MLB Trade Round Up

It's clear that the Yankees got what they wanted without giving up more than they wanted. Bobby Abreu fills the corner outfield spot they needed and Craig Wilson will play first base as well as some outfield. In addition the Yankees hope pitcher Corey Lidle continues the prowess he has shown during the 2nd half in years past.

The Yankees also got some help by what was not done by other teams. The Red Sox clearly came out losers at the deadline as they were unable to add a starting pitcher. They picked up reliever Mark Corey from the Rangers, but that's not going to shift the balance of power in the AL. The Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays also failed in their attempts to get Julio Lugo from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Lugo would have played 2nd for the Sox and SS for the Jays. Instead he'll playing 2B and eventually 3B for the Dodgers.

The Chicago White Sox and Minnesota Twins also couldn't make any moves though the Sox may not really need any. The Twins were hoping to add a bat, possibly Alfonso Soriano, but it looks like their best move was getting Torii hunter back.

Speaking of Alfonso Soriano, the Washington Nationals GM Jim Bowden did horribly at the deadline. He not only didn't move Soriano, who will most certainly walk at the end of the season, but he also failed to deal Livan Hernandez, Tony Armas Jr., or Ramon Ortiz. The biggest failing was not moving Soriano who could have brought back immediate impact players. Tom Boswell of the Washington Post must have been smoking something when he said that Bowden did the right thing by the fans in not moving Soriano. Now if Soriano leaves the team will get a pair of draft picks. Well what does that do for the foreseeable future? Bowden proves time and time again that he is a rotten GM.

Another GM who did poorly was the Pittsburgh Pirates Dave Littlefield. Littlefield dealt Craig Wilson to the Yankees and Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez to the Mets. In return he got back Shawn Chacon, Xavier Nady. Littlefield blew his chance to deal Wilson when his trade value was higher and while Nady is a serviceable player, he's not exactly a guy who is going to get the fans excited.

I'm surprised, well actually I'm not, listening to the Met fans who have been calling local radio stations complaining about trading Nady. Nady as had several big hits for the Mets this year, but he's not David Ortiz. GM Omar Minaya had to fill a need after reliever Duaner Sanchez separated his shoulder in a car accident. Prospect Lastings Milledge can certainly fill the spot and there's always the bat of Victor Diaz sitting at Triple-A.

The Detroit Tigers made a nice acquisition when they picked up 1st Baseman Sean Casey from the Pirates for middling prospect Brian Rogers. GM Dave Dombrowski really wanted to add another bat, but became hamstrung when prospect Humberto Sanchez injured his elbow, thereby shortening the list of players Dombrowski was willing to part with. The key here was the Tigers did not have to give up any of their bullpen in order to add a bat. A little bit of a surprise was seeing 1B Chris Shelton sent to the minors. Shelton was torrid in April, hitting .326 with 10 HR and 20 RBI. But as the weather got warmer, Shelton got cooler. He hit just .260-6-25 since then. His poor defense didn't help any either.

The Devil Rays got good return for Lugo, especially that of shortstop prospect Joel Guzman. The highly touted 20-yr old could find himself in the majors very quickly. Hopefully his attitude is a lot better than the Rays current minor league stars.

What exactly is the Texas Rangers idea of talent? Yes, they got Carlos Lee who upgraded their offense, but as usual they didn't upgrade their pitching. No,Kip Wells does NOT upgrade your pitching. That was the Rangers move yesterday.