Baseball (and the Mets and Reds) Chose Mediocrity for Some Reason
Before Wednesday’s trade deadline, the understanding that Major League Baseball fans had about the trade deadline was pretty straightforward:
- Teams that are out of the playoff race sell their veterans.
- Teams that are contending try to make their team better this year.
However, this season, something was different.
This year, Rob Manfred and company decided to eliminate the waiver trade deadline, making the traditional July 31 trade deadline the only deadline. This change forces teams on the cusp of contention to make a critical decision – either to buy pieces that will help them contend, or sell veterans to gain prospects. However, this decision has to made even earlier than before due to the new rule.
Teams like the San Francisco Giants had to choose between selling Ace Madison Bumgarner and keeping him for a hopeful postseason push. The Mets and the Reds bought even though they were multiple games under .500. Buyers looked more towards the length of the players contract rather than their level of play. Rentals won’t be as useful anymore because there are so many teams who think they’re in contention. Just this year, 17 teams are within 5 games of the wild card as of August 2nd.
The acquisitions of Marcus Stroman and Trevor Bauer by the Mets and Reds, respectively, show the implications of only one trade deadline. These teams don’t think that a late playoff push is totally out of the realm of possibility, so why not buy? They’re not playing situs poker suddenly, they’re still trying to win baseball games. These teams bought pitchers that have more than one year of control on their contracts. The only real problem here is that the major trade candidates are going to the Mets and the Reds…
There’s no dancing around this, this is bad for baseball. Everyone looks forward to the trade deadline – your favorite team is either trying to contend or gain young assets. Somehow, Manfred has created a reality that has a third path. These teams are building for the present and the future. It may not work out, but I think we would all rather have Bauer and Stroman pitch into October rather than sitting at home.
Imagine last year if we saw Manny Machado get traded to mediocre baseball team instead of the Dodgers?
We like to see great players on great teams. Not great players on average teams.
The Reds made the move to acquire Bauer even though they only have a 7% chance of making the playoffs this year. They are hoping that a starting rotation headlined by Sonny Gray, Luis Castillo, and now Trevor Bauer can make them relevant again, similar to the Mets, who are relying on a 1-2-3 punch of Jacob DeGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and Marcus Stroman.
This move forces the Reds to go all-in next year, and I don’t think they have the capability to be a serious contender with a lackluster offense. They are currently 23rd in the MLB in runs with a mere 473. Sure, the Reds get a big name with the acquisition of Trevor Bauer, but will he really put them over the top? When the middle of your lineup is headlined by Eugenio Suarez and a quickly aging Joey Votto, there shouldn’t be much confidence in producing runs.
Even though these moves might not make the most sense for the current states of these franchises, the idea of average teams acquiring quality players under control for multiple years will continue for the upcoming trade deadlines. When making the July 31 trade deadline the only trade deadline, it creates tougher decision for teams on the bubble of playoff contention. For the Mets and Reds, they decided to not buy or sell, but to go somewhere in between. The acquisitions are for the future, yet they are also for the present.
Baseball has created a universe where the trade deadline is focused on future years (2020) rather than making an all out push for the playoffs. This can’t be better for the league. By the time the 2020 season comes around, the majority of fans will forget that Stroman and Bauer are on the Mets and Reds.
If the MLB wanted to eliminate the waiver deadline because it makes everything more complicated, then fine. But why don’t you move the trade deadline back a few weeks, like to August 15? This way, teams will know if they want to contend or want to sell, rather than choosing the third option of mediocrity. The league is better when we have sellers and buyers, not teams like the Reds and the Mets.
Don’t be surprised if this awful trend continues under the current structure of the trade deadline.
-Andrew DiIorio (@pizzatheecat)
