The move was made with the anticipation that Beltran will start the year on the disabled list and will give the team some added depth in the outfield.  It is, however, a curious one how well Angel Pagan played for them in spot duty last season.  Pagan hit .306 with a .837 OPS and stole 14 bases in 88 games for the Mets last season.

How desperate were the Angels to unload Matthews?  They are taking back a middle-of-the road reliever in Stokes and agreeing to pay $21 million of the remaining $23 million left on the last two years of Matthews’ contract.  They are essentially paying the Mets to take Matthews off their hands.

On the one hand I like the move in the sense that he gives the Yanks some depth in the rotation in the event that Phil Hughes or Joba Chamberlain do not win a spot in the spring or if Andy Pettite has nothing left to give them.  One begins to wonder if Hughes is even going to be given a shot at winning a spot in the rotation this spring with the addition of Vazquez.  They now have six potential starters for five spots.

The reason I do not like the move is Vazquez pitched for the Yankees before, was rather unimpressive, and did not seem to be able to handle the pressure of pitching in New York.  Is it any co-incidence that he has been an overwhelmingly better pitcher in the National League as compared to the American League?  At the very least he will probably give the Yanks 200 innings but will he be any more effective than say Joba Chamberlain or Phil Hughes would have been in that spot in the rotation?  It seems somewhat debatable that he will be.

The other reason I do not like the deal is Vazquez is a fly ball pitcher and the way the new stadium plays in the Bronx one would think the Yanks would be wanting to acquire more ground ball oriented pitchers.

This basically amounts to a salary dump for the Braves who were desperate to dump one of their higher priced starting pitchers to cut payroll back.  With Nate McClouth already established in center field Cabrera will likely be moved to one of the corner outfield positions.

The two other pitchers changing hands, Mike Dunn and Boone Logan, are basically throw-ins that will likely have little to no impact on their new teams next season.  Logan should compete for a spot in the Yankees bullpen but do not look for him to be that guy who is used to setup Mariano Rivera.

The Phillies acquiesced to the Blue Jays demands of giving up Kyle Drabek and Michael Taylor once they were able to find a comparable package of prospects from the Mariners in exchange for Lee.  Essentially the Phillies are giving up Cliff Lee to have Roy Halladay in their rotation next season.

Ultimately, Halladay does not give the Phillies a significant boost next season.  Lee has won 36 games and posted a 2.89 ERA over the last two seasons while Halladay has won 37 games and posted a 2.78 ERA.  The biggest difference between the two being that Halladay is more of a power pitcher who typically strikes out over 200 hitters a year while Lee is more of a finesse pitcher who relies on superior control to get batters out.

What Halladay does give the Phillies is a bit more long term security as Lee has already announced his intent to enter the free agent market after next season and the Phillies were not confident they would be able to compete with other teams bidding on Lee.  Lee will most likely command a five or six year contract next winter and the Phillies typically d0 not give out those kinds of deals to pitchers.

The Mariners now have that second established pitcher to pair with Felix Hernandez next year currently giving them the best 1-2 punch in the West.  The addition of Lee also means they can move Ian Snell and Ryan Rowland-Smith further down the rotation where they belong for the time being.

In addition to landing Halladay the Phillies are getting the Mariners top two pitching prospects in Phillippe Aumont and Juan Ramirez as well as outfield prospect Tyson Gillies.

Aumont is a former first round selection who struggled at AA ball last season and is still probably a year or two away from being big league ready.  He went 2-6 with 16 saves and a 3.88 ERA between Advanced-A and AA ball this past year.

Ramirez is another young low level prospect with a lively arm that has struggled with his control at times.  He has yet to pitch above Adavanced-A level ball and is still a few years away from making the majors.  He went 8-10 with a 5.12 ERA and hit 17 batters for High Desert of the California League last summer.

Gillies is a speedy outfield prospect who hit .341 with 14 triples and 44 stolen bases for High Desert last season.  He is considered to have similar tools to that of Michael Taylor whom the Phillies are giving up in the Halladay deal.

