Friday, July 31, 2009

Trade Deadline: Winners, Losers & Awards

The non-waiver deadline has come and gone. I know everybody is reading this wondering, "What did Bob Alvis think of the trade deadline?" Well, you are going to get your answer.

- The Toronto Blue Jays to put it kindly screwed up. They were thinking of dealing Roy Halladay before the trade deadline. They did not deal him. They are not going to get the proper value back for Halladay in the offseason. If they really wanted to get some equal value, they should have dealt him to the Phillies, or maybe explored some other options (like trying the Angels or Dodgers). To boot, the Blue Jays shed no salary and received no prospects. They did acquire Edwin Encarnacion (and some prospects) for Scott Rolen. If I was J.P. Ricciardi, I would actually lower the price for Halladay a little bit, if someone would take Vernon Wells along with him. Vernon Wells has a very backloaded contract and if someone would take him off Toronto's hands, they should be eternally grateful for that part of it. If the Blue Jays were to revisit this option in the offseason, I think the Blue Jays should look at the Rangers, Angels, Mets and others as options.

- I thought the San Francisco Giants could have put themselves in very strong contention if they could have picked up a bat. I don't count Freddy Sanchez as the bat needed. I thought they needed a little bit more of a power bat. I know they had talked about someone at 3B, I thought Scott Rolen would have been a very good addition for them, but they did not acquire this bat. There is still a chance that they could pick up a bat in the month before the waiver trade deadline approaches, but I don't know where they could pick up a strong hitting 3B.

- Being a Yankees fan, I was hoping they'd be able to pick up a starting pitcher who could chew up some innings (specifically Aaron Harang from the Reds) but they did not. They did acquire Jerry Hairston Jr. from the Reds, but I really don't know how that helps the Yankees. He's a super utility player that can play any position but they have Eric Hinske. Hinske can play 1B, 3B, RF. The Bronx Bombers only gave up a minor league catcher, but I just feel they gave up something for someone they didn't need.

More on my trade deadline thoughts later, but check out ESPN.com Trade Scorecard and if you are an Insider you can read more from Keith Law.

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