RAZE Energy: Trade Deadline Recap
What is up, Ball Boys and ball girls! What a crazy last week it has been in baseball, and your favorite baseball blogger is back after a few months. I know you missed me, and I missed each of you reading this more than you know. I thought about this amazing community every day, but I just wasn't in the right headspace to be making content. However, we are back. We are blowing up on Tik Tok @ballboyblog, and you HAVE to come on over and follow along!
Enough with the business, let's jump into the deadline recap that started to pop off with the Tampa Bay Rays making the first big splash when they acquired slugger Nelson Cruz from the Twins! The total trade included DH Cruz, MiLB RHP Calvin Faucher going to TB, RHP Joe Ryan, and Drew Strotman going to Minnesota.
Following the Nelson Cruz trade, the Cleveland Indians decided to change their name to the Cleveland Guardians starting in 2022.
The Rays weren't done trading yet as they helped the Met's stay the course with their want for rental pitchers as the Rays dealt veteran LHP Rich Hill to the Mets for MiLB C/INF Matt Dyer and RHP Tommy Hunter(IL).
While this was happening, every team in the MLB was scouting the Diamondbacks, Cubs, Pirates, Twins, and their phones are probably still ringing.
The Mets then made a minimal cash deal sending $75K to the Reds for OF Mark Payton, while NL East rival Philadelphia GM Dave Dombrowski searched for answers to help his team compete and not waste another season of Bryce Harper's prime. Also, in the NL East, the Marlins took calls on basically everyone OF Starling Marte, OF Adam Duvall, pitching, and everyone in between. They rejected an offer from the ATL for Duvall. The NL East stayed busy as the Nationals continued to take calls on Mad Max and EVERYONE but Juan Soto...poor guy.
Adam Frazier's name started to get hot and heavy on the 24th/25th as the Seattle Mariners looked close to a deal, and I got excited. Then I was screaming at my phone because the San Diego Padres acquired the All-Star 2B and MLB hits leader from the Pirates for prospects INF/OF Tucupita Marcano, OF Jack Suwinski, RHP Michell Miliano. The Mariners then decided to keep their fans excited for a couple of days with the hope of acquiring 2B Whit Merrifield from the Royals. However, the Mariners didn't disappoint ultimately as they acquired LHP Tyler Anderson from the Pirates for MiLB C Carter Bins and RHP Joaquin Tejada.
The Yankees decided to start their deadline trades on the 26th as they acquired RHRP Clay Holmes from the Pirates for prospects INF Diego Castillo, INF Hoy Jun Park, and C Rob Brantly.
Speaking of former contenders turned pretenders, the Cubs started their deadline sell trading LHRP Andrew Chafin to Oakland for MiLB OF Greg Deichmann and RHP Daniel Palencia. During all this, Baez, Rizzo, Bryant, Kimbrel were all waiting for their turn to be called into the GM office. The Cubs also were busy taking calls from SEVEN teams on RHRP Ryan Tepera.
The Brewers were making calls on 3B Josh Donaldson, SS Trevor Story, RHP Kyle Gibson, OF Joey Gallo, and any other stay to go with that great rotation and Yelich.
The Mariners then made the WORST trade of the deadline on the 27th when they traded STUD closer Kendall Graveman, RHP Rafael Montero to the Astros(who were in town) for INF Abraham Toro(who hit 2HR in the series after the trade) and RHP Joe Smith. The 29th Dipoto(Seattle GM) hasn't addressed the club after the trade and the following two losses after the trade. Dipoto also said they were going to make moves to keep winning.
After this awful trade went official, the Reds and Yankees made their own four players swap, with the Yankees trading RHRP Luis Cessa and LHP Justin Wilson to the Reds for 2 PTBNL. Speaking of weird relievers drawing interest, the Orioles LHRP Paul Fry and Tanner Scott, RHP Cole Sulser, and Dillon Tate draw serious interest.
The Reds were not boosting their bullpen as they acquired RHP Mychal Given from the Rockies in exchange for MiLB RHP Case Williams and Noah Davis. The Rockies also acquired RHP Ashton Goudeau from the Reds in exchange for cash.