In addition to the aforementioned Taylor and Drabek the Jays are also getting catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud.  The Blue Jays have reportedly flipped Taylor over to the Athletics for third base prospect Brett Wallace whom the A’s got in the Matt Holliday deal last summer.

Drabek is probably less than a year away from being major league ready after going 8-2 with a 3.64 ERA in AA ball last year.  Drabek is a solid strikeout pitcher who has pretty good control for a pitcher his age.

D’Arnoud hit .255 with 13 homers for Lakewood in A ball last summer.

Wallace hit .293 and cranked out 20 homers between AA and AAA ball last season.  There are some questions as to whether he has the defensive skillset to handle playing third base at the big league level and he does strike out quite a bit.  Offensively he is ready to be an every day player at the big league level, but, he still needs some work defensively unless the Jays plan on moving him to first base or the outfield.

In Taylor the A’s are getting someone with some pop in his bat who could potentially hit lead-off for them.  Taylor had 137 hits in 116 games in the minors last season and hit .320 with a .395 OBP.  He also had 20 homers, stole 21 bases, and drove in 80 runs.

Overall, the Phils are getting the guy they have coveted since the Jays made it be known that he was available, the Jays are getting the mix of prospects they wanted, and the Mariners are getting the established starting pitcher they needed to add to be contenders in the West next season.

Soriano is coming off a season in which he converted 27 of 31 save opportunities with a 2.97 ERA.  He gives a Rays team, that struggled with consistency at the position all last season, some stability at the end of the game.

The Rays converted just 65% of their save opportunities tying them for 16th in the majors and blew 22 saves which tied for the 8th most in baseball.  J. P. Howell saw the most action, converting 17 of 25 saves, closing out games after Troy Percival was lost for the year due to an injury and later decided to re-retire.

Jesse Chavez is simply a middle-of-the-road reliever whom the Braves took in order to dump Soriano’s salary.  Do not expect much out of him other giving the Braves 70 solid innings out of the pen next season.

The Red Sox have long been rumored to be looking to deal Lowell and it is being reported that Boston would have to agree to pay a significant chunk of the $12 million owed Lowell next season.

Lowell has struggled to stay in the lineup the past two seasons as he has battled a hip injury similar to that of Alex Rodriguez’s that required surgery.  Despite missing 92 games over the past two years he has still managed to average 17 homers and 74 RBIs in that time frame.  He still swings a pretty good stick but which means he is likely to primarily see time as a DH for the Rangers.

In Max Ramirez the Red Sox are getting a catcher who has struggled to stay healthy the past two years.  He hit well in the lower levels of the minors but it remains to be seen if he will ever master major league pitching.

At any rate this deal is going to lead to tons of speculation as to what Boston’s next move is going to be.  It has been rumored over the past several weeks that the Sox are looking at moving Kevin Youkilis back to third so they can make a serious run at Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera or San Diego’s Adrian Gonzalez.  Both of whom are young stars that could anchor Boston’s lineup for years to come.

It also gives them some flexibility in the event Jason Varitek rebounds this season and the team wants to find at bats for both him and Victor Martinez who is a sub-par defensive catcher and probably better suited to play first base.

The deal is mostly a salary dump for the Rangers as the financially strapped franchise will get about $8 million in payroll relief.  In Chris Ray they get a former closer who is still working his way back from elbow surgery.  Ray saved 33 games and had a 2.73 ERA in 2006 before succumbing to the elbow injury during the 2007 season.

In landing Millwood the Orioles now have a starting pitcher capable of anchoring the rotation and giving them 15 wins and 200 innings, something they have not had since Erik Bedard was dealt to Seattle.

It is believed that Millwood was dealt to the Orioles to facilitate negotiations that would bring Rich Harden to Texas as their new ace.  Harden made $7 million in Chicago last season and given the litany of injuries he has suffered over the years it is thought that he will sign for far less than the $15 million that Millwood is set to receive next season.

