The Rich Hill Sweepstakes is officially over! I’m going to include the last couple weeks in general in this, as this all started with the Chapman trade from the Yankees to the Cubs. But who did the best? Who did the worst? Here we go, starting with the losers this year:
5. San Francisco Giants – The Giants needed a full on new bullpen, and they only have Will Smith to show for their efforts. Meanwhile, the Dodgers made such headway with Rich Hill and Josh Reddick this division is now up for grabs. I suppose they’re hoping even year magic will carry them?
4. Baltimore Orioles – The Red Sox got Drew Pomeranz and Fernando Abad to shore up their pitching staff. The Blue Jays made some depth moves as well that didn’t make too many waves, but The Orioles were the most in need of help out of the AL East contenders, and ended up with nothing.
3. Detroit Tigers – They’re at the end of their run, and know it. And yet, they don’t have any chips to offer to get better. For now, they’re left watching the division slip away to the White Sox and Indians for the next couple years.
2. San Diego Padres – They really did a lot to make their organization work this year. Though they did get a decent prospect from the Red Sox, the deal with the Marlins fell through and with the expensive payroll (for them) that they’ve acquired, they’re still stuck in a position where they’re not likely to catch up to SF or LA in the near future.
1. Miami Marlins — We saw how their trade went through, hoping to get an arm to shore up their rotation as they’re going up against the Mets/Nats to try to sneak into a wild card spot. This blew up, and Miami has no benefit to show for it. They did get the trade refunded, but the organization didn’t move forward, and aren’t setting themselves up for next year, where they’ll be likely to perform worse.
And now the winners!
5. Cleveland Indians – The Indians have the AL Central all but locked up, but they acquired one of the best relievers in the game with Andrew Miller. This is the exciting team to watch that no one’s watching. If they do hold their division, with such an elite closer added, I would look for them to be the AL favorites for the world series.
4. Oakland Athletics – The A’s were definitely looking to get rid of Josh Reddick and Rich Hill. It was good prospects or a compensation pick for them, and they really raked the Dodgers over the coals, as the Dodgers were desperate for their season. They had suitors for both but an injury prone Hill wasn’t going to help the A’s the rest of the year, and Reddick is likely to be high priced on the free agency market. Getting 2 top 10 and another top 15 prospect is huge. They also traded Billy Burns for a Royals prospect. Burns really isn’t able to be productive at the major league level, so that may work out for the better.
3. Los Angeles Dodgers – A week ago, they were chasing a wild card, but now they’re officially in it for the NL West. They look to be a real threat to the struggling Giants, who didn’t add much at this deadline. Though they gave up some heavy prospects, this deadline could spell the end of the Even Year for the Giants.
2. New York Yankees – The Yankees had an overpaid team (as always) and no farm system by which to speak. Getting rid of Chapman, Beltran, Miller really gave them chips that allowed some huge rebuilding prospects. They created a great farm system out of one trade season, building for the future.
1. Chicago Cubs – They were ready to go to the world series before the moves, and now they have an elite reliever core to match the rest of their team. I’ve never seen a team this exciting in my time watching baseball. They have prospect depth to spare, so though they paid a lot for their moves, getting that much closer to that ring from the Cubs standpoint is everything.
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