MLB Trade Deadline 2009: Winners, Losers and Everything in Between

So you thought that once Matt Holliday went to St. Louis and Cliff Lee wound up with the Phillies deadline day itself would be anticlimactic? Hardly.

Three All-Stars, including a former Rookie of the Year and Cy Young, went elsewhere on July 31, and all that happened while the biggest name on the market all month, Roy Halladay, stayed put.

No, this deadline did not disappoint. There was a flurry of activity right down to 4 PM ET and a legitimate shocker to finish it all off. What better way to wrap up all of the intrigue then with a look at the early winners and losers? Join me -- and a few other members of the MLB FanHouse crew -- as we break it all down after the jump.

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Winners

Philadelphia had been looking for rotation help since at least May. And the Phillies were the best match for getting Roy Halladay, with a deep farm system and the knowledge that he'd approve a trade there. They didn't get 'Doc,' though, opting for a slightly lesser pitcher in Cliff Lee -- but they got Lee by giving up much less. The two position players they surrendered may not wind up as above-average big-league regulars, and they held on to Kyle Drabek and J.A. Happ. Lee isn't postseason-tested, but neither is Halladay, and he too comes from the tougher AL, so he should be fine even in Citizens Bank Park. Lee even had a better home run rate than Halladay. -- Ed Price

The Red Sox have been looking for an offensive upgrade since last winter when they were hot and heavy after Mark Teixeira. Victor Martinez isn't the hitter Teixeira is, but he should help Boston plenty, especially because of his versatility -- he can fill in at first base, pushing Kevin Youkilis over to third base, and spell the aging Jason Varitek behind the plate. The Red Sox offense has declined in batting average, on-base percentage and OPS every month of the season so far. V-Mart, while not an elite offensive force, is very, very good and should help stem that tide. Better yet, the acquisition cost was low. Boston did not have to surrender Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden -- two pitchers it might need in the second half with a fragile rotation -- or top offensive prospect Lars Anderson. Justin Masterson isn't as critical to the bullpen as he once was with the emergence of Daniel Bard, and Nick Hagadone has made only 10 starts since a major surgical procedure. Oh yeah, they'll have Martinez in 2010 as well. -- Andrew Johnson

Yes, they paid a steep price to get Matt Holliday, giving up Brett Wallace, their best prospect. At the same time, Wallace seems destined for either first base or designated hitter, positions which make him entirely expendable to the Albert Pujols-led Cardinals. Since July 1, Holliday is hitting .383/.469/.638 and if he stays hot, that gives St. Louis an imposing Pujols-Holliday-Ryan Ludwick alley in the heart of the order. Without Holliday, the Cards were a borderline playoff team. With him, they're one of the two favorites in the National League. -- Pat Lackey

The Giants needed some offense, and they needed it badly. By acquiring Freddy Sanchez and Ryan Garko, San Francisco replaced a quarter of its everyday lineup. Neither player is a difference-maker -- Martinez and Holliday were the only true impact offensive players who moved -- but they are definite improvements over what the Giants had at those positions. Also, both may stick around beyond this year. Garko isn't eligible for free agency until after 2012 and Sanchez has an option for next year. It's a little pricey, at more than $8 million, but the Giants might be able to renegotiate it. The cost for those players was two minor-league pitchers, Tim Alderson and Scott Barnes. Alderson was considered the second-best pitching prospect in the organization, but a distant second to Madison Bumgarner. At best, he'd have been the No. 4 starter behind Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Bumgarner in the future. -- Jeff Fletcher

Kudos to Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski. Detroit clearly needed offensive help most, but once Holliday was gone, that bat wasn't there. So instead of twiddling his thumbs or getting a hitter for the sake of getting a hitter (with no guarantee of quality), he strengthened a strength by adding Jarrod Washburn to one of the best rotations in baseball. The left-hander is not a flashy pickup like the rival White Sox's addition of Cy Young winner Jake Peavy, but he'll be much more reliable over the final two months of 2009 than Peavy. He's no slouch either -- ranking in the top seven in ERA in the big boy league. -- Andrew Johnson

