Trade Deadline Deals

The MLB trading deadline was at 4 pm on Friday and a couple of teams made moves before that deadline. The Boston Red Sox were the most active team before the deadline, acquiring Cleveland Indians catcher Victor Martinez and Atlanta Braves first baseman Casey Kotchman. In the trade with the Indians, the Red Sox traded Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone, and Bryan Price for Martinez. Also, Jake Peavy of the San Diego Padres was traded to the Chicago White Sox for four young pitchers. Peavy was traded to the White Sox earlier in the year but Peavy had a no-trade clause in his contract where he controlled his trade destinations and he did not waive the clause to go to them.

In other deals, Jarrod Washburn of the Seattle Mariners was traded to the Detroit Tigers, Scott Rolen of the Toronto Blue Jays was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, and Orlando Cabrera of the Oakland Athletics was traded to the Minnesota Twins. The player that got the biggest attention during the time before the trade deadline was Blue Jays pitcher Roy Halladay. He ended up staying with the Blue Jays after they didn't find an offer that was suitable for them.

The Red Sox were very aggressive in getting themselves two good hitters in Martinez and Kotchman. However, it will be hard to get playing time for both players, who were quality starters with their previous team. Martinez is a catcher and can also play first base. Jason Varitek is currently their catcher and Kevin Youkilis is their first baseman. Kotchman is a first baseman so he will also be behind Youkilis and Martinez possibly. This wasn't a good deal, logically, because it can make both players unhappy.

The White Sox have put themselves in a position to win the AL Central with their move acquiring Peavy. Mark Buehrle has been the only reliable starter for the White Sox. John Danks, Gavin Floyd and Jose Contreras have been disappointments, but the White Sox have hung around in the division race. The Tigers acquiring Washburn was also good because they now have a quality starter behind Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson to stay atop the AL Central. The New York Mets were probably a team that should've made a move to come back in the NL East race. Now, their season is all but over.