Roster of the Month: 2018 MLB Trade Deadline
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58 trades.
Since the start of the 2018 regular season, MLB teams have combined to make 58 trades with each other. 45 of those trades occured after the All-Star Game. That’s an incredible amount of players switching clubhouses, but it’s really par for the course in the lead up to the non-waiver trade deadline. There will be a few more trades in August of players that clear waivers (Justin Verlander was one of these last year), but most of the GMs are done dealing.
The rules for this Roster of the Month are simple. Any player traded during the 2018 regular season is eligible. There are a ton of good players to choose from, and several excellent relievers didn’t make the cut. Neither did Gold Glove catcher Martin Maldonado, controllable young starter Kevin Gausman, or four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler.
And now, here’s the best possible 25-man roster of 2018 trade deadline acquisitions.
Starting Lineup
- CF Tommy Pham, Tampa Bay from St. Louis: Hold on, this can’t be right. The Rays acquired an outfielder coming off a 6.2 bWAR season last year who’s about to enter arbitration? Isn’t that exactly the kind of player they trade away (Stephen Souza) or outright release (Corey Dickerseon)?
- 3B Eduardo Escobar, Arizona from Minnesota: The versatile switch-hitter leads MLB in doubles (38) and can play pretty much anywhere on the infield.
- SS Manny Machado, Dodgers from Baltimore: You might have heard something about this trade already. I think it made the news somewhere.
- DH Mike Moustakas, Milwaukee from Kansas City: Moustakas has blasted 58 homers since the beginning of 2017, but the domino effect on the Brewers infield could get ugly. Travis Shaw looks like he’ll end up at either second base or shortstop. Gross.
- C Wilson Ramos, Philadelphia from Tampa Bay: Ramos was possibly the greatest catcher the Rays ever had. Now he’s a Phillie. Tampa Bay fans just can’t have nice things (except for Tommy Pham).
- LF Denard Span, Seattle from Tampa Bay: Span wasn’t exactly a trade deadline acquisition. He moved to the Mariners on May 25. Nevertheless, he’s got an impressive 120 OPS+ this season.
- 2B Brian Dozier, Dodgers from Milwaukee: Dozier is having a down year so far, but he’s worth 241. bWAR over his seven-year career. He’ll make a nice, new double play tandem with Machado.
- RF Jon Jay, Arizona from Kansas City: If you’re thinking this is kind of a weak outfield group, you’re right. Not too many significant outfielders changed teams this year. Still, Jay is batting .280 with a .347 OBP.
- 1B Adam Duvall, Atlanta from Cincinnati: There were no real first basemen traded this year at all. Duvall played ten games at first for the Reds, so that will have to do.
Bench
- MI Asdrubal Cabrera, Philadelphia from Mets: Cabrera is a good hitter, but an atrocious defensive second baseman. The Phillies plan to move him to shortstop. Good luck with that.
- OF Leonys Martin, Cleveland from Detroit: Martin is enjoying a resurgent season, pairing league average offense with pretty good center field defense.
- OF Austin Meadows, Tampa Bay from Pittsburgh: Meadows was once one of the top prospects in baseball. Injuries delayed his hype train, but he’s slashing .292/.327/.468 as a 23-year-old rookie.
- C/OF Francisco Mejia, San Diego from Cleveland: Yes, Mejia beats out Martin Maldonado for the backup catcher job on this roster, even though he only played in one MLB game this season. Baseball Prospectus just ranked him the #8 overall prospect in baseball in their midseason rankings, which is good enough for me.
- 2B Jonathan Schoop, Milwaukee from Baltimore: Schoop has 49 homers over the last two seasons, one behind Brian Dozier for the most amonf all MLB second basemen. Again, where does Travis Shaw play?
Rotation
- RHP Chris Archer, Pittsburgh from Tampa Bay: Archer was the biggest name on deadline day, and the best pitcher traded all season
- LHP J.A. Happ, Yankees from Toronto: Happ has a 3.94 FIP and 3.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio. However, he’s currently fighting off hand, foot, and mouth disease, which is almost as gross as Travis Shaw playing shortstop.
- RHP Nathan Eovaldi, Boston from Tampa Bay: Eovaldi just came back from Tommy John surgery, but he has a 0.938 WHIP in 11 starts.
- LHP Cole Hamels, Cubs from Texas: Hamels has had an excellent career, but at 34-years-old, how much is left in the tank?
- RHP Lance Lynn, Yankees from Minnesota: Lynn’s overall numbers are pretty ugly, especially the 5.5 BB/9, but he’s pitched much better in his last dozen starts.
Bullpen
- RHP Ken Giles, Toronto from Houston: Giles had a 4.99 ERA in Houston, but his 2.28 FIP and ridiculous 10.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio tell a different story. He pretty much forced his way out of town after clashing with management.
- LHP Brad Hand, Cleveland from San Diego: Hand has been one of the best relievers in baseball since joining the Padres bullpen in 2016. It’s kind of amazing they kept him as long as they did.
- RHP Kelvin Herrera, Nationals from Kansas City: Herrera hasn’t found the same success with the Nationals that he did with the Royals. He may even get traded again if he clears waivers.
- RHP Keone Kela, Pittsburgh from Texas: The Pirates add another stud reliever to pair with Felipe Vázquez.
- RHP Seunghwan Oh, Colorado from Toronto: Oh has a sparkling 2.52 ERA and 3.06 FIP this season.
- RHP Joakim Soria, Milwaukee from White Sox: The Brewers bullpen with Soria, Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, and Corey Knebel is kind of terrifying.
-Daniel R. Epstein