In the deal the Yankees would be receiving Granderson from the Tigers while the Diamondbacks would be getting Edwin Jackson from the Tigers and Ian Kennedy from the Yankees.

The Tigers will be getting relief pitcher Phil Coke and top outfield prospect Austin Jackson from the Yankees and pitching prospects Max Scherzer and Daniel Schlereth from the D-Backs.

Granderson is the biggest name changing hands and would be expected to start in center field for they Yankees next season.  There is some speculation that Granderson will be expected to hit second behind Derek Jeter in the Yankees lineup.  It is hard to see how this helps the Yankees out offensively as Granderson struck out 141 times this season and has struck out at least that many times in three of the last four seasons.  Not to mention his average has dropped from .302 in 2007 to just .249 last season.  He is definitely an upgrade in terms of power over Melky Cabrera and is thought to be a slight defensive upgrade.

If the deal is consummated one wonders what happens to Hideki Matsui and Johnny Damon.  One begins to wonder if the plan is to move Cabrera to left field with the team opting not to bring Matsui or Damon back.  It was reported last week that the Yanks are looking to keep payroll around $175 million and with indications being that Andy Pettitte will be back next season that does not give the team a lot breathing room to maneuver without eclipsing that targeted number.

What is do is it ensures the Yankees now have bargaining power over the two veteran outfielders to offer them what they feel like and tell them to take it or leave it.  Damon and/or Matsui now become luxuries in the eyes of Yankees management as opposed to necessities.

In Austin Jackson the Tigers are getting one of the Yankees top farm hands who has hit .300 or better in two of his last three seasons and has stolen 76 bases over that same time span.  He has some pop in his bat but projects as a potential lead off hitter once he fully matures at the big league level.

Phil Coke appeared in 72 games as a short relief specialist for the Yankees and ending the year with 21 holds and a 4.50 ERA.

Max Scherzer is a hard throwing righty who was 9-11 with a 4.12 ERA while striking out 174 batters in 170.1 innings.  Scherzer was the 11th overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft for the D-Backs and was considered their top pitching prospect.

Daniel Schlereth, the 26th pick in last year’s draft, is a hard-throwing lefty who gives the Tigers a closer of the future once he masters his control issues.

If Ian Kennedy and Brandon Webb fully recover from their respective injuries the deal potentially gives the Diamondbacks one of the deeper rotations in baseball with Webb, Dan Haren, Jackson, and Kennedy.  Webb and Haren are capable of winning upwards of 18 to 20 games while Jackson could give them 13 to 15 and Kennedy showed flashes of being a quality big league pitchers before injuries took away most of the last two seasons for the 24-year old right-hander.

Hardy is a former all star at shortstop and was on the track to stardom prior to a rough 2009 season that saw him hit just .229 prior to being sent down to the minors in mid-August.  It is somewhat surprising the Brewers would give up on a 27-year old shortstop who had established himself as an above average defensive shortstop who was going to hit 25 homers, drive in 75 runs, and bat around .280 each year prior to this past season.

The speedy Gomez is considered a good defensive outfielder who can steal bases for you and could potentially lead off if he ever grasps hitting major league pitching.  He was once considered a top prospect in the Mets system and was included in the Johan Santana deal.

This deal smacks of the Brewers clearing over $10 million worth of payroll when all is said and done.  Hardy made roughly $4.6 million this season and starting center fielder Mike Cameron, a potential free agent, made $10 million.  With Hardy out of the way it is expected the Brewers will go with youngster Alcides Escobar, who hit .304 after Hardy was sent down, at short and it seems likely they will let Cameron walk and go with Gomez in center.  The two combined are not expected to make more than two or three million in salary next season.

