Analyzing the Trade Deadline

     The trade deadline in baseball is one of the more exciting parts of baseball, as there is a flurry of trades in a short time period. Teams looking for an extra boost exchange prospects for role players, rentals, or stars. Teams out of contention trade away guys that aren't in their future for guys that will. And some teams just sit back and relax. What I'm about to do is analyze the few trades that I think will make a difference.

1) Hunter Pence to the Phillies
     The Phillies were in obvious need of a right fielder and they got an All-Star in Pence (albeit with Houston). They were in the running for Carlos Beltran but backed out of the way because they didn't want a rental player. With Pence, he will be in the lineup for this year and next, because his contract expires at the end of next year. By then, Philly will have their right field problems solved with either Dominic Brown or Pence starting in right field, whoever Charlie Manuel and Ruben Amaro Jr. think is the answer. Now to what the Phillies gave up, they gave Houston GM Ed Wade top prospects Jarred Cosart and Jonathan Singleton while also handing over Josh Zeid. Cosart, a starter, and the first baseman Singleton were the Phillies' top two prospects behind Dominic Brown, while Zeid is a 2nd-tier prospect that has struggled in the minors this year with a 5.65 earned-run average at Double-A Reddingafter spotting 2.93 in Single-A ball last year. Back to Pence, it is obvious how much the Phillies believe in the 28-year old right fielder because of his price tag, but with .307 batting average to go along with 11 homers and 63 RBI, Pence is the right-handed batter the Phillies need in their leftie-stacked lineup.

2) Michael Bourn to the Braves

     Like their division counterpart Philadelphia, Atlanta added an outfielder at the deadline, getting the speedy center fielder Bourn, also from Houston, who leads the majors in steals with 39. Atlanta GM Frank Wren was also pursuing the previously mentioned Pence, Carlos Beltran, and Ryan Ludwick. Wren decided not to pull in the switch-hitting Beltran because he didn't want to give up a top pitching prospect like Mike Minor or Arodys Vizcaino (Julio Teheran was way off-limits) because that price was not worth it "for a rental." Many Braves players such as Chipper Jones were on board with the acquisition because it gave Atlanta a much-needed pure leadoff man, which the Braves, "haven't had that kind of threat in the top of [the] lineup in a long time" said Jones, as the Braves' last pure leadoff man had been Kenny Lofton back in the 1990s. This move makes more sense than Atlanta getting Pence, Beltran, or Ludwick because it gives the Braves both a centerfielder and a leadoff man (Beltran is the only one that can play center but he prefers right and none of them can bat in the #1 slot).

3) Derrek Lee to the Pirates
     Although a shout-out goes to the Texas Rangers, who yesterday added Koji Uehara and today Mike Adams, solidying their bullpen, the final trade that will have a big influence on how the rest of the season plays out is not the Adams trade nor the Fister/Pauley trade but the Derrek Lee trade. Last night, Lee was traded to Pittsburgh for first base prospect Aaron Baker. Why is this an important trade? The Pirates are currently in third in the NL Central, but they are above .500 and have played well this season as a whole.  Most people know that whatever the Pirates do influences the Wild Card race as well as the NL Central race, as Pittsburgh is only 3.5 games out of the division lead and 7.5 back in the Wild Card. By adding Lee, the Pirates are gambling that Lee can be the playoff-experienced veteran they need to finish out the year strong and hopefully make the playoffs. However, he has been to four postseasons and the only time his team made it out of the first round (2003 Florida Marlins), Lee batted .208 with only one homer.  If Lee performs well the rest of the season and if something happens to the Brewers (I'm not considering the Cardinals as a threat because of the Pujols free agent talk and lack of Adam Wainwright), then the Pirates could have a legitimate shot at playing in October.

     Other notable trades that haven't been mentioned yet are: Rafael Furcal to the Cardinals, Brad Ziegler to the Diamondbacks, and Ubaldo Jimenez to the Indians.