When the Astros moved from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013, they only won 51 games. It took two years for the great Texas rivalry to heat up, with the Rangers winning the division by two games over the Astros in 2015. The Rangers won the AL West again the following year and then it was all Houston. Five division titles and two World Series for Baghdad on the Bayou.
Struggling through six straight losing seasons, the “other” Texas team in Arlington opened up the checkbook and became the most aggressive team in baseball in pursuing free-agent talent. Owner Ray Davis spent $800 million to bring in talent during the last two offseasons. They even lured three-time World Series-winning manager Bruce Bochy out of retirement.
This year, the worm turned in Arlington. The Rangers have been atop the American League West division on all but one day of the season. If I had known Marcus Semien was going to have this kind of a year, I might have drafted him in TGFBI. Corey Seager has been just as good – when he hasn’t been on the IL. But you need pitching to win a championship.
Rangers fans were excited by the signing of Jacob deGrom, but everyone knew this guy can’t stay healthy. And Martin Perez, Jon Gray, Nathan Eovaldi and Andrew Heaney weren’t going to get the job done. Once firmly in command, Texas fans watched their team’s division lead dwindle down to one-half game. It was time to open up the checkbook again.
On Saturday, the Rangers landed a big fish – Max Scherzer from those hapless New York Mets for some cash and a prospect. And they weren’t done. Chris Young pivoted to another seller on the banks of the Mississippi, trading for Jordan Montgomery. The Rangers also received reliever Chris Stratton, for relief pitcher John King and two minor leaguers.
Meanwhile, Houston had been sitting quietly, apparently ready to stand pat a day before the deadline. As recently as Sunday, insiders were saying that the front office was no longer in the market to acquire starting pitching, which was a scarce commodity this year. But I knew the Astros had to do something. And, of course, they did in predictable fashion.
Dana Brown had to be wondering if Mets GM Billy Eppler was finally ready to fold his pocket aces. And he was. So, the most disappointing team in Major League Baseball this season sent their offseason prize, Justin Verlander, back to where he came from – Houston. One team’s misfortune is another team’s good fortune, is what they’re saying down here.
Verlander, 40, is in the first season of a two-year pact worth more than $86 million. His contract includes a conditional player option for 2025 worth $35 million. The Mets are sending $35 million to cover part of Verlander’s salary for 2023 and 2024, then half of the additional $35 million if the option vests for 2025. Steve Cohen is learning that mistakes can be costly.
As a Texan myself, I can testify that we do things bigger and better in the Lone Star State. It’s going to interesting to see if the Rangers can hold off the Astros in the final two months of the season. Both teams are bound to make the playoffs, and it’s not a stretch to believe that Scherzer and Verlander could face each other in the deciding game of the ALCS.
It seems like weeks, not days, since the excitement started late Wednesday. First, it was the Los Angeles Angels pushing their chips into the middle of the table when they announced they were taking Shohei Ohtani off the trade market. Hours later, the Halos closed the deal on a trade for Lucas Giolito, one of the top targets for pitching-starved teams looking for help.
Hours after that, Ohtani pitched a one-hit shutout. I guess that was his way of saying thank you to GM Perry Manasian for letting him stick around. The Angels went on to sweep a doubleheader from the Tigers Thursday and as of this writing are only three games behind Toronto in pursuit of the final Wild Card berth in the American League.
The next domino that fell was Thursday night when the Mets traded closer David Robertson to the Marlins. If you had told me in March that the Mets and the Marlins would be dealing at the deadline, I’d have guessed the Mets would be the buyer. Robertson, 38, became the Mets closer when Edwin Diaz injured his knee during a World Baseball Classic celebration.
Just one day later, Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano was in noticeable pain as he struggled to get through the ninth inning against the Angels. Before the clock struck midnight, Toronto had a deal in place to bring Jordan Hicks to Canada. I give Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins credit for moving quickly on this deal before the Cardinals dealt Hicks to another team.
