2.5 bigish trades happened yesterday. 2.5 because two, although technically separate and separated by a couple hours, were pretty much just pieces of a larger deal. And bigish because even though 1 included the biggest bat on the market and the other included a potential impact player down the road, I don’t think either will be all that important on the outcome of this or any of the next couple seasons.
First, let’s talk about the Beltran deal. The Mets sent outfielder Carlos Beltran to the Giants for Zach Wheeler. I think the Mets won this trade. In Wheeler they get a top pitching prospect. They netted a real pitcher with considerable minor league success and major league potential instead of a shot-in-the-dark draft pick if they had held on to Beltran. For the Giants, I say congratulations on getting the top hitter available. You had a major need and you filled it. It’s just a shame that this year Carlos Beltran was the best hitter available. Sure, 2004 Carlos Beltran could lead a team deep into the playoffs but I’m not sure that 2011 Beltran can do the same. I understand that the Giants already have some pieces in place like Pablo Sandoval and……well……um…….Aubrey Huff? and they have great pitching but I just have a hard time believing that on the DVD of the 2011 season the narrator will say that the turning point of the Giants season was the mid-season acquisition of Carlos Beltran. The bottom line on this deal is that the Giants needed to add the most offense they could and they did. They are better now than they were yesterday. I guess that makes it a good deal I just have trouble buying all the Beltran hype.
Now, let’s take a look at the other trade. For a complete overview of the trade look here:
| Cardinals | Blue Jays | White Sox |
|---|---|---|
| Octavio Dotel | Trever Miller | Jason Frasor |
| Edwin Jackson | Colby Rasmus | Zach Stewart |
| Corey Patterson | Brian Tallet | |
| Marc Rzepczynski | Mark Teahen | |
| 3 PTBNL or cash | P.J. Walters |
Obviously, the big piece of this trade is Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays. Toronto gave up a decent amount as Jason Frasor and Marc Rzepczynski are good pitchers but Rasmus is a stud. He can be a lynchpin on this team and a key memeber of their core for years to come. He was a victim of irrational Tony La Russa hatred in St.Louis and I think it affected his numbers. In Toronto we could see him develop into a real talent, though I’m not sure he’ll be the superstar a lot of people think he will be. St Louis got Edwin Jackson for Rasmus in what has to be the running joke of the trade deadline. Jackson has now been traded 6 times in his career! He’s a guy with a lot of potential that he’s turned into one solid season, one good season, and one All-Star appearance. The bottom line here is that the Cards got a guy who should be able to help them down the stretch, won’t, and will be in another uniform by this time next season. If La Russa had been at the very least objective about Rasmus and played him accordingly, St. Louis should be sitting on top of a burgeoning star centerfieder to go along with Holliday, Pujols, Berkman and the rest. Instead, they get Edwin Jackson.
Tomorrow’s post will be titled “Hanley Ramirez is a Knucklehead.” Stay Tuned.
-Max Frankel