While the Reds were busy boosting their pen, the Marlins finally decided to pull the trigger and continue to build their future rotation and pen of flame throwers as they acquired LHP Jesus Luzardo from Oakland for OF Starling Marte. The Marlins weren't done dealing as they traded RHRP Yimi Garcia to Houston for MiLB OF Bryan De La Cruz and RHP Austin Pruitt.
The Brewers saw that their NL Central rival Reds were making trades, and after calling on Donaldson, Story, Gibson, they decided to call the Diamondbacks. The conversation went well as the Brew Crew added All-Star Eduardo Escobar in exchange for C Cooper Hummel and INF Alberto Ciprian.
The fireworks started to fly on Thursday as the Yankees pulled a Yankees acquiring All-Star OF Joey Gallo, RHP Joely Rodriquez from the Texas Rangers for prospects INF Ezequiel Duran, Josh Smith, Trevor Hauver, and RHP Glenn Otto heading to Texas.
Following the announcement from the Yankees, the Blue Jays countered with a move of their own, trading C Riley Adams to the Nationals for LHP Brad Hand.
The White Sox then saw both of these moves from their AL Rivals and decided to add to their roster that just got back OF Eloy Jimenez and will soon return OF Luis Robert. The Chi Sox acquired 2B Cesar Hernandez from Cleveland for MiLB LHP Konnor Pilkington, who is a top pitcher at the AA level. The Chi Sox weren't done here as they traded MiLB LHP Bailey Horn to the Cubs for RHRP Ryan Tepera.
The rumors continued to fly as they do on the 29th, with the names OF Kyle Schwarber(Was), SP Jose Berrios(Min), and SP Max Scherzer(Was) all having headlines filled with their names.
SP Max Scherzer has been on the hot seat but made his scheduled start on the 29th; following the outing, the Red Sox and Padres appeared to be intensifying their offers for the 3x Cy Young winner. The Padres then stepped up their offer for Mad Max, and the two sides agreed to the pieces involved at 3:24 pm CDT, and the baseball world is waiting on Max to waive his no-trade clause.
The Dodgers decided not to wait to counter the Padres as they called up KC and said, here is a PTBNL, and we want SP Danny Duffy, who is out possibly until the end of August but under contract until the end of 2022. The Royals, for some reason, said yes, and Duffy waived his no-trade clause as he looks to add another ring with his 2015 one.
Amid the Mad Max rumors, Mariners Hector Santiago 80 game PED suspension, you may have missed the Indians' announcement that Terry Francone will take an LOA from the team for the remainder of the season to address health concerns.
After the baseball world thought for a few hours that seemed like 5 minutes that Mad Max was on his way to Sunny San Diego, the Dodgers AAA affiliate scratched C Kiebert Ruiz from the lineup. Scherzer waived his no-trade clause to go and join the Dodgers in LA; he brought his SS Trea Turner to LA. The Nationals will receive C Keibert Ruiz, SP Josiah Gray, OF Donovan Casey, RHP Gerardo Carrillo to finalize the deal. To complete the deal, the Dodgers will take on the rest of Turner's contract, as well as the remainder of the money owed to Max Scherzer for the remainder of the 2021 season.
The Red Sox saw all of these moves from the fellow top powers in the MLB and decided to call up the Nationals for bat. The Red Sox acquired OF Kyle Schwarber from the Nationals for MiLB Aldo Ramirez is heading to Washington. The Nationals were still dealing through the night of the 29th as they continued to take calls of UTL Josh Harrison, C Yan Gomes. The Padres called the Nationals about RHRP Daniel Hudson and sent MiLB RHP Mason Thompson to the Nationals.
The morning of the deadline came, and the morning started slowly with the TB Rays sending cash to the Orioles for RHRP Shawn Armstrong. Then the Phillies and Pirates traded some minor leaguers LHP Braeden Ogle was sent to the Phillies while C Abrahan Gutierrez was sent to the Pirates. Then the Nationals continued to grab headlines with INF Starlin Castro getting a 30-day suspension for violating the MLB/MLBPA joint domestic violence policy. He will promptly be released from the organization after the suspension is over.
Four hours to the deadline, the Blue Jays acquired RHP Jose Berrios from the Twins for top pitching prospect Simeon Woods Richardson and INF Austin Martin, the #5 overall pick from the 2020 draft.
