The NL West trade deadline in review
Aug 1, 2012, 6:26 PM | Updated: 9:39 pm
NL West general managers were wheeling and dealing throughout the 2012 major league baseball trade deadline, and some of their biggest deals came down on the final day.
The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers traded power punches, refusing to be outdone by the other.
A mere few hours after the Dodgers landed center fielder Shane Victorino from the Philadelphia Phillies, the Giants answered their bitter rivals’ move with the acquisition of another Phillie, right fielder Hunter Pence.
While Victorino and Pence were two of the heavily rumored names to get dealt on deadline day, let’s take a look at the other trades that went down amongst these NL West divisional foes.
Arizona Diamondbacks: Despite late rumors brewing on deadline day that General Manager Kevin Towers was looking to complete a blockbuster deal for a frontline starter, the D-backs didn’t make too much noise.
The club made a concerted effort to add an impact arm and had discussions about Tampa Bay’s James Shields and the Cubs’ Matt Garza but didn’t see either deal come to fruition.
The only move the D-backs made on deadline day was one that sent reliever Craig Breslow to the Boston Red Sox for right-handed reliever Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik.
The 29-year-old southpaw is 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 39.1 IP, while the 36-year-old Podsednik is hitting .387 with one homer and seven RBI in 62 at-bats for Boston this season.
The team’s bigger trade was completed Sunday, when Towers acquired power-hitting third baseman Chris Johnson from the Houston Astros.
The D-backs hope Johnson will be able to bolster a position of weakness that has seen a rotating carousel of players man the hot corner throughout the season.
Johnson is batting .287 with 10 home runs and 48 RBI this season.
Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers were extremely active throughout the deadline, signaling a new era of change for an organization that was in shambles a year ago.
The biggest move for Los Angeles — and arguably of the entire deadline — is the deal that sent Miami Marlins superstar Hanley Ramirez to the Dodgers.
HanRam has underachieved so far this season, hitting a meager .246 with 15 home runs and 56 RBI. The 2006 NL Rookie of the Year has a high ceiling and figures to rebound with a change of scenery.
In addition to Ramirez, the Dodgers were also able to pick up reliever Randy Choate from the Fish. The 36-year-old left-hander has a 2.22 ERA with one save and 30 punchouts in 28.1 IP this season.
Choate wasn’t the only arm added to the bullpen, as the Dodgers also traded for back-end reliever Brandon League from the Seattle Mariners. The 29-year-old right-hander has amassed a 3.63 ERA with nine saves and 27 strikeouts in 44.2 IP.
Los Angeles was also feverishly trying to make a deal for Chicago Cubs’ ace Ryan Dempster. The right-hander, who had 10-5 veto rights, made it clear his first choice was to end up with the Dodgers. However, the two clubs could not agree on prospects, and Dempster was later dealt to the Texas Rangers.
The Dodgers were among the many suitors for The Flying Hawaiian and were able to acquire the veteran spark plug Victorino from Philadelphia for right-handed reliever Josh Lindblom and Double-A right-hander Ethan Martin. The 31-year-old is batting .260 with nine home runs and 40 RBI this year.
