). Stark adds that if a trade with Boston doesn't work, the Yankees would be a last-minute possibility.
  • ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that Young isn't flat-out rejecting trades to other markets, he's simply trying to steer trade discussions to his preferred destinations one-by-one.
  • Young told reporters, including MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, that no trade is imminent and he's not certain if he will be a Phillie in 24 hours (Twitter links).

Earlier Updates

  • Asche's call-up does "not necessarily" mean Young will be traded, GM Ruben Amaro Jr. said on MLB Network today.  Amaro described the chance of Young changing teams by the deadline as "pretty remote."
  • There are executives who believe Young would approve a trade to the Red Sox if a deal is made, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • Young will only approve a trade back to the Rangers, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  In contrast, Scott Miller of CBS Sports says Red Sox people believe Young would approve a trade there.  The Phillies checked in with Young over the weekend about the Rangers and Red Sox.  You have to wonder if the Asche promotion is designed to force Young into accepting a deal, asMatt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer says the rookie is up to stay and Young would likely be pushed into a bench role.
  • If Young is being traded, Yankees people say it's not to them, tweets Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
  • The Phillies plan on calling up third baseman Cody Asche, tweets Yahoo's Jeff Passan.  That points to Young being traded today, he adds.  Asche, 23, is hitting .295/.352/.485 in 446 Triple-A plate appearances.  Asche "should hit enough to have a regular big league role," wrote Baseball America before the season.

Steve Adams contributed to this post.

AL East Links: Stanton, Crain, Josh Johnson

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The latest out of the AL East…

  • The Red Sox "may be willing to part with whatever it takes" in hopes of acquiring the Marlins' Giancarlo Stanton, a league source tells MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.  Still, the Marlins have pretty much closed the door on trading Stanton for now.
  • The Red Sox should trade top prospect Xander Bogaerts and more to get Phillies lefty Cliff Lee, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, while Dave Cameron of FanGraphs gives his take on that idea.
  • "The deals we’ve seen so far, teams have gotten a pretty good return," Red Sox Ben Cherington said of this year's trades, according to Tim Britton of the Providence Journal.
  • The Rays acquired reliever Jesse Crain from the White Sox yesterday, with the return to be determined after the season.  Crain has been out since late June with a shoulder strain, and the White Sox seemingly tried to rush him back into action.  "Hopefully this time we'll take our time and be ready for the rest of the year," Crain said, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.
  • Josh Johnson accepting a qualifying offer might be an unacceptable risk for the Blue Jays given their limited financial flexibility next year, writes Shi Davidi of Sportsnet.ca.  Speaking to Jeff Blair on the Fan 590 on Friday, Johnson's agent Matt Sosnick said he expects the Jays to make a qualifying offer and "hang compensation on" his client, affecting the pitcher's value in the free agent market.  Sosnick didn't say it explicitly, but he seemed to imply they would accept a qualifying offer.  Sosnick believes we're headed toward "the worst free agent pitching market in the last 10 to 15 years," but Johnson isn't likely to be a part of it.
  • The Yankees are in danger of being "a club that isn’t good enough to legitimately contend and not bad enough to completely tear down," writes Mike Axisa of River Ave. Blues.  Axisa feels the Yankees will have to scrap their plan to keep the payroll under $189MM next year, if they re-sign Robinson Cano.  Otherwise, they'll have to rebuild.
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