Locked in a tight wild-card race and in need of an offensive boost, the Red Sox struck a blockbuster deal Friday, acquiring catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez from the Indians.
FanHouse first reported that Boston was on the verge of acquiring Martinez Friday afternoon. A source confirmed reports that Cleveland would get right-hander Justin Masterson, Single-A left-hander Nick Hagadone and a player to be named, expected to be Single-A right-hander Bryan Price.
A second source said Boston then traded first baseman Adam LaRoche, the odd man out after Martinez's arrival, to Atlanta. The first source confirmed that was straight up for Casey Kotchman, who could be a defensive replacement at first.
From the Windup is Matt Snyder's extended look at some aspect of America's pastime each Thursday.
With the non-waiver trade deadline looming just eight days away, it seemed like the perfect time to warn teams about the dangers of a deadline deal. There are plenty of good trades on the books. Then again, it's the swaps that blow up in the face of a team that seem to stick with us. That's nothing new. We know the famous, ill-fated John Smoltz and Jeff Bagwell deals, but for now let's look at recent history by ranking the 10 worst deadline deals of the 2000s.
FanHouse begins its 2009 MLB Preview with a look at the Atlanta Braves.
It's not my typical policy to engage in cheesy headline writing, however, this is GM Frank Wren's second full year at the helm with his team. Things are going to be different, in theory. But more importantly, it might be time to go ahead and realize that this isn't your dad's Braves team, or your older brother's for that matter. After 14 straight division titles, the Braves have been absent from the postseason for two straight years. Wren's job, obviously, is to fix that.
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through every major player on each team. Fantasy FanHouse is here to help with a quick once-over.
Meet the ...
Biggest offseason losers. At least that's what pessimists will try and tell you, anyway. The Braves -- and new GM Frank Wren -- seemingly made blunder after blunder in 2009, losing Rafael Furcal at the last minute, whiffing on A.J. Burnett, letting John Smoltz walk and failing to land Jake Peavy. But the reality is that Wren actually did a pretty darn good job assembling a talented squad that can certainly compete in the NL East in 2009. Oh, and they'll provide some nice fantasy value as well.
Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.
It's pretty obvious to any Braves fan that Frank Wren has to do some major retooling this offseason. Atlanta has never been a win-now-at-any-cost type of team, and they shouldn't suddenly become one; but the Braves have a loaded farm system and no major league pitching.
And frankly, there's only so long that you can allow prospects to develop without actually using them to make your team at the big league level better (that's not to say that trading blue chipper Tommy Hanson is acceptable; it's not). But the Braves, by virtue of the Peavy rumor train that's rolled through MLB gossip circles over the past few weeks, are one of the biggest teams to watch over the next few weeks: a new GM gets his chance to make a mark on a team with the chance to return to glory by pulling off a trade with his West Coast counterpart and fitting the pieces to make the Braves stop stinking up the NL East in embarrassingly anti-historical fashion.
When the Braves learned they'd have to put Tim Hudson and Chipper Jones on the disabled list, it pretty much put an end to any hopes of winning the NL East this season, so they went ahead and traded Mark Teixeira to the Angels to make sure of it. Little did they know at the time that they would already be behind in the 2009 season as well.
That's because Tim Hudson has finally given in to reality and knows he has to undergo Tommy John surgery, which of course will end his season.
The veteran will have the surgery late next week. Dr. James Andrews will do the procedure, and Hudson faces a 12-month rehabilitation period.
"I just needed to convince myself," said Hudson, who on Wednesday was advised by two orthopedists - Andrews and Dr. Xavier Duralde - to have the surgery. "I needed to throw one more time, to convince myself of what needed to be done."
If there's any good news for Hudson, and there isn't much, it's that he's got plenty of teammates who have already had Tommy John surgery so they'll be able to prepare him for what he's going to go through. Of course, the bad news is that 12-month rehabilitation period.
Maybe the Braves can call the Angels and see if they want Casey Kotchman back in exchange for a starting pitcher.
Take a deep breath, baseball fans. The dust has settled after another trading deadline, and what a deadline it was. Three future Hall of Famers were moved. So was a reigning Cy Young winner and two former All-Stars. And we haven't talked about Rich Harden yet. Undoubtedly, 2008 was the most entertaining trading season in recent memory for baseball fans.
After years of near-misses, the Red Sox finally send disgruntled slugger Manny Ramirez packing. Ramirez lands with the Dodgers as part of a three-way deal.
Christian Petersen, Getty Images
Former All-Star Jason Bay winds up in Boston as the other major piece of the three-way deal. Pittsburgh receives two prospects apiece from the Dodgers and Red Sox for its part in the trade.
Nick Laham, Getty Images
In the final year of his contract, the Reds send Ken Griffey Jr. to the AL Central-leading White Sox in exchange for two prospects, including sinker-balling pitcher Nick Masset.
David Kohl, AP
In need of a big bat for October, the Angels acquired Mark Teixeira from the Braves in exchange for first baseman Casey Kotchman and a pitching prospect.
Elise Amendola, AP
With fixture Jorge Posada out for the season, the Yankees moved swiftly to get Ivan Rodriguez, sending reliever Kyle Farnsworth to Detroit in return for the Gold Glove catcher.
