Several teams made splashes during the trade deadline and some teams were just floating in the pond. There were a couple of surprises during the trading deadline with surprise teams picking up players. The Houston Astros began the rebuilding attempt by trading one of the best players at his position.

The first real big name player traded was closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Brewers for two player to be named later. The players the Mets get will probably be low level prospects with very little upside since this move was more of a salary dump. The Brewers were able to get rid of his vesting option that would have been activated, but they were able to work out a deal for him to waive it.

Colby Rasmus was sent off not too long after the Rodriguez deal. Rasmus went to the Blue Jays for Marc Rzepczynski, Octavio Dotel, Corey Patterson, Edwin Jackson, and 3 players to be named later. The Cardinals sent Rasmus, Trever Miller, Brian Tallet,and PJ Walters to the Jays. This was a horrible trade on the Cardinals part since Rasmus could become a great player with 20 home run power. Him getting help from his dad on hitting should have been a non-issue since you could probably ask most players and they would say they get help from their dad on hitting or anything else. I would call this a win for the Jays since they know have the center fielder of the future who is under control for many years.

The Mets made another move by trading Carlos Beltran to the Giants for top pitching prospect Zach Wheeler. The Giants were able to get their impact bat in Beltran and the Mets were able to get a possible top of the rotation starter going into the future. Granted with Wheeler only in High A he now has a chance to move up the ladder quicker with no one blocking him from reaching the majors.  The Mets got probably the best deal out of it they only gave up a 2 month rental in Beltran for the Giants top pitching prospects.

The Cubbies finally traded someone and that was Kosuke Fukudome to the Indians for RHP Carlton Smith and OF Abner Abreu.  Neither of the prospects will do much in the majors and Carlton Smith will have the best chance since he is already in Triple A. The Cubs had to have been one of the biggest losers at the trading deadline since they could have unloaded some players like Carlos Pena, Sean Marshall, or Aramis Ramirez.

The Tigers were able to solidify the starting rotation by acquiring Doug Fister from the M’s for INF Francisco Martinez, OF Casper Wells, and LHP Charlie Furbush. The Mariners got 2 major league ready players with one in double and the player to be named later has a chance to be 3rd baseman Nick Castellanos or a top prospect. Doug Fister had a 3.33 ERA in Seattle this season.

The Orioles sent Koji Uehara to the Rangers for RHP Tommy Hunter and 1b Chris Davis. Davis is the big key in the deal if he can put together what he has done in the minors he could be a 30 to 40 home run player at Camden Yards. This was a good deal for both sides since the Rangers got another quality reliever to help the struggling Neftali Feliz and the Orioles got 2 players who filled positions they needed.

The Rangers were also able to acquire the Padre’s set-up man Mike Adams for Robbie Erlin and Joe Wieland both pitchers. I guess the Rangers liked the fact that Adams was under control for more years than Bell and the price was probably higher for Heath Bell since he was a free agent at the end of the season. Now that the Rangers have 2 very good set-up men they now have made sure they have no holes in the bull pen. Both Erlin and Wieland are in Doubla and they could possibly be up in the majors as early as late 2012.

The Indians were able to acquire Ubaldo Jimenez for RHP Alex White, LHP Drew Pomeranz, RHP Joe Gardner, and utility player Matt McBride.  I loved the haul the Rockies got for Jimenez since it fills rotation holes and it gives them a possible first baseman in Matt McBride. The real questions will be how will Jimenez adjust to the AL and will he regain his dominance he had in 2010.

The Phillies were able to acquire Hunter Pence for 1b/of Jonathan Singleton, pitcher Jared Cosart, and Josh Zeid. I thought that the Phillies were able to get Pence for a cheaper price than what they could had.  Pence was an All Star right fielder and they didn’t get anyone in the trade that you could plug into the majors right this minute. If you want to compare trades the Padres got 2 starting pitchers for a set up man, and those pitchers are in double a right now while these three players the Astros got won’t be there until 2013 at least.

One of the deals that might not get noticed all that much is the Michael Bourn deal that sent him to Atlanta. The Astro’s were able to get CF Jordan Schafer, LHP Brent Olberholtzen, RHP Juan Abreu, and RHP Paul Clemens. The Braves got exactly what they wanted in Bourn since he can be a quality lead off hitter and can steal bases. I’m not exactly sure how to grade the deal since I’m not exactly familiar with Olberholtzen, Abreu, or Clemens, but I thought the Astro’s could have at least gotten Randall Delgado in the deal.

Erik Bedard was sent off from Seattle in a three way deal that also involved the LA Dodgers. Seattle sent Bedard and Josh Fields to the Red Sox while the Sox sent Trayvon Robinson and Chih-Hsien Chang to Seattle and the Dodgers got Tim Federowicz, RHP Juan Rodriguez, and Stephen Fife.

All in all it was good trade deadline, but it was much slower than usual.