Much like their peers in the American League Central the six General Mangers of the teams in the National League Central did a pretty poor job at teh trade deadline. The Houston Astros sold off Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman, and we expected them to be sellers. The Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Milwaukee Brewers either did nothing or made minor moves. The St. Louis Cardinals got in on a complicated deal but paid a very high price to do it. However the newly savvy Pittsburgh Pirates actually turned a really good move for cash and prospects.
Here is a quick look at the NL acquisitions:
•The Cardinals added SP Jake Westbrook, but it cost them Ryan Ludwick, and he ended up on a tam they will have to go through in the playoffs •The Pirates took advantage of the Arizona Diamondbacks partial fire sale and flipped some cash and ended up with some nice prospects in Chris Snyder, Pedro Ciriaco, James McDonald, and Andrew Lambo •The Astros did add Brett Wallace, but that hardly will matter for the balance of 2010
Overall I am pretty under whelmed by the deals done by the six teams in this division, but I am still very high on the Reds, who are getting better and better. Since they are a team building for the future I didn’t expect them to make any major moves, and they didn’t. I think this division is the Cardinals to lose, as the Reds are building towards something greater in the future.
Related Links:
• St. Louis Cardinals news and notes • Pittsburgh Pirates news and notes • Houston Astros news and notes • The Business of Major League Baseball
