Unpredictable MLB trade deadline produces clear winners, surprising losers
ST. LOUIS — The New York Mets got lucky, the San Diego Padres got the jitters, the New York Yankees acted strangely, the Boston Red Sox went to sleep, and the best trades of the day amounted to nothing more than rumors.
The non-waiver trade deadline went quietly Friday afternoon, but when general managers finally were able to put down their cell phones, and reporters stopped typing 140 characters on Twitter, and the fans stopped calling the talk-shows, the shape of the 2015 season is clear.
Funny how a baseball season is six months, and 162 games long, but it's two weeks that determines its course.
It's always the two weeks after the All-Star break.
It determines who stands pat, who goes for it, who waves the white flag, and who is left screaming into the night.
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Who knew that the Detroit Tigers would become the biggest sellers in baseball, and the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals would be the biggest buyers?
Who knew that the San Diego Padres would talk a big game, but when it came time to put up or shut up, they folded their cards?
Who knew that the White Sox, who 10 days ago were ready to dump players, and sell Jeff Samardzija to the highest bidder, would hang onto everyone and come within one phone call away from landing Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers?
Who knew that the Mets would do nothing all year, tease everyone by agreeing to acquire Carlos Gomez of the Milwaukee Brewers, pull out of the deal, and then come back and have Cespedes fall in their lap?
And who knew that the Red Sox and the Yankees would do, well, virtually nothing?
The big move - the only move - among the two teams was the Yankees acquiring .215 hitting Dustin Ackley of the Seattle Mariners.
The Yankees acted like they suddenly had their house foreclosed, hanging onto their prospects like hoarders.
"You see all kinds of things,'' St. Louis Cardinals GM John Mozeliak said, "this time of year.''
You didn't have to look any further than the Colorado Rockies clubhouse to see the confusion.
There was no Troy Tulowitzki, but there was Jose Reyes.
There was Carlos Gonzalez waiting for the phone call to pack his bags, only for the phone to remain silent, but to expect a call this winter when he's traded.
"Whatever happens, happens,'' Gonzalez says. "There's nothing you can do. I'll see what happens. I've been here seven years, and I want to play for the Rockies.
"I want to be here when we are good.''
Gonzalez's chances of staying in Colorado past the holidays are the same as Coors Field turning into a pitcher's park. He wasn't traded now, simply because of lack of time. But he'll be gone this winter.
So will Tyson Ross and Craig Kimbrel and Jed Gyorko and virtually everyone else you can think of on the Padres' roster when they hit the re-set button.
The Padres just ran out of time, just like the Astros, who were ready to do much, much more at the deadline, but couldn't find it in their heart to send their finest prospects for Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman or Craig Kimbrel or Ross.
And if we learned anything about this trade deadline, it's that sometimes, you can just get real lucky.
The Brewers were incensed when the Mets backed out of their deal for Gomez, believing he has degenerative hips, despite Gomez playing all but one game since mid-June. So what happens? They pick up the phone, call the Astros and land four of their top 20 prospects, including prized outfielder Brett Phillips. It was a whole lot better package than infielder Wilmer Flores and pitcher Zack Wheeler, who's recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The Astros, who spent two weeks working on Gomez, and thought they lost him, were elated to get him and starter Mike Fiers, after acquiring starter Scott Kazmir last week.
"This is what our fans want,'' GM Jeff Luhnow said. "We're serious about doing some damage this year, and for years to come.''
And the Mets, who were skewered in the tabloids, and accused of being too cheap instead of too cautious, wait until 10 minutes left in the lighting round, and pull out Cespedes, the greatest position player on the trade block.
The next time you see Mets GM Sandy Alderson, you may want to go out and buy a lottery ticket with him.
"This is a player,'' Alderson said, "that can have a big impact, both in terms of on the field and how the team is perceived.''
Yes, by taking on the $3.5 million remaining in Cespedes' contract, maybe the Mets aren't so cheap, after all. And who could have predicted that?
And now that the dust has cleared, with the players making their way to their new digs, here's our three biggest winners and losers:
Winners
1) Toronto Blue Jays: It's been 22 years since they last made the playoffs. Well, wait no more. They're going to win the AL East, with new ace David Price leading the way.
2) Houston Astros: Hey, it's nice to have a great farm system, but they don't give you trophies for that. The Astros, who now should win the AL West, are built to win now, and for the next five years.
3) Kansas City Royals: They were the most complete regular-season team in the American League before the trade deadline. Now, they're the team to beat in the postseason, too, with new ace Johnny Cueto.
Losers
1) San Diego Padres: You gutted the farm system, emptied your checkbook, and went for it last winter. It didn't work. Yet, instead of retreating and rebuilding like the Tigers, they worked the phones, but did nothing.
2) Seattle Mariners: They shed a few contracts, dumped a couple of pitchers, but they neither raised the white flag, nor showed any intention of going for it. It could get ugly these next two months.
3) New York Yankees: Really, you think you don't need help for the home stretch? Really, your prospects are that valuable? Reality is about to slap them in the face.
We'll now spend the new two months seeing who did the best job of building themselves a championship club. The Astros will be in the playoffs. So will the Blue Jays. And once again the Cardinals.
We'll go ahead and call a repeat of 1985 and have another I-70 World Series between the Royals and Cardinals.
GALLERY: MLB trade deadline tracker
