After taking a look at the winner’s of this seasons’ trade
deadline, I thought we’d take a look at the teams that didn’t do as well in the
trade market this season.
Losers:
New York Mets: For
a second straight season the Mets take on the awesome mantle of trade deadline
losers. While their loss didn’t
come at the same level as last season’s ineptitude, it was equally head
scratching. Last season, the Mets
were easily the biggest losers of the deadline by choosing to hang on to Jose
Reyes. Everyone thought they
should trade him. He was the
hottest commodity on the market, and everyone wanted him. He would have been an invaluable
upgrade to any number teams who were playoff bound in 2011. Instead the Mets held on to him, hoping
he would take a discount to stick around.
He did not. Instead of
trading him away and getting a bounty of prospects on a team that is
re-building, they held on to the guy to watch him win the batting title when he
was healthy and sit out after his first at bat in the last game of the
season. There was no reason to
hang on to him. It was possibly
the biggest trade deadline mistake of the past decade. If he chooses to come back to the Mets,
you can still trade him away for prospects. If he goes to a new team (like he ended up doing) you can
still trade him away from prospects.
It was incredibly frustrating to watch. I’m not even a Mets fan! And then the worst part was listening to the New York sports
radio support the decision in the season, and then tear it apart in the offseason
after he signed with the Marlins.
It was going to happen! The
Mets have no money! And even if he
chose to come back to the Mets, he still should have been traded away for the
last few months of the season! He
was the best player on the market!
You could over-charge like crazy for two months of his services and then
possibly get him back in the offseason!
The dumbest move in years.
Well this season, they made an equally dumb, though not as crippling a
move. Scott Hairston is a talented
veteran reserve who a lot of teams wanted on their benches for the playoff
run. There is no reason the Mets,
who were 3 games under 500 at the deadline, need the luxury of a veteran bench
player. He is not a part of their
future. Other teams were
interested in him. And they could
once again cash in on a player who won’t help them this season. Mets fans want to believe. And they had a very impressive first
half. But it was clear this was
not their season. And giving away
a utility guy who has probably past his prime doesn’t really hurt them now, and
could only help them in the future. But they once again failed to do so, and that is what makes them losers for the second year in a row.
St. Louis Cardinals: This
loss isn’t of the epic proportions of the Mets last year, but it’s another one
that makes you wonder. The
Cardinals needed pitching, specifically in the bullpen. There was a lot of bullpen help
available. They only got one
pitcher, Edward Mujica, who is so-so.
Their bullpen doesn’t look much better than it did before the deadline,
there is just another arm out there.
They have money and prospects available, and plenty to make a move. And they have mid-level prospects, the
kind necessary to trade for a good bullpen arm that doesn’t break the
bank. The Phillies, Marlins, Cubs,
Astros, Brewers, Rockies, Padres, Orioles, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Royals, Twins,
Indians and Mariners all had bullpen guys available for a decent price. And while other teams got some of those
guys, the point is there was plenty to get. And the Cardinals just couldn’t make a move. Maybe they didn’t want to overpay. But they are falling behind in the NL
Central and needed help to catch up.
That help didn’t come, and most people now have them finishing outside
of the playoffs the year after winning it all.
Colorado Rockies: Reality
is often tough for teams to face.
And in Denver, the Rockies couldn’t see that not only will they not be
in the playoffs this season, they are arguably the worst team in baseball. They spent a lot on the offense this
offseason, bringing in veterans Marco Scutaro and Michael Cuddyer. They hoped this offense would have
enough oomph to beat the better pitching teams in their division. It wouldn’t have mattered with the
woeful pitching the Rockies send out there every 4th day. And when your pitching is that bad, why
not go to a 4 guy rotation. At
least you’ll be noteworthy for something.
The Rockies should have been selling hardcore this season. They sent off Scutaro, but held on to
Cuddyer. Cuddyer can play first,
second, third, right and left field.
He is 33 and making over $20 million dollars the next two years. There are teams who would have loved
his bat and defensive adaptability.
The market for him was fairly robust. But the Rockies wanted to hold on to him. They will never have a chance to sell
so high on such an old guy again.
In addition, they hung on to Rafael Betancourt, who intrigued plenty of
teams, and traded FOR Jonathan Sanchez.