The Braves didn't like all the NL East movement and not being in on it, so they called up Cleveland and said, "Hey, we have a panda." Was Cleveland like, "You have a deal if you want an overpaid Eddie Rosario?" Both sides agreed, and OF Eddie Rosario is heading to ATL, and Pablo Sandoval is on his way to Cleveland. The Braves didn't take the rejection lightly from the Marlins for old friend OF Adam Duvall as they acquired the slugger minutes after landing Rosario. The Marlins get back C Alex Jackson.
You couldn't keep the Brew Crew out of deadline madness as they acquired LHRP Daniel Norris from the Tigers for MiLB RHP Reese Olson. As the final hour's progress: Trevor Story, Luke Voit, Raisel Iglesias, Michael Fulmer, Kenta Maeda, Byron Buxton, and Josh Donaldson, among others, were still waiting for their names to appear on Twitter.
As the rumors were flying, calls were being made, and the White Sox made their case for the AL Pennant even more potent as they acquired All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel from the Cubs for 2B Nick Madrigal and RHP Codi Heuer.
The Cubs weren't done dealing as they gave SS Javier Baez his due diligence and sent him to the NY Mets and RHP Trevor Williams. The eight years of Baez with the Cubs have now ended with him being granted his wish. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong,
The Twins and Cardinals made a trade, with the Cardinals acquiring LHP J.A. Happ from the Twins for MiLB LHP Evan Sisk. Oakland wasn't done with Marte as they called up the ever-giving Nationals to acquire C Yan Gomes and UTL Josh Harrison for C Drew Millas, RHP Richard Guasch, and RHP Seth Shuman.
The NL East is the most competitive division in baseball, and Phillies GM Dave Dombroski has built great teams and made his even better by acquiring RHP Kyle Gibson. LHP Ian Kennedy and prospect RHP Hans Crouse and cash from the Rangers for prospects RHP Spencer Howard, RHP Kevin Gowdy, RHP Josh Gessner are heading to Texas.
The Yankees weren't done getting their headlines with OF Joey Gallo being the first player to wear #13 since A-Rod retired. The team also acquired LHP Andrew Heaney from the Angels for a PTBNL.
The Indians weren't done moving pieces around either right up to the deadline as they acquired CF/SS Myles Straw from the Astros for RHRP Phil Maton. The Blue Jaus saw the Astros getting pen pieces, so they called up the D-Backs and acquired RHRP Joakim Soria for two PTBNL.
The Red Sox saw their rivals making pen moves, and they acquired RHRP Hansel Robles from the Twins for a PTBNL. The Red Sox made an additional move to boost their pen as they acquired LHRP Austin Davis from the Pirates for INF Michael Chavis.
Just after the deadline went final, we saw the last few flurries of trades hit the board. The Marlins continued to sell as they sent RHRP John Curtiss to the Brewers for MiLB C Payton Henry.
The Cubs kept selling at they sent OF Jake Marciniak to the Padres, and they got back RHP Anderson Espinoza in return.
The Nationals weren't finished selling as they sent LHP Jon Lester to the Cardinals for OF Lane Thomas heading to Washington.
The Phillies brought back INF Freddy Galvis from the Orioles in exchange for MiLB RHP.
The Braves weren't done adding to their OF mix as they traded for KC OF Jorge Soler and gave up MiLB RHP Kasey Kalich. The Braves also acquired CP Richard Rodriquez from the Pirates for RHPs Ricky DeVito and Bryse Wilson.
The Rays finished their deadline moves with the additions of OF Jordan Luplow and RHRP DJ Johnson from the Indians for pitching prospect RHP Peyton Battenfield.
The deadline ended with the Cubs trading the final piece of the big 3 in Kris Bryant to the Giants. The Cubs get back RHP Caleb Killian, OF Alexander Camargo; the Giants acquired reliever Tony Watson from the Angels right at the deadline for RHP Ivan Armstrong, RHP Jose Marte, LHP Sam Selman.
More to come on some of the names that stayed home. Thanks so much for reading through the deadline with me, and I am so excited and happy to be back with the ball, boys and girls! Don't forget to check out all the fantastic deals and promotions from my excellent partners.