Why the Marlins were winners at the trade deadline and more winners at the trade deadline

A lot of people are talking about how the Miami Marlins were losers at the trade deadline.  Matter of fact, I would beg to differ.  I would say the Miami Marlins were winners at the trade deadline and I'm here to tell you why they were winners at the trade deadline.  Lets go back to June.  In the month of June the Marlins got one of the best relief pitchers in baseball by adding Fernando Rodney.  That's a big trade because he gives the Marlins depth in their bullpen and puts less pressure on the Marlins starting rotation.  Another arm that the Marlins added was Andrew Cashner.  No, he's not a number one starter, but he can come in as the third or fourth starting pitcher which adds depth to their rotation.

There were other winners at the trade deadline.

I liked the Orioles adding an arm in their rotation in Wade Miley.

I also liked the Red Sox adding arms in Drew Pomeranz and Brad Ziegler.

One thing the Cubs needed to add to make a run in October was depth in their bullpen.  What better than adding reliever Aroldis Chapman who has the fastest arm in baseball.

At the time James Shields was a good trade for the White Sox. In the beginning of his tenure with the White Sox he wasn't performing at a level that he performed when he was with Kansas City.  In the last month he's returned to big game status.

When you trade Jay Bruce you would have to kill yourself.  Well, the Reds are in a rebuilding mode right now and getting rid of Jay Bruce is getting ride of a fat contract and getting youth for it.  That's exactly what the Reds did by trading him to the Mets.

The Cleveland Indians were able to add more depth in Andrew Miller.  When he was with the Yankees he's become one of the best relief pitchers in baseball.

I liked what the Dodgers did this year on the trade market.  When Kershaw went down they added depth in their rotation in Bud Norris.  They were also able to get Josh Reddick from the A's.

Finally the Brewers were able to get rid of Jonathan Lucroy.  He just doesn't have the power or speed he once had but he did give a team an added bat in a lineup.  The Brewers were able to add value with youth and they were able to get rid of a bad contract.  It's a win win for the Brewers right now.

I like what the Mets did today.  They were able to land Jay Bruce from the Reds.  They also added Kelly Johnson.  Both of them should add much needed depth in their lineup.

The Yankees becoming sellers at the trade deadline isn't the worst thing in the world.  Actually it may be a good thing that they sold at the trade deadline.  They were able to ship Carlos Beltron the the Rangers, Andrew Miller to the Indians, and Aroldis Chapman to the Cubs.  Chapman and Miller I believe are soon to be free agents and Carlos Beltron would be what I call a bad contract.  Good career over paid.

The Oakland Athletics are currently rebuilding and they showed that by trading Josh Reddick.

I like what the Padres did this trade season.  They were able to trade off Matt Kemp and his contract, you were able to get rid James Shields and his contract, you got rid of a bad contract in Melvon Upton JR, and you got rid of Fernando Rodney and Andrew Cashner.  They now have some money to spend next off season and on a rebuilding mode.

I liked the Giants for adding Matt Moore.

Not like the Rangers needed more depth in their lineup but man did they add it.  They got Jonathan Lucroy and Carlos Beltron.  They won't be pressured into performing at an all star level but, they will add power to a high power Texas Rangers lineup.

I loved what the Blue Jays did this trade deadline.  They were able to get Liriano from the Pirates, Jason Grilli, Scott Feldman, and Joaquin Benoit.  that's pretty good depth to their pitching staff.

Of course you have teams that were busy making their case as to why teams shouldn't be touching them.  My case would be the Rockies.  Teams were asking about Boone Logan who are the Rockies left handed pitcher in the Rockies bullpen, Charlie Blackmon who has a really good batting average and is one of the best lead off hitters in the game today, and Carlos Gonzalez who is one of the best power hitters in the game today.  The Rockies were 8 games below the .500 mark at the all star break and could have become a seller and trade off some of their best players for more prospects or they could have started to go on a hot streak and stand pat.  Right now the Rockies are one game below .500 and are only 4 and a half games out of the playoffs, so not getting rid of your talent means you can still make a push towards the playoffs.  Their next six games features teams who are ahead of them in the wild card standings and that means they can make a push towards October.

Teams that I thought should have sold were the Phillies who should have tried to get rid of Ryan Howard.  His batting average has gone down in the last couple of years and he's getting older.  Plus, the Phillies still have him under contract for the next 2 seasons.

Another team that should have become a seller at the trade deadline would be the Los Angeles Angels.  They have horrible contracts in Pujols you know you're probably not going to be able to resign Trout so why not try and move one or the other or both of them?  There are teams who would love to have veteran leadership in Pujols and there are teams who would love to have the reigning MVP of the American League.

A lot of people were saying that the Royals should have become a seller.  You just made 2 world series in a row and you want them to become a seller.  I say they were a winner at the deadline because they stood pat and who knows they may make another run at the playoffs next year.  And they're still not out of the playoff picture just yet.

One team I thought should have become a buyer were the Houston Astros.  For the run they've had the last couple of months I don't see why they couldn't add some key pieces to their puzzle.  You make the playoffs last year and you were one win away from making the LCS and you're still within three games of the playoffs. You should be dumping your farm system for a chance at a world series right now.

Another team who should have been a buyer would be the Detroit Tigers.  Right now they can probably add some depth to their pitching staff and maybe another bat or 2 to go in that lineup.

Another question I had at the deadline is why couldn't the Braves move Matt Kemp?  He's a good hitter, he'll hit home runs, and he'll steal bases.  He's a five tool player who can make an impact on a roster trying to make post season play.