The New York Mets did everything they could to blow an opportunity at credibility. In surprise competition for a playoff spot, the team’s management had a chance to notify their players and fans that the franchise is indeed serious about contending. Then they almost blew it.
They teased everyone with a bold move for Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee’s excellent center fielder and a player who has developed into a dual power and speed threat. Then trade was announced. Fans rejoiced. Wilmer Flores – headed to Milwaukee – wept at shortstop. And suddenly the Mets balked, seemingly doing nothing, swinging at the biggest names, landing none.
They were failures. Losers. The biggest fools of the most exciting trade deadline of recent years.
Until Friday’s 4pm deadline hit and word trickled out …
The Mets have acquired Tigers outfield Yoenis Cespedes.
As the buzzer sounded, the Mets had gone from buffoons to brilliant. No contending team needed a player more than New York needed Cespedes. The Mets are last in the league in runs scored, despite the development of a promising pitching staff. Washington, who leads the Mets by three games in the National League East had added the closer they needed in Jonathan Papelbon, New York’s earlier trades for reliever Tyler Clippard and third baseman Juan Uribe were not going to change the division. The Mets had to get a hitter.
Cespedes is that hitter. He is hitting .293 with 18 home runs and comes to his new team on a tear, having put up a .564 slugging percentage in July. To get him the Mets gave up their first round pick in 2011, pitcher Michael Fulmer and a minor league second baseman turned pitcher, Luis Cessa. Given Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski’s skill for quietly stealing great value from trades, Fullmer and Cessa may someday haunt the Mets. Given the way things go for the Mets they probably will.
But that’s for another day, another disappointment. On Friday the Mets needed to do something huge to make trade deadline a success and they did. Just as they were about to ruin it all.
As for other winners and losers…
Winners
Dodgers
For decades, baseball’s wealthiest teams used their financial might to dominate free agency, throwing millions at the best players in lavish long-term contracts poorer teams simply could not match. But Los Angeles’s new president Andrew Friedman and general manager Farhan Zaidi have found a new way of using economic supremacy and unleashed it at this deadline. They bought not only players but draft picks, bad contracts, international defectors and wound up with a significantly better starting rotation and a deeper bullpen.
Using a pick they acquired in the spring by essentially purchasing the bad contract of Baltimore pitcher Ryan Webb they were able to manufacture a three-team, 13-player trade with Atlanta and Miami that landed them two mid-rotation starters (Mat Latos and Alex Wood), a top setup man (Josh Johnson), a useful left-handed reliever (Luis Avilan) and a top base-stealing shortstop, second base prospect (Jose Peraza). In return they gave up a handful of prospects who didn’t fit into their future and infielder Hector Olivera, a highly-touted Cuban defector who they signed for $62m two months ago but showed limitations as a middle infielder and has been slowed with injuries in his short time in the minors.
Since the Dodgers had already paid Olivera’s nearly $30m signing bonus, they essentially bought half of his contract as well, making the deal work for the Atlanta who desperately wanted Olivera but could not afford him. Sure they spent a lot of money but the Dodgers have an $8bn TV deal, what’s a few million? A lot to the …
Blue Jays
The Blue Jays know they may never have a better chance in the American League East, and so they seized it this week by trading for one of the league’s top starting pitchers in David Price. While they did give up their top pitching prospect in Daniel Norris and a promising reliever in Matt Boyd, they acquired the No 1 starter they desperately needed not only to win the division but to take a lead in the playoffs. More importantly, they kept him away from the Yankees, whose rotation continues to crumble.
In addition to Price, they Jays also picked up Mariners reliever Mark Lowe, who has been nearly unhittable this year and Ben Revere, the fast outfielder from Philadelphia who is a productive hitter and elite base stealer. It might just be enough to contend with …
Astros
Already the Astros were the story of the season, and they got better this week with two excellent trades. First, they acquired starting pitcher Scott Kazmir from Oakland, who will be a free agent at the end of the year. The fact Kazmir is essentially a rental kept Houston from giving up too much in the way of prospects and gives the Astros three strong starting pitchers going into the postseason.
They then took advantage of the Mets dysfunction and dealt for Gomez who will bring an outstanding defensive player to an already strong outfield. When healthy Gomez is a tremendous offensive threat and will combine with George Springer (currently on the disabled list) for a powerful, elite outfield and top of a lineup. Houston might now be the favorite in the American League surpassing the…
Royals
Kansas City paid a high price to land starter Johnny Cueto for a few weeks but they needed him to make another World Series run. After years of losing the Royals need to do everything they can to optimize this window of opportunity. Landing Ben Zoborist who can still be a productive hitter and is a solid – though not spectacular – defensive option at a number of positions makes this a very successful trade deadline for the Royals who lost last years World Series to the…
Giants
This wasn’t a big trade deadline for San Francisco. It rarely is for them, but always general manger Brian Sabean finds exactly the perfect player for the Giants in a low-key move. Very quietly, he picked up starting pitcher Mike Leake from the Reds. Very likely we will be hearing a lot about Leake in October. And the trade kept San Francisco from being…
Losers
Marlins
Giancarlo Stanton must be furious. Before he re-signed with the Marlins the slugging outfielder made management promise him the organization was serious about competing. Everyone assured him that yes, indeed, Miami was all-in. Then, in the middle of another disappointment, the Marlins began another salary dump.
Gone are starters Mat Latos and Dan Haren – neither of whom are tremendous losses – but coming back is essentially nothing more than a handful of low-tier prospects. The Marlins needed to trade to get better. Instead they dumped more salary with little hope of getting something big in return. Much like the…
Braves
Sooner or later the Braves are going to have to start rebuilding. So far, all they have done is dump, dump, dump. And some of the pieces they have discarded have baffled. For instance, in shedding the salaries of Bronson Arroyo and Johnson to the Dodgers they also included a surprisingly solid pitcher with years of team control in Wood, a useful reliever in Avilan and a top prospect, Peraza, for an injured reliever Paco Rodrigues and Olivera who is listed as being 30 years old and brings defensive question marks.
Yes, the Braves saved money, but they dealt away strong, affordable pieces to get a questionable return. The Dodgers deal makes little sense for the Braves. Wood, Avila and Peraza should be building blocks not throw-ins on a salary dump. It makes Atlanta look like the …
Padres
San Diego tried hard to quit more than they have already quit on a season in which they expected to compete. In the end, they were unable to dump the players they once-desperately wanted but now seem not to want. Primary among those is closer Craig Kimbrel who was rumored to be gong to the …
Yankees
While the Blue Jays added the elite starter the Yankees desperately need, New York picked up failed top-draft pick who has struggled to stick in the big leagues in Dustin Ackley. Toronto has made this a race. Michael Pineda has a sore arm again and Kimbrel could have allowed them to shorten games and get the Yankees into October. Now the Yankees will have to head into the last two months as trade deadline losers to the New York team that was about to blow the deadline more than anyone else.
The Mets.
