Giants cap off Wild Trade Deadline with Acquisition of All-Star Bryant

Major League Baseball had one of its crazier trade deadlines in recent memory on Friday, if not the craziest of all-time. By the 1pm cutoff time, 4pm if you're on the east coast, baseball fans who are less than three weeks removed from watching the MLB All-Star Game played in Denver, saw a record ten All-Stars who played in that Mid-Summer Classic, dealt by the time things were all said and done. With such names as sluggers Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers and Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs being dealt to the Bronx from their respectively clubs as the Yankees try to chase down the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox in the American League East, as well as Kyle Schwarber heading to Bean Town from our nation's capital, the list of notable names that changed clubhouses goes on and on. But perhaps the biggest blockbuster that caught everyone by surprise, was that of the Los Angeles Dodgers who pulled a Houdini move by snaking a pair of All-Star studs from the nose of the division rival Padres. 

By mid-day Thursday, it appeared that the Padres had gained a tremendous boost in their efforts to overthrow the Dodgers and first-place San Francisco Giants in the National League Western Division when reports swirled that they were close to finalizing a deal that would land them a 4-time Cy Young Award-winner in Max Scherzer. Instead, the pitcher-needy Friars were upended by the rival Dodgers who pulled off a sneak-attack by stealing Scherzer from their grasp, while also adding All-Star shortstop Trea Turner in the process. While the deal did cost a pair of L.A.'s top prospects in return, they added another unbelievable duo to their already star-studded roster, as well as prevent a pair of rivals from adding a dominant arm to their starting rotation, as the Giants were also rumored to be in on Scherzer. After landing All-Star second baseman Adam Frazier from the Pittsburgh Pirates in the days leading up to Friday's deadline, the only additions the Padres had to show for on deadline day were a pair of underwhelming names in relief pitcher Daniel Hudson and outfielder Jake Marisnick who were acquired from the Nationals and Cubs, respectively. 

Just when it appeared that Farhan Zaidi -- general manger of the San Francisco Giants, was going to stay pat at the deadline, the team with the best record in all of baseball waited until the 11th hour before getting in on the action and acquiring Cubs All-Star third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant. Not long after news broke that the Cubbies were shipping two-time All-Star infielder Javy Baez to Queens to join the New York Mets, the north siders ended their fire sale by sending Bryant out west to the city by the bay to join the Giants. It was a nerve-racking hour or so for Giants fans as reports were unclear on who Zaidi had given up for what could very well be a rental player considering Bryant will be a free-agent at the end of the season, but when it was all said and done, San Francisco got the guy they wanted all along and didn't trade an arm and a leg to get him. In return for Bryant, a former NL MVP and four-time All-Star who says he grew up a fan of Barry Bonds and the Giants, San Francisco gave up a pair of Minor Leaguers in outfielder Alexander Canario and right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian, their No. 9 and No. 30 prospects, respectively, which was much more calming and somewhat of a relief to hear than their top prospect in catcher Joey Bart and first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. which was initially rumored. The Giants ended their deadline pursuit by bringing back lefty reliever Tony Watson from the Los Angeles Angels to bolster the bullpen. Watson spent three seasons with the Giants from 2018-20. 

As teams jockey for position in the home stretch of the MLB regular season in preparation of the Postseason, the Giants at 65-39, currently own a 3-game lead over the Dodgers in the division and a 6.5 game advantage over San Diego. The Giants are hopeful that the acquisition of Bryant will help them maintain a stranglehold in the division over both the Dodgers and Padres, two teams that were supposed to be lightyears ahead of the Giants heading into the season. Hitting .267 on the year with 18 home runs and 51 RBI, the Giants will welcome Bryant's versatility with open arms as he's played seven different positions in 2021, while also looking forward to his bat as he's enjoyed success at San Francisco's Oracle Park, boasting a .324 batting average, 5 HR, 3 doubles, a triple and 15 RBI in 17 career games. Speaking to fellow All-Star and now teammate Brandon Crawford, Bryant knew at the All-Star break that there was a possibility he could be dealt, and all that he asked of Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer was that he would be traded to a team contending for a playoff berth like San Francisco. It's safe to say the 29-year old Vegas-native got his wish, as the core three of Bryant, Rizzo and Baez from the curse-breaking 2016 World Series champion Cubs team are all gone. 

