Trade Treks Out West

The trade deadline in baseball passed by earlier today and quite a few trades were made by the GMs looking to buy or sell. There were three trades that seem to catch the eyes of the league and they all involved teams in the AL and NL West Divisions. The first one involved Ryan Dempster. The expectation leading into today was that he was going to be traded to the Dodgers. Dempster would actually end up in the American League. He was traded to the Rangers in exchange for two minor league players. The Rangers make this move with hopes that it will give them enough for another World Series run.

The other two trades involved the Phillies dumping a couple of players. Who would of thought that the Phillies would be sellers instead of buyers at this time. One trade would send Hunter Pence to the Giants in exchange for Nate Schierholtz, a Double AA Catcher, and a Class A pitcher. The other trade Philly orchestrated would involve the Giants NL West Rivals, the Dodgers, as they sent Shane Victorino packing in exchange for a reliever and a minor league picther and also a player to be named later or cash. Not exactly gutting the whole team but enough of it for them to contend in the future.

Not a bad trade deadline day in the Majors. Ryan Dempster is the biggest move, no doubt, considering the ERA he has (2.25) and how he helps cancel out Zack Greinke going to the Angels. It's definitely a bigger move than that one. As for Philly's moves, they remind me of a weapons dealer selling to both sides in a war. Hunter Pence might be a better hitter than Victorino this season but the Dodgers still had a better month in terms of exchanges when you factor in getting Hanley Ramirez last week from the Marlins. But what the Pence move does is keep the Giants in it while also giving them a needed offensive boost.

There were a few other deals made in baseball like Jonathan Broxton going to the Reds but these three trades mentioned are interesting as they involve western teams making a push for a playoff run. Perhaps one of these trades will lead to that.

P.S. Please let it be the Giants.