At Home Plate - Deadline Deals Revisited

At Home Plate

Written by Tony Meale (Contact & Archive) on August 04, 2009

Now that the Trade Deadline dust has settled, let's take a look at some of the swaps that made sense and the ones that, well, didn't.

Trade: White Sox and Padres
White Sox get: Jake Peavy
Padres get: Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Dexter Carter and Adam Russell

Jake Peavy finally accepted his trade to the Chicago White Sox.

Photo by SD Dirk, used under creative commons license.

Analysis: By trading away Peavy, the Padres got rid of a player who would've eaten about one-third of their payroll in 2010, and they received four -- count 'em, four -- prospects in return. Not bad for a team without any chance of making the playoffs this year or next. The White Sox, on the other hand, traded for a guy who is injured and whose home-road splits warrant a raise of the eyebrows. Granted, Peavy's injury -- a strained tendon in his right ankle -- is hardly worth the worry in the long run (or even the medium run). But for his career, Peavy's ERA on the road (3.84) is more than a full run higher than it is at home (2.83). It'd be one thing if he were just going from the NL West to, say, the NL Central. But he's leaving the best pitcher-friendly park and division in all of baseball and going to U.S. Cellular Field, one of the most hitter-friendly parks in the American League. It all adds up to an ERA that could approach 4.00.
Made sense for: Padres
Didn't make sense for: White Sox

Trade: Indians and Red Sox
Indians get: Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price
Red Sox get: Victor Martinez
Analysis: The Indians unloaded their 30-year-old catcher as part of their rebuilding process. Martinez, a switch-hitter, was batting .284 with 15 home runs and 67 RBI at the time of the trade. Because he can catch and play first base, he gives the Red Sox enormous versatility, especially as Jason Varitek, 37, inches closer to retirement. Cleveland gets several high-ceiling guys in return, most notably Justin Masterson.
Made sense for: Both teams

Cliff Lee looks good in Phillies Red.

Photo by artolog, used under creative commons license.

Trade: Indians and Phillies
Indians get: Carlos Carrasco, Jason Knapp, Lou Marson and Jason Donald
Phillies get: Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco
Analysis: Unloading Lee and Martinez before the deadline frees up a lot of payroll for the Indians, and you can't argue with getting a total of seven young players in return. The Indians see catcher Lou Marson, 23, as their backstop of the future and are hoping right-handed hurlers Carlos Carrasco and Jason Knapp can make an impact sooner rather than later. The Phillies get Lee, the 2008 Cy Young Award winner who, with a 3.14 ERA, is off to another fine campaign in 2009. Although he is a fly-ball pitcher going to a hitters' ball park, he should benefit from the AL-NL switch. Amazingly, the Phillies didn't lose any of their top prospects that the Blue Jays wanted for Roy Halladay (pitchers J.A. Happ and Kyle Drabek and outfielders Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor), which makes you wonder if the Indians got as much as they could've for Lee. Still, it's not a bad move by any means.
Made sense for: Both teams

Trade: Blue Jays and Reds
Blue Jays get: Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Roenicke and Zach Stewart
Reds get: Scott Rolen
Analysis: Edwin Encarnacion's career has been a bit of an enigma. He has struggled to find consistency since arriving in the big leagues, and though only 26, has never been more than an above average hitter at best. He's also arguably the most erratic third baseman in all of baseball (he had a team-high 23 errors in 2008), and his desire and hustle has been called into question on several occasions. On the other hand, Scott Rolen is everything Encarnacion is not: an extremely solid hitter, a great fielder and a great guy to have in the locker room. He's also 34. If the Reds were in the thick of things in the NL Central or Wild Card races, this deal would make perfect sense: bring in a veteran who's been there before who can corral the team down the stretch. But the Reds' season is over; they've lost 12 of 13 (through play on Aug. 2) and have already started looking ahead to next year, when Rolen will be 35. Rolen has another good year or two left in him, but one has to wonder if his $11 million salary is worth the investment, especially for a small-market team that hasn't had a winning season in a decade.
Made sense for: Neither team

Trade: Yankees and Reds
Yankees get: Jerry Hairston Jr.
Reds get: Chase Weems
Analysis: On paper, this swap was largely insignificant, but it should help the Yankees a great deal. Hairston is a hard-nosed utility player going to a team that hasn't exactly been renowned for its hustle and lack of ego in recent years. A jack-of-all-trades position player, Hairston figures to spell the Yankees' high-profile stars when necessary and will gladly do anything he is asked to do. The small-ball Reds, however, gave up a cheap, small-ball player, and all they got in return was a catcher who is hitting .260 in Class A Charleston. Given that Reds' catcher Ryan Hanigan, 28, has played great defense this season and is hitting .316, one has to wonder where -- and how -- Weems fits into their short-term and long-term plans.
Made sense for: Yankees
Didn't make sense for: Reds

Any thoughts on the aforementioned trades? Of course, these weren't the only deals that went down before the deadline. Any opinions on the others? Let us hear in the comments section below.

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