Join Curt Bishop on the Exit Velo Podcast as he breaks down every team’s trade deadline acquisitions and gives them a grade based on what/who they acquired and how each move could help or hurt them going forward.
Hello there baseball fans, I’m Curt Bishop and today we’re going to wrap up our segment on grading each team’s trade deadline. We’re going to close things out with the NL West.
San Francisco Giants
Starting with the Giants; they didn’t do a whole lot, but what they did do was pretty big. They acquired Kris Bryant from the Cubs, who like Baez and Rizzo before him, homered in his first game with his new team. With Evan Longoria out, the Giants needed someone to fill the third-base vacancy and so far, so good for KB in San Fran. They also brought back a familiar face in left-handed reliever Tony Watson, who came from the Angels. A well traveled veteran, Watson fits right into their bullpen and is a guy who obviously has experience throwing to catcher Buster Posey. The Giants have proven they’re a good team, capable of winning the World Series and they’ve also proven their desire to do so. The Giants get an A+ for their efforts at the trade deadline.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Now onto the Dodgers. They did a little bit of everything. The big move they made was acquiring Max Scherzer AND Trea Turner from the Nationals. They even picked up Danny Duffy from the Royals. Duffy and Scherzer provide solid rotation options and give them perhaps the best rotation in all of baseball, along with Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler. No Trevor Bauer? No problem. Turner also helps them beef up their lineup and to have him alongside guys like Bellinger, Muncy, Betts, Seager, Justin Turner, and even Pujols, makes them the clear favorite on paper to win a title in 2021. The Dodgers get an A+
San Diego Padres
Next up we have the Padres. They may be in a little trouble due to the loss of Fernando Tatis Jr, but the acquisition of Adam Frazier can help offset some of that. They got Jake Marisnick from the Cubs, so now they have a solid bench bat and a good fourth outfielder. They did miss out on Scherzer, but they still got Daniel Hudson from Washington to iron things out in their bullpen. They’re 7 games out of first in the West, and their lead in the Wild Card race has dropped down to 3.5 games, but they look to be on the upswing, having won three in a row and 6 of their last 10. This is another team that is ready to go all in and make a deep postseason run. They get an A+
Colorado Rockies
Now onto the Mile High City. We’ve got the Rockies who were clear sellers. They traded off Mychal Givens, who went up to Cincinnati. That’s really all they did. They acquired minor league pitchers Case Williams and Noah Davis in that deal. Davis was a good get. So far in his minor league career, he’s compiled a 5-10 record with a 3.38 ERA. The record isn’t great but I think the ERA speaks for itself. I just wanted to see them do a little more. They could’ve gotten a decent haul of prospects if they were to have traded Jon Gray or German Marquez. Since they didn’t do that much, it’s kind of hard to gauge. We’ll give them a C- for now.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Finally we have the Diamondbacks. They’ve had a miserable season, especially on the road, so it was in their best interests to sell. They sent Joakim Soria to the Blue Jays in exchange for two players to be named later. They also sent Eduardo Escobar up to Milwaukee. In return, they got second baseman Alberto Ciprian and catcher Cooper Hummel. Ciprian is off to a good start in the minors so far, hitting .328 in 58 at bats. Hummel hasn’t done much in his minors career. Over five seasons, he’s hit 37 homers and driven in 171 runs while hitting just .246. This isn’t a bad haul for Arizona. Escobar isn’t exactly a superstar, so it’s not like they were going to get a top prospect for him. We’ll give them a C.
Thanks so much for tuning into our segment on trade deadline grades. I’m Curt Bishop. You’ve been listening to the Exit Velo Podcast. We’ll be back soon with more.
