Trade Deadline (Observed)
George Washington’s birthday is celebrated federally on the third Monday of February. (I hope his friends celebrated him on a Saturday once in a while, although a lifetime of Monday festivities would explain his revolutionary spirit.) Off the top of your head, do you know the birthday of the commander of the Continental Army?
This year’s trade deadline, which was placed on Monday, August 3, felt a little like a manufactured holiday befitting a ski trip and mattress sale. It was a convenient observation of July 31, the day that my internal clock recognizes as the proper deadline.1 The Dodgers, a franchise that’s been playing in its own league in recent years, felt like celebrating early.
To provide just a little context to the Dodgers’ recent acquisition of Tarik Skubal, let’s look 10 years back.
At the deadline in 2016, the Dodgers traded a 19-year-old Cuban minor leaguer to the Astros for relief pitcher Josh Fields. Over three seasons in Los Angeles, Fields appeared in 124 games and delivered above-average results in the regular season and playoffs. The minor leaguer exchanged for Fields — and many of you will find it easier to name him than recall Washington’s date of birth — was Yordan Alvarez, this year’s likely AL MVP and the best hitter in baseball right now.
How many teams — how many baseball executives — can truly make deals without the fear that a prospect grows up to become a Triple Crown threat in another team’s uniform? It’d be smug to suggest that the Andrew Friedman doesn’t regret that trade, but three World Series titles and two other World Series appearances since suggest it’s simply the cost of raising banners. This October, the Dodgers will enter postseason play for the 13th consecutive year. The only time during that span that they didn’t win the division, they still won 106 games. Confidence and spending power are potent. And attractive?
Could other teams have outbid the Dodgers’ prospect package? Yes.
Did the public overestimate the market value of an ace lefty and winner of the past two American League Cy Young Awards in his free agent year? Yes. Yes, indeed. Modern analytics and business-minded analysis have subdued the enthusiasm around even the biggest of big-league acquisitions for many teams.
Baseball America was admittedly overzealous in its proposed package that the Dodgers could offer the Tigers for Skubal. But a publication that’s in the prospect business probably should be!
The winning, the financial muscle, and the reputation of the Dodgers has created leverage and perhaps perceived value. Could teams be more comfortable dealing with the Dodgers? I remember when we were in need of a catcher in San Diego at the start of the 2006 season. The waiver wire was busy that time of year; teams had made final cuts, and players who were out of options were placed on waivers.
Scouts recommended claiming Rob Bowen, who had been with Minnesota but wasn’t destined for their Opening Day roster. While it didn’t sway his thinking, Kevin Towers was comfortable adding a catcher from the Twins organization. He trusted their player development. KT believed that a player drafted and developed by the Twins had been taught to play the game correctly. While gut-feel and the word on the street don’t mean what they used to in many front offices these days, reputation still matters. I wonder if dealing with the Dodgers was more comfortable for the Tigers than shopping elsewhere.
Oh, and it’s February 22.
Prior to the 1986 season, then-commissioner Peter Ueberroth oversaw the moving of the non-waiver trade deadline to July 31 from June 15, where it had been since 1923. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement, set to expire on December 1 at 11:59 pm ET, allows the Commissioner’s Office to set each year’s trade deadline between July 28 and August 3. This year’s date featured a limited slate of games, all beginning after the 6:00 pm ET deadline. As such, no player was in jeopardy of being traded mid-game. Thoughtful!
(If anyone wants to talk about baseball and life during the time of the June 15 deadline, please let me know. I’m all ears!)