Losers

As the trade deadline passed, Tampa Bay sat seven games out in the AL East, in third place, and -- more importantly -- third in the wild card, 4 1/2 back of Boston and three behind Texas. The Rays looked into Halladay and Martinez, but in the end decided to hang onto their prospects, a strategy that in the past helped them build the team they have. But this July called for action, especially an added bat or a piece for the shaky bullpen. Perhaps a reliever will be available after clearing waivers in August, but at this point Tampa Bay has decided to chase from behind by standing pat. -- Ed Price

The Angels are a team built for now, with a list of impending free agents that includes John Lackey, Chone Figgins and Vladimir Guerrero, yet they did nothing to address either of their biggest needs for the present. Their bullpen has been among the worst in the league all season. Even closer Brian Fuentes, who was the one consistent reliever, has struggled lately. George Sherrill, Joe Beimel, Rafael Betancourt and John Grabow all changed teams, and Los Angeles didn't get any of them. They could have gotten Michael Wuertz from the A's or Heath Bell from the Padres if they'd sweetened their offers, but they didn't. The Angels also could have used a starter, and they got no one. They still may have enough to get to the postseason -- the Rangers didn't do anything either -- but they could be vulnerable in October. -- Jeff Fletcher

All year, the Brewers were connected to the big-name pitchers on the trade market, from Peavy to Halladay. As the deadline approached, they held firm in their stance that Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel were untouchable. That's fine, especially since both of them seem to have a future in Milwaukee. They set their sight on Washburn, who could've potentially shored up their rotation behind Yovani Gallardo and at least kept them in the wild-card hunt. But they decided the asking price was still too high and ended up with Claudio Vargas. This isn't a long-term loss for them, but with the Cardinals adding Holliday and the Cubs getting John Grabow to fill their need for a left-handed reliever, the Brewers' inactivity will probably cost them dearly in the short-term. -- Pat Lackey

Much like the Brewers, this isn't necessarily a long-term loss, but make no mistake, the Rangers are in the playoff hunt right now, three games out in the AL West and 1 1/2 back of the Red Sox in the wild-card race entering Friday. And they did nothing to get better. Though Texas' pitching staff has actually been a strength so far -- it's allowed the third-fewest runs in the American League this year -- it will need pitching help to catch either Boston or the Angels, a fact magnified by the loss of Matt Harrison for the season and the recent absence of Vicente Padilla as he battles swine flu. That pitching help didn't come July 31, and unless Derek Holland and Neftali Feliz grow up very fast, it's not coming until at least 2010 either. -- Andrew Johnson

There's nothing wrong with trading Lee or Martinez given the Indians' position. Mired in fourth place in the AL Central and holding two of the most valuable trade chips on the market, dealing the duo was something that could've set Cleveland up for years down the road. Somehow it managed to trade Lee and Ben Francisco to the Phillies without getting even one of the coveted prospects the Blue Jays wanted for Halladay. Then it turned around and sent Martinez to the Red Sox without getting Buchholz. Some of the players the Tribe did get (specifically Masterson and Lou Marson) could be nice pieces, and it's never easy to judge trades involving prospects right as they are made, but the return that GM Mark Shapiro got for two of the best players swapped this week looks underwhelming right now. -- Pat Lackey

Leftovers

Is it possible to be a loser after holding onto the best pitcher in baseball? Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi is about to find out ... The Marlins win the World Series every six years. They're due in 2009, making first baseman Nick Johnson their key acquisition ... The Yankees uncharacteristically went small, adding only utilityman Jerry Hairston Jr. Given Boston's big splash, fans in the Bronx might call for more from GM Brian Cashman, but, realistically, who should he have gotten? ... Colorado made two deals to strengthen its bullpen -- adding a lefty and a righty to set up for Huston Street ... Mets fans didn't actually want Omar Minaya to add to that triage unit they call a team did they? ... We'll have to wait and see on: Seattle, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Washington ... The Dodgers are hardly losers, having added George Sherrill, but they don't look like runaway favorites in the NL anymore with what St. Louis and Philadelphia did ... Leave it to the Twins to finally get a notable name at the deadline in Orlando Cabrera and get completely overshadowed anyway ... Finally, you have to admire the boldness of White Sox GM Kenny Williams, who finally got Peavy months after he first traded for him. It's an enormous gamble, and with Peavy signed for years to come, it's hard to call it a loss long-term. That might not make it a win in 2009.