Every Swingin’ Dick

Tigers get:
1B Sean Casey

Pirates get:
a 24-year-old AA middle reliever

Casey is no world beater, but he should be better than Chris Shelton has been. Shelton hit a ton in April, and has done nothing since. Casey gives the Tigers a left-handed hitter to balance out their lineup a bit and a guy who will get on base. I assume that he will hit down in the order (6th or later) and give them a little lineup depth.

The Pirates get Brian Rogers, a 24-year-old AA middle reliever. Like I said in an earlier post, Littlefield has a strategy of signing veteran players to one-year deals, and then trading them at the deadline. This would be an OK strategy if he were able to get more than 24-year-old AA middle relievers. Sorry Bowden, even without moving Soriano today, you are still the 2nd worst GM in MLB.

Reds get:
P Kyle Lohse

Twins get:
rid of Kyle Lohse (and some A ball pitcher)

—————-

Reds get:
RP Rheal Cormier

Phillies get:
P Justin Germano

The Reds get a couple of pitchers added to their mix. Lohse has been OK in the past, but has been terrible this year (2-5, 7.07 ERA) for the Twins. Cormier has been a good RP for a while now, but at 39 is nearing the end of the line. The Reds don’t care as they are playing for this year.

Padres get:
INF Todd Walker

Cubs get:
some A ball pitcher

Walker gets a chance to play for a team that might actually appreciate his talents (getting on base, versatility) while the Cubs restock their farm system a bit. It also paves the way for Dusty to play Neifi Perez every day. It’s no wonder why the Cubs have stunk the past few years..

Yankees get:
1B/OF/C Craig Wilson

Pirates get:
P Shawn Chacon

The Yankees get a pretty good bat to add to their bench and the 1B mix. The Pirates get, well, Shawn Chacon. Sorry Pittsburgh.

Rangers get:
SP Kip Wells

Pirates get:
P Jesse Chavez

Wells has been out most of the season, but has pitched pretty well lately after struggling when he first came off the DL in mid-June. He has a chance to play for a team that should score runs for him, so if he can provide some innings for the Rangers, he has a good chance for some success. Certainly a good gamble for Texas, and they didn’t give up much..

The Pirates get a mid-level prospect in Chavez. To be completely fair to Littlefield, he probably couldn’t get too much in return for what amounts to a rental of an average SP.

Royals get:
1B Ryan Shealy
P Scott Dohmann

Rockies get:
P Jeremy Affeldt
P Denny Bautista

Shealy was blocked by Todd Helton in Colorado, and is a bit old at 26. He has mashed the ball in AAA for the last couple of years. He will probably DH for Kansas City, since they have Mientkiewicz at 1B. Not that Minky can hit, but he can definitely catch it.

Both of the arms going to the Rockies are talented, but erratic. Neither Bautista or Affeldt have been able to put it all together in the majors, but they both have good stuff. No real winner in this trade right away, but chances are that at least one of the three guys I’ve talked about will help out their new teams.

Dodgers get:
SS Julio Lugo

Devil Rays get:
OF Joel Guzman
OF Sergio Pedroza

I have no idea why the Dodgers make this trade. Guzman is a good prospect, he moved to the OF from SS because of worries about his defense. But it looks like he will hit. The DRays are loaded with OF prospects, but when you have a chance to add big talent you do it.

Dodgers get:
Greg Maddux

Cubs get:
Cesar Izturis

I like Izturis in the right situation. The Cubs aren’t it. With the Dodgers, they could hide his bat with the rest of their lineup. In Chicago, Dusty will probably put him in the leadoff slot. Need I say that his .295 OBP has no place there. He is a good fielder, but is better suited to a pitchers park or a staff with lots of sinkerball pitchers. You know, like the Dodgers.

Maddux is pretty much done, but the Dodgers might catch a little lightning in a bottle and get a few good starts out of him. If nothing else, maybe he can help the young guys on that staff out just by being there to watch and talk to. This does nothing to help them this year. They did get the Cubs to pay part of Maddux’s salary, so maybe they just wanted out from under Izturis’ future contract. I really don’t get this trade for either team.

*update*
Looks like the Padres got cold feet at the last minute and nixed this deal. I was using Baseball America as my resource, and they jumped the gun a bit. So, pretty much go ahead and ignore what follows…

And it is now fairly obvious that the Mets are playing solely for this season.

Mets get:
Scott Linebrink

Padres get:
Oliver Perez
Heath Bell

The Padres must be banking on a return to 2004 form for Perez, as Linebrink should have had lots of value at the deadline. Perez has a huge ceiling, but needs to get straightened out. Probably a worthwhile gamble. Heath Bell isn’t all that good, and is 28. So the trade wasn’t about him. It was all Perez.

Nationals get:
Nothing

Jim Bowden desperately tries to wrestle the “Worst GM” title back from Dave Littlefield by not trading Soriano at the height of his value. Soriano could still be moved later this month if he clears waivers, I guess. But other than that possibility the Nationals will have to settle for compensatory draft choices. Hooray.