Today wraps up SJN’s recap of the deals made prior to Major League Baseball’s trade deadline. Accordingly, we’ve saved the best for last as these were the biggest deals of the summer.
Orioles trade L.J. Hoes, Josh Hader, and a competitive balance pick to Astros for Bud Norris
Bud Norris isn’t a household name, but he was one of the most desired pitchers at this year’s trade deadline. Norris’ 7-9 record isn’t all that impressive, but he had six wins at the time of the deal for Houston—one of the worst teams in the majors. No one will confuse Norris as a superstar just yet, but this trade was one of the biggest, particularly because he is under team control until 2016. Making only $3 million this season, he’s also an incredible bargain.
In exchange, Baltimore dealt away promising outfielder L.J. Hoes and Class A pitcher Josh Hader. Hader’s still has time to serve in the minors before seeing Major League action but Hoes has already spent time in the big leagues at only 23. In limited time so far, he’s off to a slow start since joining the Astros (.150 average and two RBI). However, he’s shown a lot of promise in the minors. Hoes stole at least 20 bases in three different seasons and this year in 99 games in Triple-A, he batted .304. Still, the deal was a good one for Baltimore simply because they hold Norris’ rights for a few more seasons.
Red Sox, White Sox, and Tigers involved in a three-team swap including Jake Peavy
The Boston Red Sox landed Jake Peavy in the deadline’s largest deal, involving seven players and three teams. In addition to the biggest player in the deal, Boston also received minor league relief pitcher Brayan Villarreal. Peavy is 9-4 on the year and expected to bolster the Red Sox’ starting rotation. Thus far, he’s done just that, picking up a win his debut giving up only two runs over seven innings.
The White Sox took home the most prospects with four—Avisail Garcia, Cleuluis Rondon, Francellis Montas, and JB Wendelken. However, the key youngster in the deal went to the Tigers. After a hot start earning him serious consideration for Rookie of the Year award, former Red Sox infielder Jose Iglesias has cooled a bit. Okay, a lot. After batting over .400 through June, Iglesias hit only .205 in July. Since the trade, things haven’t gone any better as he’s batted only .182 after the deal. Still, Iglesias is regarded as a key prospect and at only 23, could have a long career ahead of him in Detroit. Iglesias is known more as a defensive wizard and could be a key contributor to Detroit’s pitching staff. With Jhonny Peralta suspended in the PED scandal, picking up Iglsias was a shrewd move by the Tigers.
Yankees trade Corey Black to Cubs for Alfonso Soriano and cash considerations
New York added the biggest bat at the deadline when they traded for a familiar face in former Yankee, Alfonso Soriano. After a slow start to the season, the outfielder heated up in July when he hit nine of his 18 home runs this year. With so many injuries to key players such as Derek Jeter, Mark Teixeira, and Curtis Granderson, his addition is a welcome one to the lineup. The best news for the Yankees? Chicago picked up most of Soriano’s salary, paying $16.2 million of what he was owed this year and $13 million of his $18 million contract in 2014.
How badly did the Cubs want to unload that huge contract? They not only paid a good portion of it but traded Soriano away for only a Class A+ pitcher, who has struggled at that level this year (3-8 with a 4.47 ERA) in Corey Black. Black is a flamethrower, striking out more than a batter an inning in the minors, but has some control issues as evidenced by his BB/9 ratio of 5.0 this season.
In the end, the deal was a good one for the Yankees. If Soriano hits 20+ home runs again next year and helps them to the playoffs, the $6.8 million they’ll pay him will be a relative bargain.
Rangers trade Justin Grimm, Mike Olt, C.J. Edwards, and players to be named later to Cubs for Matt Garza
The Cubs may not have gotten much in the Soriano deal, but the return they landed for pitcher Matt Garza was borderline criminal. Chicago secured two of Texas’ top five prospects heading into this season in Justin Grimm and Mike Olt. Grimm won seven games for the Rangers this season while Olt hit 43 home runs in 2011 and 2012 in the minors. Both have struggled a little this year, but are still highly regarded. As if that weren’t enough, the Rangers also traded away a promising pitcher in Class A+, C.J. Edwards, who has absolutely dominated the minors so far. Edwards is 13-5 with a 1.63 ERA, striking out 215 batters in only 165 1/3 innings over his first two seasons.
If anyone were worth that kind of return, it’s Garza, who is 7-2 on the season with a 3.09 ERA. Still, unless the Rangers can re-sign him to a deal after the season, trading away that much for a two-month rental will only make sense if it results in a trip to the World Series this fall.
Missed one of the other posts in the series? Check them out below:
Part 1 of 5 – The No Names
Part 2 of 5 – The Minor Players
Part 3 of 5 – The Impact Players
Part 4 of 5 – The Key Players
