American League West trade deadline moves

I think the two teams that are going to slug it out for the divisional crown in the American League West did a great job at the trade deadline. I speak of course of the Texas Rangers and the Los Angeles Angels. They each added a big time pitcher, and kind of separated themselves from the other teams they will compete against. The Oakland A’s kind of did what they normally do, make a few smart deals here and there and look for the kind of guys General Manger Bill Beane loves to have. The Seattle Mariners on the other hand were pretty quite after dealing Cliff Lee, which is kind of odd since I think we though them to do a big sell off as they are going to have to rebuild.

So here is a quick look at what each AL West team added:

•The Rangers add Lee, and then Jorge Cantu, Christian Guzman, and Bengie Molina
•The Angles add Dan Haren, and somehow keep their top prospect

If we had to break all of this down I think the AL West remains the Rangers division to lose. They have played very well, and added a lot of maybe not exciting players but a lot of depth to help slow down the annual Rangers melt in the hot August sun. It seems kind of odd that a team facing bankruptcy curt can do so much at the trade deadline. However making a deep run into the playoffs is the best way to make money to appease the creditors.

The Angels are pretty far back and probably cannot make a run at it, but if the Rangers falter they might. I also think the Angels are far to behind in the AL Wild Card race to make much of a difference. Haren is still a good pick up and if he stays long term the Angels will be that much better.

Related Links:

•Texas Rangers news and notes
•Los Angeles Angels news and notes
•The Business of Major League Baseball
•MTR Baseball.com