The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone and reminded us once again that is the best trading frenzy of all American sports, and it’s not even close. You always see big stars and blockbusters made, and unexpected trades, that no one ever reported on, consistently happen.
There is never a dull moment during a trade deadline, and this year was not different at all, especially if you are a baseball fan. Some moves had you scratching your head or raising your eyebrows. Here are the most surprising trades from the past couple of days, either at or leading up to the MLB Trade Deadline:
Chris Archer and Keone Kela to the Pittsburg Pirates
FOR Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and a player to be named to Rays, minor league LHP Taylor Hearn and player to be named to Rangers
Let’s start off with the biggest surprise of the MLB deadline, and maybe of the trading season as a whole. The Pirates acquired Chris Archer from the Tampa Bay Rays for two of their best young players. Preseason, Pirate fans were mad because they thought the team was tanking after trading off the franchise’s two cornerstones in Andrew McCutchen and Gerrit Cole while getting underwhelming returns.
But, they won 11 straight at one point and are just three games out of a wild-card spot, so they felt aggressive and went for it. And Chris Archer is the guy you have start the game.
Three years ago, this would have been a legitimate MLB blockbuster, but Archer, Glasnow, and Austin Meadows have declined in value since. Archer still has the chance to be the steal of the deadline because his numbers outside of facing his AL East rivals are so much better.
He has a 3.40 ERA and an elite strikeout rate against non-AL East opponents, not to mention, the National League does not have a designated hitter, and Pittsburg plays in a pitcher’s park.
What makes this so shocking is that Archer was the center of trade talks over the past three seasons and he was finally traded. Not to mention, he was moved to a franchise that was never viewed as a serious contender for the right-hander. Teams like the New York Yankees and Dodgers were considered as the favorites.
In addition to Archer, they acquired a strong arm in Keone Kela to help the bullpen and for a formidable duo, with Felipe Vasquez at the backend of the pen. But ultimately, the Pirates’ aggressiveness threw everyone off the most.
Tommy Pham to the Tampa Bay Rays
FOR OF Justin Williams, LHP Genesis Cabrera and RHP Roel Ramirez to Cardinals
This trade was surprising for both teams. The St. Louis Cardinals moved one of their better outfielders out-of-the-blue, and the Rays acquired someone instead of trading one off. Pham had a breakout year last year, hitting 23 home runs with a .306/.411/.520 line, and accumulating a 6.2 WAR (tied with Kris Bryant) in just 128 games.
He regressed this year, to roughly league-average, but he has talent and is not with giving up on yet. Plus, the Cardinals no-doubt have better outfield options to move on from, such as Dexter Fowler. Pham has an average OPS this season, but still has 14 home runs and a career .828 OPS.
And the Rays traded away Archer, so it was shocking to see them go out and acquire someone else when it appeared that they were just trying to collect assets. Pham probably just needed a change of scenery because St. Louis had a logjam in the outfield, where Pham played.
Just take it from Pham himself, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold
“I’m shocked on all fronts,”
Kevin Gausman and Darren O’Day to the Atlanta Braves
FOR RHP Evan Phillips, minor league IF Jean Carlos Encarnacion, minor league C Brett Cumberland, minor league LHP Bruce Zimmermann and international bonus slot money to Orioles.
The Braves were looking for additional depth to add to the starting rotation, and the most significant names they were linked to were Sonny Gray and Chris Archer. Gausman was not a popular name on the radar, maybe unless you followed the Braves closely. But they went low-risk, high-reward with acquiring Gausman.
The former fourth overall pick has never lived up to his immense talent. 2016 looked to be the year when things started to change (3.61 ERA), but he has not built off that. He’s been an innings eater to slot into the end of the rotation, but that is disappointing when you have the stuff he has.
Playing in AL East doesn’t help, and neither does the dysfunctional Baltimore Orioles organization who have never been known for developing pitchers not being a place where pitchers come in (via trade or free agency) and have success. Jake Arrieta was viewed as a bust with the Orioles, goes to the Chicago Cubs and becomes a Cy Young winner. Ubaldo Jimenez was an above-average MLB starter and became a mess after signing with the Orioles.
And the Kevin Gausman experiment finally ended for the Orioles, who I would have thought they would stick with at least until he hit free agency because each year felt like the one that he would finally put it all together. And seeing him not wearing the Orioles Orange is going to be odd at first.
But maybe Kevin Gausman probably just needs a change of scenery, and going to the NL East, to a team in the middle of a playoff race, will only help. Combined with his talent and this could make him the steal of the deadline.
Roberto Osuna to the Houston Astros
FOR RHPs Ken Giles, David Paulino and Hector Perez to Blue Jays
This one happened a day early and is shocking for the wrong reason. Osuna is very young (23 years old) extremely talented, and proven. He would be excellent for any MLB bullpen, so the fact that the Astros were able to bet him for so cheap is astounding. But he’s also in the midst of a 75-game suspension for domestic violence.
No need to look further than the reactions of Astros fans, who are very unpleased by the move, along with analysts. Houston has a so-called ‘Zero-Tolerance Policy,’ yet they overlooked it for a guy who committed a crime such as this. Apparently, it doesn’t apply to them if the player did the offense with another organization. O even worse, talent and winning always trump character.
The Astros have a strong locker room culture and throwing Osuna into it could potentially create an unneeded fire. Team leader Justin Verlander is already outspoken against domestic violence, as is Lance McCullers Jr. The duo even went after a prospect in their own organization last year. Even star shortstop Carlos Correa had an incident with Osuna.
Featured Image via Flick/Keith Allison
