DODGERS CHEMISTRY TEST
Last season teams were transformed by trade-deadline deals, most notably the Mets and Blue Jays. By this time a year ago, in fact, it was clear those teams were the big winners at the deadline, thanks to Yoenis Cespedes in New York, and David Price and Troy Tulowitzki in Toronto.
This season? It is not as easy to declare winners and losers just yet.
The Cubs, at 18-4, have had the best record since the deadline, but they were already the best team in baseball at the time.
Still, Aroldis Chapman, their one major acquisition, has added late-inning dominance to the mix, and could wind up fulfilling Theo Epstein’s belief that Chapman could be the last step to winning a championship.
Otherwise, the two teams that have played the best baseball since Aug. 1, the Royals at 17-6 and the Mariners at 16-8, didn’t make any significant trades before the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Giants, at 9-14, have had the worst record since the deadline, and they were among the most active teams, acquiring lefty starter Matt Moore, reliever Will Smith and third baseman Eduardo Nunez.
And the Mets are 11-12 since trading for Jay Bruce, one of the biggest names to be dealt at the deadline.
But before we declare this the year of the seller, with the Yankees leading the way, it’s worth noting that because so many teams had big leads in their division at the time, deadline trades were geared more toward making a difference in the postseason than sparking a late-season surge.
To this point, in fact, no position player has had anything resembling the impact Cespedes did for the Mets last season, though Jonathan Lucroy’s seven home runs in 20 games have certainly helped the Rangers.
Mostly, this year’s deadline seems destined to be remembered for the scramble to get a lock-down closer — Chapman to the Cubs, Andrew Miller to the Indians and Mark Melancon to the Nationals.
So far all three have delivered dominance for their new teams, with Chapman the most spectacular, racking up 23 strikeouts in 13.2 innings, to go with 10 saves through Friday, while allowing one run.
But each was acquired to get big outs in October, with the Nationals, holding tight to their best prospects, opting for the cheaper alternative in Melancon. Will that cost them in the postseason?
If either Chapman or Miller plays a major role in ending long championship droughts for their respective franchises, the Cubs or Indians will be rewarded for overpaying to get a reliever. And then we'll have a definitive trade-deadline winner, no matter what top prospects like Gleyber Torres or Clint Frazier do for the Yankees.
Meantime, a look at some of the other notable deadline-deals, four weeks later:
l Lucroy to the Rangers: Texas dealt two highly-regarded prospects, the type the Mets didn’t have to give up, in outfielder Lewis Brinson and righthanded pitcher Luis Ortiz, to the Brewers, and so far the Rangers are thrilled with Lucroy.
The seven home runs and a .611 slugging percentage is one reason, but a Rangers’ source says the team is impressed with Lucroy’s catching ability as well.
“He’s a heady receiver with a great feel for working with pitchers,” the Rangers’ source said. “We needed a guy to take charge back there.”
l Beltran to the Rangers: He hasn’t hit much so far in Texas, with a .207 average and a .583 OPS through Friday, but the Rangers got him at least partly for his great postseason track record, so stay tuned.
Meanwhile, pitcher Dillon Tate, the No. 4 pick in the 2014 draft, and the centerpiece of the deal with the Yankees, has been a bit of a mystery to his new team. He was having a disappointing season in Class A for the Rangers, in part because of a drop in velocity, and while his fastball has had more life, at 94-95 mph, he has been very hittable, giving up 16 hits in 10 relief innings.
“He had a hamstring injury earlier in the year that got his mechanics out of whack and destroyed his confidence,” a Yankee source said. “He needs to be built back up but the arm and the stuff is there.”
l Rich Hill, Josh Reddick to the Dodgers: Hill may yet salvage what was looking like a disastrous deal for LA, as they gave up top prospects Frankie Montas and Grant Holmes to the A’s.
A blister had kept Hill from pitching for the Dodgers, but he finally made his first start for them Tuesday, and he delivered six shutout innings. Reddick, however, has been a lost cause in LA, hitting .143 with one extra-base hit, a double.
l Ivan Nova to the Pirates: here’s the surprise of the trade-deadline season so far, as Nova is 3-0 with a 3.20 ERA in four starts in Pittsburgh, since the Yankees dealt for him for two players to be named later.
Nova has given up 27 hits in 25 innings, but limited the damage in part because he has issued only one walk.
l Moore to the Giants: Coming within one out of a no-hitter against the Dodgers on Thursday night gave the Giants hope that Moore will be a difference-making starter, after he’d gone 0-3 with a 4.70 ERA in four previous starts for them.
Of course, it remains to be seen if throwing
Was it worth messing with the Dodgers’ chemistry, and especially the happiness of Clayton Kershaw, to get a new backup catcher in Carlos Ruiz?
In other words, how will the Dodgers react to trading A.J. Ellis, their current backup catcher who is not much of an offensive threat but is highly popular in the clubhouse, and serves as Kershaw’s personal catcher and best friend?
Was it coincidence they came within an out of getting no-hit on the day the trade was made?
Ruiz offers a bit more help against lefthanded pitching, which has been a problem for the Dodgers, but what’s more important, the numbers or the intangibles for a team that has shown true grit in overcoming injuries, including Kershaw’s back injury, to lead the NL West?
Dodgers’ GM Andrew Friedman went with the numbers, and Dodgers’ players weren’t happy about it. What happens from here will be something of a fascinating case study in this sabermetric age.