For the Twins this likely means Orlando Cabrera’s days in a Twins uniform are at an end.  Cabrera, a free agent, gave the Twins a boost at the plate hitting .289 after arriving from Oakland, but, the once elite fielding shortstop committed 11 errors in 57 games for the Twins.  Hardy gives the Twins an upgrade defensively over Cabrera’s declining skills in the field and he has more pop in his bat than Cabrera does.  The Twins will banking on the idea that a change of scenery is what Hardy needs to get back on track and Gomez had become an expendable piece of a crowded outfield that already features Denard Span, Michael Cuddyer, and Delmon Young.

Winners

Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies got the top of the rotation pitcher they were looking for and did not have to part with J. A. Happ and/or Kyle Drabek to do it.  While Cliff Lee may not be as good as Roy Halladay would have been he still gives the Phillies rotation a shot in the arm and another veteran starter for the stretch run.

St. Louis Cardinals – The Cards acquired both Mark DeRosa and Matt Holliday this month in hopes that they will jump start a languishing offense.  Holliday has already paid immediate dividends hitting .520 and driving in six runs in his first seven games for the Cards.  While DeRosa has struggled hitting only .213 for the Cards six homers in 16 games. 

Boston Red Sox – The Sox got the middle-of-the-order bat they were craving in Victor Martinez and did not have to give up any of their blue chip prospects to get him.  With Jason Bay and David Ortiz scuffling at the plate of late look for Martinez to be plugged into the cleanup spot behind Kevin Youkilis.

Detroit Tigers – The Tigers had been struggling to find any consistency in the rotation after Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.  The addition of Jarrod Washburn, currently third in the league in ERA, will go a long way to stabilize the rotation.

Minnesota Twins – Brendan Harris, Nick Punto, and Alexi Casilla have been manning the middle infield positions for the Twins this year.  Harris has been solid hitting .264 but is really better at second than at short.  Punto and Casilla are hitting .208 and .171 respectively so the Twins went out and dealt for Orlando Cabrera to play shortstop for them.  Cabrera is hitting .280 for the season and has been on fire scorching the league for a .373 clip during the month of July.

San Francisco Giants – The Giants upgraded themselves at first and second base by acquiring Ryan Garko and Freddy Sanchez.  Garko gives them more bang for the buck than Travis Ishikawa was and Sanchez, a former batting champion, gives them someone with some pop that they can stick in the lineup ahead of Pedro Sandoval.  One wonders if they are going to regret not getting a thumper to stick in the order behind Sandoval though.

Losers

New York Yankees – While the Yankees hold the best record in the American League they may end up regretting not landing Jarrod Washburn or someone of his ilk come October.  Joba Chamberlain is reaching uncharted territory in innings pitched, Chien-Ming Wang is done for the year with a bum shoulder, and Andy Pettite is beginning to look like a 37-year old pitcher in the twilight of his career.

Tampa Bay Rays – With David Price, Andy Sonnanstine, and Scott Kazmir failing to find any kind of rhythm out there the Rays may also regret not getting someone to plug into the back end of their rotation.  With Carlos Pena, Pat Burrell, and B. J. Upton struggling to find a groove at the plate this year the Rays may regret not getting a bat for the top fifth of the order as well.

Chicago Cubs – Not adding an outfield bat and/or another starting pitcher may come back to bite the Cubs in the end.

Boldest Move

The boldest move of the week goes to the Chicago White Sox who dealt four prospects to the San Diego Padres for Jake Peavy.  What makes this a bit of a head scratcher is the fact that nobody knows if Peavy will even pitch again this year or how this injury is going to affect his career going forward.  If Peavey manages to come back he could be contributer for the Sox down the stretch.  The other thing that is interesting about this is that Peavy nixed a trade to the White Sox earlier in the year.  It would appear that with the Padres actively trying to move both Heath Bell and Adrian Gonzalez that Peavy sees the writing on the wall and is getting out of San Diego while the getting is good.

Victor Martinez gives Boston the bat they were looking for to plug into the heart of the order to jump start an offense that is hitting just .245 for the month of July.  Martinez has split his time between first base and catcher this season and is currently hitting .284 with 15 homers and 67 RBIs.  He is expected to catch, play first and given David Ortiz’s struggles at the plate this year he could see some signficant time at DH as well.

