Whew! The Rangers
were off today, but were very busy. Just
before time expired, the team acquired Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltran. Thank goodness they didn’t execute any more
trades with the Cubs or the Tigers.
Those haven’t gone well over the years, so there’s a chance that these
will work out. Jon Daniels gave up
highly regarded prospect, Lewis Brinson, but kept Mazara, Odor, and Profar, new
guys who have all done well since being called up. Joey Gallo also remains, as he still displays
tremendous potential, though not quite Major League ready. Giving up an unknown quantity for
accomplished veteran talent seems like a good deal to this point.
Catcher and DH were not two positions that desperately
needed upgrading for the Rangers, but these two should be improvements. Beltran, I think, has the record for hits in
the post-season. But before you get too
excited, he’s also never been to the World Series. [Edit: he was in the 2013 World Series with the Cardinals, but did not win.] I’m still wondering why Lucroy turned down
going to Cleveland. They’re a contender,
and he might have had a bigger impact there.
Getting Lucas Harrell for the starting rotation has already started
paying off and getting bullpen help were more pressing priorities, so the
Rangers have had an excellent trading season . . . on paper.
The Dodgers got outfield help in Josh Reddick and sent
Yasiel Puig to Triple A Oklahoma City.
I’m sure he’ll enjoy the Midwest.
The Giants immediately countered by getting starting pitcher, Matt Moore,
from the Rays. With Kershaw and Pence
and others out for both teams respectively, the NL West will be decided by who
can slap together the best crappy lineup on a daily basis. (Or the Rockies come out of nowhere and win
it. I’m almost ready to believe.)
What are the Yankees doing, I ask again? In addition to Beltran, they also dumped
starting pitcher, Ivan Nova. They were
still in the AL East mix. Nobody’s
running away with it. The Yankees don’t
rebuild with prospects! Why aren’t
Yankees fans angry? Are they happy with
their 26 championships? Okay, more
likely, the team payroll is so bloated with bad contracts, they’ve got to dump
some guys before they can think about taking on any new big free agents. “We paid for all those World Series,” as one
Yankees fan said.
I am confused by the Kansas City Royals doing nothing. Right now, they’re on the fringe of practical
elimination. I know they’re got a bunch
of injuries, and they’re still nurturing some up-and-coming talent at the Major
League level, but doing nothing in trades and free agency was how you became a
non-contender this year. Here seems like
the opportunity to do a couple of trades for contending next year, or wholesale
trading to build up the farm system for another run in a few years. More disappointing are the Pirates. They traded off one of their better pitchers,
Liriano, to the Blue Jays. Okay, you
weren’t going to win the Central, but you guys were playing well and in
contention for a Wild Card. Do three
Wild Card round losses in a row now basically mean: division winner or bust for
you?
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