Rounding Out the Trades

Wow, I wrote a blog before the deadline thinking that there weren't going to be any more moves. But, wow, was I wrong.

So, Anthony Rizzo went from Chicago (where he loved it) to New York, where everyone would like to play. Great move by the Yankees. Except now Luke Voit has nowhere to go. Great trade piece, right? A lot of teams would take him, but now he will be confined to second fiddle. Rizzo is a great lefty bat who showed that by getting on base 8 out of his first 9 plate appearances with two homers with his new team. Also, he provides leadership, great baseball IQ, and a great glove at first.

The Dodgers were already playing in a video game. They had a roster straight out of fantasy land. Even more so with Max Scherzer and Trea Turner coming over to California. Now, yes, the Dodgers had to give up a substantial payment, two top prospects, and two other prospects. Now, they have Will Smith (for the long run because one of the prospects shipped was a top catching prospect), Max Muncy at first, Trea at second, Corey Seager at short, Justin Turner at third, Chris Taylor (or AJ Pollock) in left, Cody Bellinger patrolling center, and Mookie Betts in right. Oh, did I talk about the starting rotation? Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Max Scherzer, Julio Urias, and David Price. Also, they would have Trevor Bauer but he decided to look at teens as his next potential girlfriend.

I love when teams in tough divisions make big moves, it spices things up. The Blue Jays did just that. They traded for an ace, Jose Berrios. He has a lot of sharp pitches and he’s a very smart player.

The White Sox bullpen got a lot better. They got Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrell. Two relievers that are on lockdown mode this year. Great move to help them late in games.

Kris Bryant also went to the Giants in a move that made the Giants scarier. You thought the NL West was already scary? Well, several big names moved to California over this deadline, Kris Bryant, Max Scherzer and Adam Frazier to name a few. Bryant is a great hitter with a great glove who can play all over the field, literally, all over the field.

And yes, the Mets traded for Javy Baez. This is a huge move that will boost an already tight Mets locker room. But it can also lessen it because I get the feeling Baez is selfish and doesn’t want to be in New York. I see this from photos taken of him in Wrigley hearing the news, walking into the Mets locker room and rounding the bases on his first home run. I’m not saying it’s a bad move, I love this move. He brings a great glove, a great bat, and great leadership and friendship skills with him. His first three days with the Mets have been lackluster as he went just 1-8, including a two-run homer. I hope he can work his magic like his nickname, El Mago, implies.

Wow, this was a great deadline. Not a lot of teams got worse (except for the Cubs and Nationals), and a lot of teams got better and races got tighter. Now let’s watch August and September unfold. Also, in addition to the Cubs cleaning house, all three of the superstars that were traded from Chicago homered in their debut: Anthony Rizzo against the Marlins, Javy Baez against the Reds and Kris Bryant against the Astros. Hug a Cubs fan today, will ya?