First baseman Casey Kotchman comes to the Sox from Atlanta where he was hitting .282 with six homers and 41 RBIs.  It is expected that he will fill a backup role in Boston giving them a left-handed bat off the bench.

In Justin Masterson the Indians are getting a young right-hander who has both started and come out of the bullpen for the Sox with mixed results.  He went 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA in nine starts last season for Boston but was 2-2 with a 4.59 ERA in his six starts with them this season.  He comes to the Indians with a 3-3 record, 6 holds, and a 4.50 ERA this season.

Hagadone and Price are both young prospects playing in A-ball this year.  Hagadone is a left-handed strikeout artist who has struggled with control at times this year and is currently 0-2 with a 2.52 ERA pitching in the South Atlantic League.  Price is alos a strikeout pitcher who has struggled with consistency this year going 4-8 with a 4.67 ERA in the lower minor leagues.

LaRoche heads back to Atlanta where he broke into the big leagues after spending barely a week as a member of the Red Sox.  He is hitting .248 with 13 homers and 43 RBIs and the Braves are hoping he gives them the punch in the middle of the order they have been looking for.

Cabrera, who is hitting .373 in July and .280 for the year, provides an instant offensive upgrade for the Twins and means Brendan Harris can move back to his more natural position of second base where he will be less of a defensive liability.

The 21-year old Ladendorf is hitting .322 in the lower minors this season and is considered to be a marginal prospect.

In Washburn the Tigers get a veteran with post season experience to plug into the rotation behind Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson.  Washburn was arguably the best pitcher in the league in the month of July going 4-1 with a 1.44 ERA and currently ranks third in the league in ERA just behind Detroit’s Jackson.

The 23-year old French began the season in the minors going 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA before his recent call-up in July to fill in at the back end of the rotation.  He was 1-2 with a 3.38 ERA for the Tigers.

Robles is a spindly 20-year old lefty who has recorded 111 Ks in 91.1 innings in the lower minor leagues this year but appears to be destined for the bullpen if he cannot get his control under wraps.  Robles has walked 41 batters this season after walking 54 in 91.1 innings last season.

What is interesting about this deal is ESPN’s report that when the Yankees called about Washburn the Mariners asked for either one of their top two propsects, Austin Jackson or Jesus Montero, in return the Yankees countered with a package of lesser prospects only to be turned down.  This is interesting as neither of the two pitching prospects they just acquired from the Tigers are considered to be amongst the top ten in Detroit’s farm system.

Good pickup for the Tigers as Washburn is a seasoned veteran who will give them 6+ innings a start and has post season experience.

In Sanchez the Giants are getting a former batting champion who can play second, third, and short and is currently hitting .296.  He gives someone the Giants can plug into the two spot of the order which has been a rather troublesome spot for them this year.  Sanchez is a good contact hitter with some pop and typically ranks amongst the league leaders in doubles and will drive in 80 runs for you.

Alderson, who is 7-2 with a 3.65 ERA in the minors this year, entered the season as the #4 rated prospect in the Giants farm system.

This move coupled with the acquisition of Ryan Garko earlier in the week helps to boost the Giants offense but one wonders if it is going to be enough to get the Giants over the hump offesnively.  Garko has some pop in his bat but he is not that slugger/RBI guy that the Giants really need to plug in the lineup behind Pedro Sandoval and I am not sure he is that significant an upgrade over Travis Ishikawa.

The Giants definitely have the arms to get to the postseason but it remains to be seen whether they will have the bats to get past teams like the Dodgers or Cardinals who would seem to have comparable pitching in a shortened series.

Wilson, a former all star, is widely considered to be one of the best fielding shortstops in the game swings a solid bat and should give the Mariners a little pop towards the end of the lineup.  His numbers have fallen off the past couple of years as he has fought injuries and the Pirates have toiled in anonymity at the bottom of the National League Central standings.

