Looking back at the most chaotic MLB trade deadline in recent history
(Photo by Paul Beaty/Associated Press via bleacherreport)
Holy Shit...The 2021 MLB trade deadline was one of the most unexpected and hectic trade deadlines we have ever seen. I’ve been around for over two decades now and for the life of me I cannot remember a trade deadline as crazy as this one.
It’s nearly been a week since the deadline took place, but I’m still having trouble processing what all went down. Considering the MLB trade deadline is typically a snooze fest, this threw everyone off and I’m just now grasping how awesome this year truly was.
However, the only downside of all this is now the offseason might be as boring as the typical trade deadlines with not much room for any blockbuster deals to go through.
As a baseball guy myself, here is a live look into my life on Friday at 3:35 PM, five minutes after the deadline was finished:
I expected a few big names to be shipped off, but the magnitude of deals that took place was chaotic. I won’t go through every trade because frankly we would be here for hours upon hours. So, I’m here to tell you about the trades that’ll have the biggest impact come October.
Let’s start off with Nelson Cruz going to the Tampa Bay Rays from the Minnesota Twins. The Twins got a few minor league right-handed pitchers, Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman, for Nelson Cruz and a minor league pitcher.
I’m honestly conflicted about this trade being that the Twins traded away one of their only power hitters, but then again he’s in his early forties. Yes, you read that right, early forties. I honestly don’t know how Cruz is performing at such a high level at such an advanced age. I believe this is the Rays’ way of trying to get back to the World Series as they look to avenge their prior experiences.
Another big trade I did not see coming at all was the Max Scherzer and Trea Turner blockbuster trade.
This trade actually makes perfect sense for the Dodgers because they were in need of a good, reliable starting pitcher since Trevor Bauer is under administrative leave for an alleged sexual assault charge. It makes perfect sense why the Dodgers needed to fill up that starting rotation after a gaping hole opened up.
It looks like the Dodgers playoff rotation will likely be: Walker Buehler (Game 1 starter), Mad Max (Game 2) and Clayton Kershaw (Game 3). That’s straight up filith.
However, adding Trea Turner shocked me considering the Dodgers already have Corey Seager, a superstar, at shortstop. It’s possible that the Dodgers were trying to cover their bases after Seager’s injury and wanted to further solidify the middle of the field. It just seems to me like they’re going to have too many infielders and not enough positions to fill.
Dave Roberts is going to have his hands full. Having all these bats at your disposal sounds like a pretty stressful job. All in all I still think Roberts will lead the Dodgers deep into the playoffs, but he’s going to have a helluva time because we’re getting down to crunch time.
This is the second time the Dodgers pulled off a major trade at the trade deadline and last year they won the World Series. It looks like they did it again (Britney said it best) and I wouldn’t bet against them.
Don’t get me started on the Joey Gallo deal. Why in God’s green earth would you trade away arguably your best player on the team, a perennial power hitter, to the Yankees of all franchises for four minor leaguers?
I can understand trading away a star player for prospects for the purpose of a rebuild. But, the Rangers have been rebuilding for the past four seasons. It’s frustrating to watch because why would I pay money for a sucky team in a brand new state of the art stadium? Short answer: I won’t.
The thing that irritates me the most out of this deal is that the Rangers will pay the rest of Gallo’s contract while he’s on the Yankees. I may not be a financial wizard but I don’t think it’s a good idea to be paying players that aren’t on your team anymore. But, hey, what do I know? It’s not like they’ve done this before --- oh wait, turns out the Rangers have done this two previous times with Elvis Andrus going to Oakland and Rougned Odor going to the Yankees.
The utter lackadaisical approach this front office carries itself really aggravates me and they make it harder and harder to be a Ranger fan.
Moving from one shitty situation to another, I feel bad for Chicago Cubs fans because they just got kicked in the nuts and stabbed in the back and the knife kept turning and turning on them. They won a World Series back in 2016 and were doing so-so for the past couple of years, but Jed Hoyer, the Cubs GM was having none of it.
It’s incredibly rare to see a firesale like this but Hoyer said fuck it, full send.
After this trade deadline, the Cubs should change their name to the ‘Poor Cubbies’. They literally traded away all of their good players.
Anonthy Rizzo: Gone, traded to the Yankees. One of the most lovable guys in the league is now on one of the most hated teams in the league. I guess you have to make sacrifices in this league after all.
Kris Bryant: Gone, traded to San Francisco. Wow, just wow.
Bryant is one of my favorite players in the league and to see him like this tears me up. I feel pain.
Javier Baez: Gone, traded to the Mets. There is one positive to this trade though because he’s getting to play with Francisco Lindor, one of the most dynamic shortstops in the game.
If the trade deadline was any indication of how the playoffs are going to be, oh mama. We are in for a treat ladies and gentlemen, so grab your jersey’s and gloves because the Fall Classic is setting up to be spectacular.