Last week, we took a look at the past five World Series champions and the midseason trades they made to boost their championship chances.
The impacts were undeniable, with either a push toward October or actual World Series performance: Justin Verlander in Houston (2017), Nathan Eovaldi in Boston (2018), Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist in Kansas City (2015), Jake Peavy in San Francisco (2014) and Aroldis Chapman in Chicago (2016).
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So it’s understandable if fan bases with high expectations are more than a bit steamed now that the only trade deadline of the 2019 season has come and gone and their favorite teams did next to nothing.
These five teams who fancy themselves contenders — either for a World Series title or a playoff spot — did little to address very obvious needs.
1. Dodgers
What they needed: They’ve had the best record in the NL since, well, forever. That lineup is stacked and the rotation is outstanding if everyone’s healthy (as expected) for October. But the bullpen? That’s a different story. It’s OK. It's not awful. But OK bullpens rarely win championships. They needed to add an established late-innings piece to pair with closer Kenley Jansen (who has a career-worst 3.67 ERA, btw), and they were connected to the biggest names out there, but Shane Greene went to the Braves and the Pirates wound up not trading Felipe Vazquez.
What they did: Nothing, really, aside from left-handed specialist Adam Kolarek. The Dodgers have a loaded farm system but opted to hold onto their prospects this time around.
What that means: Internal options have to come through. Young starter Dustin May, one of those elite prospects who stayed, could break into the bigs in a relief role. Kenta Maeda has pitched out of the bullpen in October in recent years, so he could go back there, too. And other guys have to be better.
2. Yankees
What they needed: We chronicled the Yankees’ recent pitching woes here , so we'll just give you a couple numbers and let you dig into the other article if you’d like. In an eight-game stretch, they allowed 79 runs and every single starting pitcher had an ERA of at least 11.00. They were, of course, connected to pretty much every starting pitcher on the market.
What they did: Nothing, because trading for Single-A pitchers with a 6.00 ERA this year doesn’t count as a deadline addition.
What that means: Well, World Series expectations have been tempered, especially with the Astros — a team that already figured to be a prime contender — trading for elite starter Zack Greinke. They have to get healthy — Luis Severino and Dellin Betances have been out all year — and they have to get a few more surprises if they want to win in October. That lineup is really good when healthy, but it’s hard to win a bunch of 8-7 games in a row in that month.
3. Cardinals
What they needed: They needed to get back to the postseason to end a stretch of three October-free years, an unacceptable skid for a franchise that, during an incredible 16-year run, reached the postseason 12 times, reached the NLCS nine times, reached the World Series four times — and won it all twice. They needed rotation help, lineup help and a bit of bullpen assistance, too, though that wasn’t as pressing.
What they did: They traded away Jedd Gyorko. They traded for a Triple-A lefty (Zac Rosscup) and selected Adalberto Mejía off waivers from the Angels. Stunning, eh?
What that means: Cardinals fans should probably stop believing the front office is committed to making sure it puts the best team on the field in the second half of the season. This isn’t exactly a track record of improvement:
#STLCards recent Trade Deadline additions:
— Jenifer Langosch (@LangoschMLB) July 31, 2019
2016: Zach Duke ... missed playoffs
2017: Tyler O'Neill ... missed playoffs
2018: Chasen Shreve, Giovanny Gallegos, Justin Williams, Conner Capel, Genesis Cabrera ... missed playoffs
2019: Zac Rosscup, an injured Tony Cingrani ... TBD
4. Red Sox
What they needed: Bullpen help, and lots of it. Boston relievers have combined for a 4.53 ERA this year; the only AL teams with worse numbers are the also-rans (Royals, Rangers, Mariners, Tigers and Orioles). The farm system is a bit bare, but some type of reinforcements were expected.
What they did: Nothing.
What that means: It means everyone else needs to pitch like Brandon Workman, one of the few bullpen bright spots this year (2.08 ERA), and it also means they need to make sure they don’t overwork Workman before October arrives. And some help from youngsters coming up from the minors wouldn’t hurt, either.
5. Phillies
What they needed: Expectations were guardedly optimistic for Phillies pitchers this year, but, well, that hasn't panned out. The bullpen has been bad and the rotation hasn’t been any better — Aaron Nola is the only starter with an ERA under 4.46. And on Wednesday, a few hours before the deadline, they announced reliever David Robertson needs Tommy John surgery and is done for the year.
What they did: They did actually make a few moves, but more of the band-aid variety. Jason Vargas joined the rotation in a trade with the Mets, and Drew Smyly was signed after he was released by Milwaukee.
What that means: It’s hard to imagine that rotation winning an October series, if the team somehow manages to even get there. Smyly has been stunningly good in his two Philly starts (0.69 ERA) but he was released by both the Rangers and Brewers in the past two months, so maybe it’s not a good idea to bank on that continued production.
