Trade Deadline Diary

July 31st, 2009 | by Ray Flowers |

I’m toast, and no I didn’t spend all day on the beach or at the local tanning salon. From the moment I woke up this morning it’s been all baseball. First I did the Fanball Podcast with Kyle Elrink which you can listen to every Monday-Friday from 8-9 AM, and after that I did my yearly deadline day dairy detailing all the trades of the day.

To read the entirety of my commentary on every move of the day you can visit my Trade Day Dairy. Here are some of the noteworthy highlights of that piece.

PEAVY TO WHITE SOX

White Sox Receive: Jake Peavy
Padres Receive: Clayton Richard, Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell and Dexter Carter

“A Cy Young award winner was moved today, but it wasn’t the one everyone expected it would be (Roy Halladay appears to have made it through the deadline without being moved). Jake Peavy is now a White Sox… At this point it would seem like a fair bet that we won’t see him on the hill for the club until at least September.”

MARTINEZ TO RED SOX

Red Sox Receive: Victor Martinez
Indians Receive: Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price

“Does this deal increase Martinez’s value? Do you go to a bar on Friday night hoping to find a warm body to spend some time with? Of course it helps V-Mart’s value. A switch hitter, Martinez will likely smack balls of the Green Monster with great frequency (he has hit .313 with a .913 OPS in 67 career at-bats at Fenway).”

WASHBURN TO TIGERS

Tigers Receive: Jarrod Washburn
Mariners Receive: Luke French and Mauricio Robles

“The Tigers receive the man with the third best ERA in the AL at 2.64 and the second best WHIP in the junior circuit at 1.07… Dating back to the start of June, Washburn is only 5-3, but his ERA is 2.02 and his WHIP has been 0.98. Yeah, he has been damn good. Still, the free agent to be has a few concerns.”

ROLEN TO REDS

Reds Receive: Scott Rolen
Blue Jays Receive: Edwin Encarnacion, Zach Stewart and Josh Roenicke

“Rolen will be 35 years old next season and one with an $11 million price tag, but after watching the Reds’ third baseman hit .213 this season apparently the Reds felt it was worth it to add the gamer to their club. Time will tell…Rolen has been able to provide a lot of value at the dish this season, though all those shoulder injuries have pretty much robbed him of the ability to drive the ball deep.”

Edwin Encarnacion was once thought of as a potential all-star with 30 homer power…This might be an example of a change of scenery really helping to boost a player’s value.”

JOHNSON TO MARLINS

Marlins Receive: Nick Johnson and $1.8 million (to pay his salary)
Nationals Receive: Aaron Thompson

“The Marlins added a plus defender and a solid hitter to take over at first base which should allow them to move Jorge Cantu back to third forcing Emilio Bonifacio to a reserve role where he belongs…This is another professional bat for the Marlins who are only six games behind the Phillies and three games out of the Wild Card.”

CABRERA TO TWINS

Twins Receive: Orlando Cabrera
A’s Receive: Tyler Ladendorf

“Cabrera has been on fire hitting .373 with nine steals in July helping to erase a putrid start to the season. An established veteran who brings a nice skill set as a middle infield option in mixed leagues.”

LAROCHE TO BRAVES

Braves Receive: Adam LaRoche
Red Sox Receive: Casey Kotchman

“LaRoche returns to ATL where he enjoyed a nice start to his career. In his last two seasons with the club (2005 and 2006) he hit .259 with 20 homers and .285 with 32 bombs, solid numbers without setting the world on fire…No reason to think that with everyday work that LaRoche won’t be able to be what he has always been – a fine corner infield option in mixed leagues.”

To read the entirety of my thoughts on every more of the day, hopefully they are coherent, feel free to give my Trade Day Dairy a thorough read.

By Ray Flowers

Tags: Adam LaRoche, Jake Peavy, Jarrod Washburn, Nick Johnson, Orlando Cabrera, Scott Rolen, Victor Martinz