Two years ago Snell was once seen as a rising star after going 9-12 with a 3.76 ERA and 177 strikeouts, but, his career has sprialed out of control since then going 9-20 and a 5.40 ERA.  He has reportedly wore out his welcome with Pittsburgh ending with him being sent down to their AAA affiliate in Indianapolis.  In his six starts in Indy Snell posted a 2-2 record with a 0.96 ERA and the Mariners think that with a change of scenery he will return to being that promising young arm from a couple of years ago.

Cedeno struggled mightily in his first season with the Mariners hitting just .167 with five home runs and the Pirates agreed to take him in the deal because his contract is up at the end of the season and they can simply let him walk.

Clement always seemed to get caught up in a numbers game in Seattle having to wait his turn behind Richie Sexson and now Russell Branyan.  Clement was hitting .288 with 33 doubles, 14 homers, and 68 RBIs in 92 games at AAA Tacoma.

In addition to Cedeno and Clement the Pirates are also getting pitching prospects Aaron Pribanic, Brett Lorin and Nathan Adcock.

Pribanic was 7-6 with a 3.21 ERA pitching for the M’s A affiliate in the South Atlantic League.

Lorin was a teammate of Pribanic’s in West Virginia and was 5-4 with a 2.44 ERA averaging almost a strikeout per inning and sporting a .192 batting average against.

Adcock has struggled this year pitching for Lynchburg out of the Carolina League going 5-7 with a 5.29 ERA.

It remains to be seen what, if anything, the Mariners do from here.  They have been rumored to have an interest in taking Scott Kazmir off the Devil Rays hands and several teams in the market for a middle to back end of the rotation pitcher have a keen interest in Jarrod Washburn who is currently 8-6 with a 2.64 ERA.

Are they acquiring Snell with the idea that he plugs Washburn’s spot when he is dealt or is he expected to fill Erik Bedard’s spot now tha the has landed back on the DL?  Are the Mariners looking to make a run at the post season or are they merely acquiring pieces to try and make a run next year?

The deal is contingent upon all parties involved passing physicals with their new teams.

In Cliff Lee the Phillies get the top of the rotation arm that experts have been saying the Phillies needed if they wanted to make a serious run at repeating as World Series Champions this year.  They do so without having to give up top pitching prospect Kyle Drabek and/or J. A. Happ who has been instrumental in the Phillies building the seven game lead they currently maintain.  Lee, the reigning American League Cy Young winner, is in the midst of a down year after posting a 22-3 record with a 2.54 ERA last season but has pitched like an ace of late winning his last three starts allowing only four runs and throwing a pair of complete games.  Lee has been a strong closer the past three seasons going 13-2 with a 3.16 ERA after the deadline.

Ben Francisco gives the Phillies a right-handed pop with power off the bench who can play all three outfield positions.

The 22-year old Carrasco was once considered the Phillies top pitching prospect but he has struggled since making it AAA posting  a 6-9 record with a 5.18 ERA.

Catcher Lou Marson has already seen some action at the big league level with the Phillies and is a solid hitting prospect with little pop.   He was hitting .235 with a .350 on-base percentage in seven games with the Phils this season and hit .294 with a .370 on-base percentage and just one homer and 24 RBIs with AAA affiliate Lehigh Valley.

The 6′ 5″ Jason Knapp is a 19-year old pitching prospect who has racked up 111 Ks in 85.1 innings pitching in the South Atlantic League this year.

Shortstop Jason Donald was considered one of the Phillies top hitting prospects after hitting .307 with 14 homers and 54 RBIs in just 92 games for AA affiliate Reading but has struggled at Lehigh Valley this season hitting just .236 with one home run and 16 RBIs.

Donald and Carrasco are the two best prospects in the deal and have struggled in the minors this year but the potential is there for them to have long careers in the majors.

The Phillies finally land the top of the rotation arm everyone said they needed to contend for another World Series crown and they get to keep the young talent they were not willing to part with.