Robertson and Hicks weren’t the only closers changing addresses this week. Arizona, struggling with a bullpen that had posted a 6.04 ERA in July, acquired Paul Sewald from the Mariners in exchange for Josh Rojas, Dominic Canzone and minor leaguer Ryan Bliss. Seattle does have Andres Munoz to step into the closer role as they make a playoff push.
The Royals, a perennial seller, also dealt their closer, Scott Barlow, to the Padres. This would have been a bigger deal in 2021 and 2022 when Barlow had a 2.30 ERA as Kansas City’s closer. But this year, he’s struggled to a 5.35 ERA. He’ll serve as a depth piece for the Padres, and they’ll have him for another year until he’s eligible for free agency in 2024.
When a team trades away a closer, that opens up possibilities for other pitchers. Robertson may get a few more chances with the Marlins, but the more interesting situation is in New York. The Mets’ choice to close is between Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley. Raley had the first two chances and converted saves on Thursday and Sunday but blew a save on Tuesday.
In St. Louis, Ryan Helsley was the closer before he went on the IL June 12th. He was moved to the 60-day IL, but is eligible to return on August 12th. The Cardinals will reassess Helsley in the next few days. He appears to have a clear path to regain his old job unless the Cardinals decide to shut him down. If that is the case, Giovanny Gallegos would be in line for saves.
After trading Aroldis Chapman on June 30 and Barlow at deadline, the Royals are left with few experienced closer options on their roster. Carlos Hernandez, who closed the team’s July 30 victory on Barlow’s day off and has seven holds and a 1.88 ERA in 13 appearances since July 1, is the most logical choice to close if you are desperate for some saves.
Everyone knew the Dodgers needed pitching help. Missing out on the bigger prizes, Los Angeles accquired Lance Lynn and reliever Joe Kelly. Neither pitcher is performing well in 2023, but the Dodgers were desperate given that their rotation has been so tattered by injury that they’ve been forced to go with a majority-rookie rotation for the last few weeks.
Another team desperate for pitching help was Baltimore. The Orioles, who have surprised everyone by compiling the best record in the American League, turned to St. Louis and dealt for Jack Flaherty. After his 2019 peak year, Flaherty has been plagued by injury and inconsistency, with an inflated 4.12 ERA. But hope springs eternal in Baltimore.
One of the most surprising trades occurred on Monday – a day before the deadline. The Rays acquired Aaron Civale from the Guardians in exchange for prospect Kyle Manzardo, who may replace Josh Bell at first base. The surprising thing was that Cleveland was only 1 ½ games out of first place in their division when they chose to trade away one of their best starters.
A day after the Guardians traded for Manzardo, Josh Bell was traded to Miami. Bell has been a disappointment for fantasy managers this season. After failing to hit for the Padres after the trade last summer, he hasn’t done much for Cleveland after the Guardians traded for him. The Marlins gave up Jean Segura and prospect Kahlil Watson to acquire Bell.
And the Marlins weren’t done, pulling off a deal before the deadline with the White Sox. Miami got slugger Jake Burger, who has overcome numerous injuries to flex his power in Chicago, with 25 home runs. Burger, who also has a top-25 hard-hit rate, brings much needed power to a Marlins club. Only the Nationals have fewer homers in the NL than Miami.
Over the weekend, Angels outfielder Taylor Ward was hit in the head by a pitch in Toronto and suffered multiple facial fractures. With Ward probably lost for the season, the Angels moved quickly to acquire Rockies outfielder Randal Grichuk from the Rockies. The Halos also got first baseman C.J. Cron from Colorado in exchange for two minor league pitchers.
Another infielder on the move was Jeimer Candelario, who revitalized his faltering career with the Nationals. Last winter, the lowly Tigers non-tendered Candelario, leaving him available for Washington to scoop up on a one-year deal. The Nationals traded the third baseman to the Cubs, who decided to buy instead of sell. Washington received two minor leaguers.
This is not an exhaustive list of all the trades, but these are the ones that mattered most from my perspective. If you’re a fantasy manager, some of this information is actionable. It’s always difficult to know who will get a bump from a trade. Typically, players going to contenders are most likely to benefit from the improved emotional climate. Good luck!
