Well, that just happened.
The 2014 MLB trade deadline was an exercise in chaos mixed with insanity sprinkled with a dash of absolute craziness. Who came out on top in all of this mayhem? Who is going to have some regrets going forward? We attempt to answer these questions for you with The 3 Biggest Winners And 3 Biggest Losers Of The 2014 MLB Trade Deadline.
Winners
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics started the trade deadline fireworks just under four weeks early, landing starting pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel from the Chicago Cubs in what many assumed to be Billy Beane's one blockbuster deal of the summer.
So much for that.
Beane pulled off the shocker of all shockers early on Thursday, acquiring Boston Red Sox ace Jon Lester (on what could very well be a two-month rental) and former A's outfielder Jonny Gomes for five-tool, two-time defending Home Run Derby champion Yoenis Cespedes.
Some will decry the fact that Beane gave up one of baseball's most electrifying young stars in an all-or-nothing proposition for 2014. However, having seen the mountaintop for so long without being able to climb it, the Oakland Athletics realize that the time is now to put all their chips on the table for a run at their first World Series title in 25 years.
Boston Red Sox
In danger of becoming the first MLB team in history to go from last place to first place and then back to last place again over the span of three seasons, the Boston Red Sox and general manager Ben Cherington pulled the rug out from under the 2014 season on Thursday and shook it vigorously.
How does a team who traded away two of their top starters (Lester and John Lackey), a lights-out reliever (Andrew Miller), and two serviceable veterans (Jonny Gomes and Stephen Drew) end up a winner on this list?
Well, in exchange, the Sox picked up the aforementioned Cespedes, a MLB-level rotation piece in Joe Kelly, and enigmatic but talented outfielder/first baseman Allen Craig. Throw in a top prospect in pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez and a competitive balance pick and you have a very impressive haul for what they dealt away.
In short, the Red Sox had to do something to help reboot the franchise quickly. They did so, and then some.
Detroit Tigers
The Oakland A's fired the opening salvo on Thursday. However, just when everybody was ready to gift-wrap the American League for Oakland, the Detroit Tigers and GM Dave Dombrowski did it.
They got David Price.
http://youtu.be/7HSaYXp517A
Acquiring Price didn't come without its costs. Detroit had to give up both dynamic center fielder Austin Jackson (to Seattle) and starting pitcher Drew Smyly (to Tampa) in order to land the former AL Cy Young Award winner.
Yet, with the possibility that Max Scherzer could leave via free agency this winter, the Tigers fortified the front of their rotation for both this year's playoff run and 2015 in one single move.
Not bad for a team that hadn't really been mentioned as major players for Price until the very last moments before the deadline.
Losers
Philadelphia Phillies
Nothing.
That's exactly what happened in the City of Brotherly Love at the trade deadline. For a team floundering under the weight of underperforming veterans and costly contracts, doing absolutely zilch at the deadline has already raised the ire of Philadelphia Phillies fans all over social media.
Granted, it's possible that the Phillies could swing a waiver trade in August. However, when upwards of a dozen players were rumored to be on the move and a glimpse into a whole new era of Phillies baseball was this close, the heat is now on GM Ruben Amaro to get something done before season's end.
If not, his office chair could be mighty hot during a cold, cold winter in Philadelphia.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays' place on this list has less to do with what they received and more to do with what they didn't. Tampa Bay picked up a controllable starting pitching asset in Drew Smyly, a reportedly-coveted middle infielder in Nick Franklin, and a potential stud in minor league infield prospect Willy Adames.
While that's a solid overall pickup for a Tampa Bay Rays team looking both to the present and the future at the same time, it's not exactly the mega-pickup many were expecting them to fetch for Price.
Seeing that the Oakland Athletics dealt away mega-prospect Addison Russell, 2013 first-round pick Billy McKinney, a serviceable MLB arm in Dan Straily, and a player to be named later to the Chicago Cubs for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, many analysts have pointed to the Rays' haul for David Price as lacking in comparison.
Time will tell if Smyly morphs into a feature at the front of their rotation or if Adames rises to the MLB in lightning bolt fashion. However, at this time, the jury is still out and could be out for a while yet.
San Francisco Giants
San Francisco finds themselves smack dab in the middle of an absolute brawl in both the NL West and NL Wild Card races. The Giants had two glaring needs (second base and in the starting rotation) heading into the last couple weeks before the deadline, and end up with more questions than they had to begin with at this point.
Adding Jake Peavy is a solid move on paper for a starting rotation in need of a boost after Matt Cain's injury. However, Peavy is now 1-10 with a 4.71 ERA and 1.423 WHIP and still leads the American League with 20 home runs surrendered.
At second base, the San Francisco Giants tried to salvage Dan Uggla off the scrap heap in Atlanta in order to boost their flagging fortunes at the position. So far, Uggla is 0-for-11 with 6 Ks and 3 errors in four games, dropping his already uh-oh batting average to .149 this year. In fact, his debut has gone so poorly, that sources are already making up fake stories about his release.
Things could get better with an August waiver trade or two, but as of now...there's trouble brewing by the Bay.
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