FanNation

After a long day at this place, a guy just needs to relax and blog his ass off....

And I had this thought today, it may be only April 25th, but that's not way to early to figure out who the winners and losers were in the trades this offseason...and aawaaaaaaaaaaay we go...

Trade #1: Twins send Johan Santana to Mets for Carlos Gomez, Phillip Humber, Kevin Mulvey, and Deolis Guerra

Well, this was probably the most shocking trade of the offseason, not because it was Santana being traded, we all knew that that was inevitable, it's because of who the Twins got back. They received four relative unknowns, a speedy centerfielder, and three minor-league pitchers, one of whom was coming off Tommy John surgery. Most of us know about the Twins knack for finding young talent, but no one knew for sure what was going to happen with this one...

Santana: 3-2, 3.12 ERA, 32 Ks, 5 BBs

Gomez: .242 average, 1 HR, 10 Runs, 9 SB

Humber: 0-3, 5.24 ERA, 12 Ks, 11 BBs @ AAA Rochester 

Mulvey: 2-1, 1.16 ERA, 25 Ks, 7 BBs @ AAA Rochester

Guerra: 2-0, 1.42 ERA, 15 Ks, 9 BBs @ A Fort Myers

From the looks of it, the Mets have still bested the Twins in this case. The Twins only have one of the players in the majors, who--right now--is in a major slump. Santana is putting up his usual gawdy numbers, and if the Twins don't get Mulvey up to the majors and producing at the same level he is now, the Mets become the clear winner here. The Twins, also, have been unable to replace the ace they had in Santana, especially sice Livan Hernandez only throws about 1/2 the speed of Santana....

WINNER (THROUGH APRIL): Mets

Trade #2: Detroit sends Andrew Miller, Cameron Maybin, Mike Rabelo, Burke Badenhop, Eulogio De La Cruz and Dallas Trahern to the Marlins for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis

Again, this trade was one that seemed like the Marlins didn't get the full value for Cabrera and Willis. Maybin and Miller are very good players, but Cabrera is one of the best young players in the game, and Willis has shown flashes of being the lefty ace that every team wants. Considering this trade involved several minor leaguers, I'll just examine the "big players" in the trade.

Willis: 0-0, 7.20 ERA, 0 Ks, 9 BBs, 5 innings pitched due to injury

Cabrera: .262 avg, 5 HRs, 18 RBI, 15 Runs

Maybin: .257 avg, 3 HRs, 7 RBI, 4 SB @ AA Carolina

Miller: 1-2, 7.94 ERA, 18 Ks, 11 BBs

As of now, the Tigers have won this trade if only because both Willis and Miller have been atrocious, but Cabrera is at least in the major leagues. Cabrera hasn't hit great this season, but none of the Tigers have, yet the Tigers still got the better of this deal.

WINNER: Tigers

Trade #3: The Athletics send Dan Haren and Connor Robertson to the Diamondbacks for Brett Anderson, Dana Eveland, Greg Smith, Chris Carter, Aaron Cunningham, and Carlos Gonzalez.

Another ace dealt this offseason, another deal that looks fairly lopsided for the receiving team. Please tell me if you've ever heard of any of these players? No? well...let's check out the stats.

Eveland: 2-1, 1.90 ERA, 18 Ks, 11 BBs

Smith: 2-0, 2.88 ERA, 16 Ks, 8 BBs

Haren: 3-1, 3.03 ERA, 24 Ks, 6 BBs

This trade looks fairly even to me. The D-Backs got the ace that they sooooo desperatley needed in Haren, who hasn't disappointed, and the A's got two very solid young pitchers who have impressed in their starts this season.

WINNER: TIE

Trade #4: The Cardinals send Scott Rolen to Toronto for Troy Glaus

Ah. An easy one to compare. Both are third basemen who start on their respective teams and...oh wait...I forgot that Rolen was injured...dammit....

WINNER: Cardinals

Trade #5: Mariners send Adam Jones, George Sherrill, three prospects to Orioles for Erik Bedard

Anothe interesting trade here. The Orioles only picked up a reliever and a CF for their ace, who, then again, hasn't fared that well injury-wise in Seattle. 

Bedard: 1-0, 3.27 ERA, 11 Ks, 8 BBs in 11 innings due to injury

Sherrill: 1-0, 4.82 ERA, 8 Ks, 5 BBs, 8 Saves

Jones: .270 avg, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 8 Runs, 2 SB

When he's been healthy, Bedard has pitched very well, but he's only pitched in 11 innings this season. Sherrill has become a consistent closer for the O's, and Jones has been solid in CF, which gives the O's the easy victory in this trade, plus, their young pitchers have come around as well...

WINNER: Orioles 

-SS