As we approached the non-waiver trade deadline it appeared as the last deal that we’d see was Justin Upton going from the Detroit Tigers to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but as we got closer and closer to the deadline there where four last minute trades.
In a minor deal the Chicago Cubs acquired outfielder Leonys Martin and cash from the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later or cash. Martin has played just 34 games in the majors this season as he’s spent the majority of his year at Triple-A Tacoma. Martin is a solid defender. he’ll give the Cubs a left handed bat off the bench and he can steal a base for the Cubs, but I wouldn’t expect to see him on the Cubs playoff roster.
Believe it or not the Chicago White Sox actually made another deal. In their continued rebuild the White Sox sent veteran pitcher Miguel Gonzalez to the Texas Rangers for minor league infielder Ti’Quan Forbes.
Gonzalez is 7-10 with a 4.31 E.R.A, in 22 starts this season, but in his last five starts Gonzalez is 2-0 with an E.R.A. of 1.85. Gonzalez should be a solid veteran starter at the back of the Rangers rotation as they try to find their way into a wild card spot.
Forbes is 21 years old and has spent four years in the Rangers minor league system. He’s split his season between Class-A and high Class-A for the Rangers. Forbes has played in 131 games this season, he’s hitting .236 with 11 home runs and 45 RBI’s. Forbes has played the majority of his games at 3rd base this season, but has also spent a little time at 1st base and shortstop.
The Angels where busy again at the deadline as they addressed their need at 2nd base by picking up Brandon Phillips from the Atlanta Braves for catcher Tony Sanchez. Phillips became deal able for the Braves as they have prospect Ozzie Albies playing most of the time at 2nd base. Phillips had actually been playing quite a bit of 3rd base before being traded. It’s believe he’ll move back to 2nd base for the Angels.
Phillips was hitting .291 with the Braves. He has 11 home runs and 52 RBI’s this season. Phillips isn’t quite the stolen base threat he use to be, but he does have double digit steals this season. With the Angels being another team in that American League wild card race Phillips should solve their 2nd base problem for the rest of this season.
It doesn’t look like the Angels gave up much to get Phillips. Sanchez is a former 1st round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates, #4 overall in 2009. Sanchez played small parts of three seasons with the Pirates. He’s appeared in 51 major league games, but the Braves added him to their 40-man roster and with September call ups that total may increase for Sanchez.
In what was probably the biggest deal at the deadline the Tigers dealt another veteran as they finally traded pitcher Justin Verlander. After Verlander agreed to waiver his no-trade clause the Tigers sent him to the Houston Astros for three minor league prospects.
While the Astros still have the best record in the American League they haven’t played well as of late. Houston is 4-6 over their last 10 games and 11-17 since August 1st. It hasn’t helped that star shortstop Carlos Correa has been out since July 17th, but he is scheduled to return tomorrow for the Astros.
Can Verlander provide some much need lift and veteran leadership to the Astros rotation? Verlander is 10-8 with an E.R.A. of 3.82 in 28 starts this season. Verlander has had a bit of a career revival after an injury plagued 2015 season where he made just 20 starts.
Of course in acquiring a pitcher like Verlander the Astros also pick up a big contract. The Tigers sent $16 million dollars along with Verlander in the deal, but the Astros will be paying him $28 million dollars in each of the next two seasons and there’s a $22 million dollar vesting option for 2020 if Verlander hits certain performance standards.
On the plus side for Astros fans with every thing they’re dealing with now it should be a positive for them to see the Astros going for it this season.
To get Verlander the Astros gave up three of their prospects, two of which are ranked in the Top 100. Pitcher Franklin Perez, outfielder Daz Cameron and catcher Jake Rogers are now member of the Tigers.
Perez is a 19 year old right handed pitcher who is ranked #54 by Baseball America and #84 by Baseball Prospectus. Perez started the 2017 season in high Class-A, but was moved up to Double-A. Combined he has pitched in 19 games, 16 of which where starts. He is 6-3 with an E.R.A. of 3.02 with one complete game and three saves.
Cameron is a 20 year old outfielder who is ranked #74 by Baseball America, #85 by Baseball Prospectus and #75 by Major League Baseball. Cameron has played in 120 games for Quad Cities in Class-A this season. He is hitting .271 with 14 home runs and 73 RBI’s. Cameron also has 12 stolen bases this season.
Rogers is a 22 year old catcher, but isn’t currently shown in any of the Top 100 rankings. Rogers has split this season between Class-A and high Class-A this season. Combined Rogers has played in 110 games. He’s hitting .263 with 18 home runs and 70 RBI’s. Rogers has also thrown out 46% of runners trying to steal against him. Interestingly Rogers also has 14 stolen bases this season, not bad for a catcher.
Those where the last four deal made before the trade deadline expired. How do you think these teams did with these trades? Did the Rangers and Angels find the guys that can get them into the wild card game? With the addition of Verlander are the Astros a serious World Series contender? Did the White Sox another prospect to add to their growing collection of young players? Last, but not least; are the Tigers going into rebuilding mode?
I’d love to know what you think about these deals or anything else sports related. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.
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