Sanchez is a lefty who struggled in San Francisco. Why does anyone think he’ll succeed at
Coors Field? The Rockies are out
of it this season, and likely will be out of it for a while. They have two stars signed to long-term
deals. But instead of trading away
3 veterans at their peak of value for a slew of prospects who could grow into
major leaguers to support those guys, they held on to almost everyone and
traded for more. Now they can
spend more money than any other team that is fighting Houston for the worst
record in the league. They have an
ineffective four man rotation and the highest payroll among last place teams
this season. I guess they’re borrowing
a page from the Miami Marlins, New York Jets and Kardashians this season. Bad press is better than no press.
New York Yankees: This
one just doesn’t make sense. At
the time of the trade deadline, the Yankees starting rotation consisted of C.C.
Sabathia (good), Hiroki Kuroda (decent), Ivan Nova (struggling), Phil Hughes
(inconsistent) and Freddy Garcia (yikes).
They are hoping to get Andy Petite back for the postseason, but that
still would leave them with two question marks in the rotation in Nova and
Hughes. Now that Sabathia is on
the DL, that starting rotation is even thinner with youngster David Phelps
brought up to start and struggling veteran Derek Lowe joining the team after
being cut by Cleveland. This is
not what the Yanks needed. They
have the best offense money can buy, so they may get by in the regular
season. But some recent struggles
and a surge by Tampa Bay have seen their lead shrunk from uncatchable to decent
sized. They make it to the
playoffs every year, but unless they improve their pitching they will continue
to exit in the early rounds. They
claim that they hit just fine against King Felix (he of the perfect game) and
Justin Verlander when they faced them in the regular season. But Oakland’s talented youngsters were able
to keep this offense in check for 4 straight games, and they aren’t
Verlander. They will face better
pitching in the playoffs, and that pitching will be amped up to win. The Yankees needed another starting
pitcher. Cliff Lee was available,
but they likely blanched at the price tag (though to imagine the Yankees
claiming anything is too expensive is laughable). Ryan Dempster was available at the last minute, and they had
a chance to get him. But they
couldn’t pull the trigger. They
are desperate to decrease payroll, but the decrease they have in mind still has
them as the highest spending team in the game by a wide margin. You are what you are Yankees. And the fact that they ignored that and
didn’t acquire a pitcher that they desperately needed makes them losers in the
biggest way.
Baltimore Orioles: Man,
this was tough. The Orioles have
had some surprising success this season.
They didn’t want to overreact and trade away important pieces of their
future for a present that may not hold up. But they needed to do something to take advantage of their
hot start. They’ve had a lot of
luck, which points to the idea that they may not be built to do this again in
the immediate future. For that
reason, they needed to take advantage of the present. Unlike the Rays or Blue Jays, they aren’t a few years or
pieces away from contending. They
have holes. And this season was an
incredible stroke of luck (as their abysmal run differential shows). They needed to take advantage. Instead they brought in 41-year old DH
Jim Thome to provide a little extra pop.
They needed a little extra power, but Thome doesn’t have enough in the
tank to provide it all. And he
does nothing to address their pitching shortcomings. The Orioles didn’t want to overpay in a season where they
think they are a flash in the pan.
It’s understandable. But
their future success is much less assured than other teams, and the White Sox
proved that it’s possible to make short-term moves that won’t hurt you in the
future. I’m not saying it’s easy,
but it still needed to be done.
Cleveland Indians: This
is the prime example of a team that was done in by it’s surprise success this
season. The Indians are playing
better than anyone expected. But
let’s not kid ourselves they aren’t a good team. The Indians are built for the future. And while that future showed a little
of itself this season, they aren’t going to be in the playoffs this year. They have a great closer who is due a
lot of money in arbitration this offseason. The Indians can’t afford to give him a lot of money. So instead of sending him to a
contender for some good young prospects, they held on to him and got
nothing. The Indians don’t want to
think they are out of it, but it’s time to face facts. They aren’t going anywhere this season,
and instead of shopping the best reliever on the market, they held on to him
and will have a great closer for the rest of a season that ends just shy of the
wildcard. That's not a winning formula, and it's why they made this list.
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