Not your usual deadline winners
Blue Jays, Astros part of new wave of AL contenders
The Houston Astros are loading up for a pennant race. Ditto for the Toronto Blue Jays. Quit rubbing your eyes. That’s not a misprint. If it seems like baseball has been turned upside down — with longtime doormats now on top and former powers such as Atlanta and Philadelphia in white-flag mode — you wouldn’t be far off.
But here’s the thing: It’s really not an anomaly.
Baseball always has played the parity game as well or better than other major league sports, even though it’s the only one that doesn’t have a salary cap.
Sure, the Yankees and Dodgers of the world always will have an edge because of their seemingly limitless resources, but there’s no reason a wellmanaged team with a fraction of the payroll that spends wisely can’t make a run for a title.
That’s what happened a year ago with Kansas City, which surged to the American League pennant and within one win of a World Series title after missing out on the playoffs for nearly three decades. And the Royals don’t look like a one-year wonder, either, having staked out the biggest lead of any division leader.
Now, along comes Houston, just two years removed from a 111-loss season but suddenly on top in the AL West Division and one of the big winners Friday at the trade deadline.
“We’ve got a chance to win this year. We’ve got a chance to win next year. We’re taking advantage of it,” Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow said.
Unlike the NBA, where an elite player can transform any team into a contender, or the NFL, where a top quarterback is a necessity for any team hoping to reach the Super Bowl, one or two stars won’t necessarily make a huge difference on a 25man roster in baseball. Clayton Kershaw may be one of the game’s most dominant starting pitchers, but he only goes to the mound every fifth day for the Dodgers.
Over the past decade, 27 of baseball’s 30 teams have made at least one playoff appearance, and 24 of those have qualified more than once. And remember, the MLB playoffs are still the most exclusive, even taking into account the extra wild card that was added in 2012. Only 10 teams qualify, far fewer than the 16 that make it in the NBA and NHL (also with 30 teams each) and a lower percentage than the NFL, which takes 12 of 32.
Miami, Seattle and Toronto are the only teams to miss out on baseball’s postseason the past 10 years, but the Blue Jays are eager to end their drought.
Which brings us to the biggest winners and losers at the deadline for making non-waiver trades:
Thumbs up
• Toronto. Hand it to the Blue Jays, who haven’t been to the postseason since winning the 1993 World Series — a longer stretch of futility than any other club. Even with his team barely over .500 and in the same division with the first-place Yankees, general manager Alex Anthopoulos rolled the dice, essentially mortgaging the future to land ace pitcher David Price, slugging shortstop Troy Tulowitzki and 42-year-old reliever LaTroy Hawkins. Cover your eyes, Blue Jays fans, for what it means a couple of years down the road. For now, enjoy.
• Houston. Having built up his minor league system through three miserable seasons, Luhnow had the wherewithal to acquire a top starting pitcher (Scott Kazmir) and a dynamic hitter (Carlos Gomez). Can you say division champion? “We’ve been accumulating prospects in the minor leagues to make moves like this,” Luhnow said.
• Los Angeles Dodgers. Armed with baseball’s biggest payroll, the Dodgers don’t have to fret about taking on big contracts for useless players. Still, give team president Andrew Friedman credit for preserving most of his top prospects while landing two starting pitchers (Mat Latos, Alex Wood), two relievers (Jim Johnson, Luis Avilan) and one of Atlanta’s top prospects (Jose Peraza).