Gregory Shamus, Getty Images
The Brewers made the first big move of trading season, acquiring reigning AL Cy Young winner CC Sabathia from Cleveland for a package of four prospects, including Matt LaPorta.
Jeff Roberson, AP
The Cubs bolstered an already deep starting rotation by acquiring Rich Harden from the A's. Oakland also sent relief pitcher Chad Gaudin to Chicago and received pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielder Matt Murton, infielder Eric Patterson and catcher Josh Donaldson in return.
Charles Rex Arbogast, AP
The Phillies got much-needed rotation depth in the form of Joe Blanton from Oakland. The A's received three prospects, including second baseman Adrian Cardenas and pitcher Josh Outman.
Seth Wenig, AP
Florida acquires one of the many left-handed relievers on the market, adding Arthur Rhodes from Seattle for minor league pitcher Gaby Hernandez.
Jim McIsaac, Getty Images
The Yankees also added depth for the stretch run, landing outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte for a package of four prospects that included right fielder Jose Tabata.
Getty Images (2)
Truth be told, it will take years before we know who helped themselves or hurt themselves at the 2008 trade deadline. That's just the way it is when boom-or-bust prospects are involved. But here's an educated (and roughly ordered) guess anyway at which teams won and which teams lost now that the July 31 deadline has come and gone.
Winners
Angels: With a double-digit lead in the AL West, the Angels didn't need to do anything to get to October. They went out and got slugging first baseman Mark Teixeira anyway, and it's nothing short of a coup. For all the praise heaped upon Mike Scioscia's throwback run-at-all costs strategy, it hasn't done much for Los Angeles in the postseason. The Halos have scored 17 runs in their last eight postseason games dating back to 2005, and they don't have single regular slugging over .500 this year. They needed a bat to go all the way in October, and that's just what they got in Teixeira.
It could have been easy for the Angels to sit tight as they have a huge lead in the A.L. West, and we've never known the Angels to make a trade like this in-season. But they understand that to take a division championship (of which they have three in the last five seasons) to the next level, they needed another impact bat. Teixeira more than fits the bill with his splits of .283/.390/.512, while on his way to another 30 HR, 110 RBI season, and now you have to consider the Angels a serious candidate to not only get to the playoffs, but to make the World Series as well.
For Atlanta, they get Kotchman ... who like Tex is a free agent after this season is under the Braves control over the next three seasons. Marek currently has a 3.71 ERA for AA Arkansas this season while averaging 11.13 K's per nine innings, so it seems they got a stud back for Teixeira. But do you believe that Kotchman, Marek, and a season of Teixeira (with no playoff appearance) are worth Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, and three other minor leaguers? That's a tough sell.
It has been a long, long season for the Atlanta Braves. What started as a legitimate World Series campaign has suddenly become an injury riddled nightmare for first year GM Frank Wren.
Yet, he refused to give up on the season and trade the team's biggest soon-to-be free agent asset, Mark Teixeira. Until now.
On Monday afternoon, the Braves officially glued a ribbon on Teixeira's head and stationed him in their main display window. After gathering their chief decision-makers in Atlanta for a meeting Monday, they then began the process of informing other teams that they plan to trade Teixeira if they get the right deal.
The feeling of clubs that have spoken with Braves GM Frank Wren is that he hasn't seen anything lately that would convince him his team has a 41-17 run in it (which is what it would take to get to 90 wins). And neither has anyone else.
Wren followed his team to Philadelphia over the weekend, to try to get "a feel" for which way it was headed, he said. What he witnessed was almost incomprehensible -- a weekend in which the Braves blew leads of five-plus runs to the same team in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history.
Well, it was a decent run for the Braves this year. I mean, not actually "decent" but they at the very least hung in there given the nature of all the injuries they have sustained. And, it has to seem pretty obvious that the injuries to Chipper Jones and Tim Hudson are the final straw for the season.
With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.
- The elephant in the room four days from the trade deadline is Manny Ramirez, who once again is on shaky ground in Boston. In a perfect world, the Red Sox would love to rid themselves of the near-constant headache that Ramirez provides. In practice, they are still very much in the hunt for their third World Series in five years and would need to replace his production in step with any deal. That makes the completion of any trade unlikely in the next few days.
Joel Sherman and Mike Puma of the New York Post run down the potential list of suitors for Ramirez, and because of Boston's desire to ship him out of the American League, it is a very short one. The Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Mets and Phillies are the teams with both the need and the financial wherewithal to pick up the tab for Ramirez's $20 million deal. Because the left fielder has 10-5 rights (10 years in the league, five with the same team) he can veto any deal the Red Sox put together. That leads Sherman and Puma to conclude that Ramirez would only accept a deal to Philadelphia, where he would be reunited with manager Charlie Manuel, who was his hitting coach in Cleveland.
Locked in a tight wild-card race and in need of an offensive boost, the Red Sox struck a blockbuster deal Friday, acquiring catcher/first baseman Victor Martinez from the Indians.
FanHouse begins its 
Fantasy baseball draft season is coming, so you best be prepared by delving through 
Footprints in the Snow
When the Braves learned they'd have to put 
It has been a long, long season for the Atlanta Braves. What started as a legitimate World Series campaign has suddenly become an injury riddled nightmare for first year GM 
With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.