Other notable names that changed ballclubs at the deadline include: All-Star closer Craig Kimbrel who the Cubs shipped to the southside of town to join the White Sox and Eduardo Escobar who landed in Milwaukee after being the lone representative in the 2021 All-Star Game for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Like the Cubbies, the Nationals also cleaned house by shipping out a number of big names in addition to Turner and Scherzer, such as Kyle Schwarber who was sent from D.C. to the Red Sox, Yan Gomes and Josh Harison who joined the playoff hopeful Oakland Athletics and 5-time All-Star Jon Lester who joined Wild Card contenders St. Louis. The Minnesota Twins also dealt a pair of All-Stars in pitcher Jose Berrios who landed in Toronto with the Blue Jays and Nelson Cruz who was dealt a few days earlier to the reigning American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays. It's unlikely we'll ever witness a trade deadline quite like this one after seeing 32 different trades which included more than 80 players dealt in total.  

Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest 

The Strasburg Situation

At last, winning baseball being played in the nation's capital. For much of the 2012 MLB season, the best overall record has been held by none other than the Washington Nationals. And while the team was expected to finish the season with a record above .500 this year for the first time since relocating from Montreal in 2005, the first place Nats who currently stand at 77-51 and own a 6 1/2 game lead in the division over the Atlanta Braves have not only reached expectations, but have surpassed them. Barring a late-season collapse, the Nationals are on pace to make their first post-season appearance since changing their name from the Expos seven seasons ago. And for those who think 2005 was forever ago, the playoff appearance would be the franchise's first since 1981, and only their second in franchise history (est. 1969).

To save you from doing the math, that's 42 years of baseball and only one trip to the post-season. Of coarse excluding the 1994 season which was cut short due to a players' strike. A season in which the then Montreal Expos boasted the best overall record (74-40) as well as a six game lead in the division before coming to a premature close. Since the lost season, the organization and their fan base has had little to cheer about other than the Presidents Race held during the middle of the fourth inning of every Nats home game. But a crop of young talent has finally gotten the ball club to where they've been waiting so patiently to be -- in the center of a pennant race. 

While the Nats offense has done its part thus far, it's been the pitching that has led the ball club to where they currently stand. And the guy that has paved the way is the 24-year old Stephen Strasburg. Having underwent Tommy John surgery in August of 2010, Strasburg would miss the remainder of the season as well as be kept on the shelf for much of the 2011 season before making a comeback in early September. Hoping to make a full recovery and return to the Nats rotation in full strength, Strasburg has looked every bit as the pitcher he was before his injury, posting a 15-6 record and an ERA of 2.94 while striking-out a National League best 195 batters. But that didn't prevent the Nationals front-office from monitoring their darling pitcher with an innings limit.

Though it's been talked about since the beginning of the season, the rumor of shutting down Strasburg's 2012 campaign before the season had ended was confirmed by manager Davey Johnson who also announced that the September 12 meeting against the Mets at New York's Citi Field would be the last start of the season for the first overall pick of the 2009 MLB Draft. With 156 1/3 innings pitched this season, Strasburg is nearing the 160-180 innings Nats general manager Mike Rizzo had targeted for his young right-hander in hopes of preventing long-term damage to what was being called the most hyped prospect in Major League history. Such a move could determine Washington's fate and how their season beyond the regular season plays out. Not to mention it could jeopardize the franchise's chances at making its first World Series appearance. But to Johnson and Rizzo, the picture is much bigger than that as they feel that this is first of many seasons in which the Nationals will be contending for a title.

That's not to say the Nationals pitching rotation which also consists of studs Jordan Zimmerman and Gio Gonzalez isn't capable of holding their own without Strasburg. After all, Washington was able to boast the best record in the Bigs without some of their best talent as Michael Morse, Drew Storen and Wilson Ramos have all been bitten by the injury bug. But with the postseason being unfamiliar territory to this young Nats squad, every bit of firepower will be needed if they plan to bring home the hardware. With a month of baseball remaining before the end of the regular season, the Nats have already matched their win total of 2005 with 81 wins, the most for the ball club since moving to the nation's capital. So regardless if the Nationals win it all this year, they've already exceeded our expectations and have proven that good things come to those who wait. And until Stephen Strasbugh returns to the mound without an innings limit, the Washington faithful will have to wait another year until they can celebrate as World Series Champions.


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest

Bryce Harper's wild first two weeks in the Majors

Though it's only been two weeks since the Washington Nationals decided to call up their 2010 number one overall draft pick and phenom Bryce Harper, there's not much the 19-year old hasn't done already at the big league level in what looks to be the beginning of a promising career. Making his much anticipated Major League debut on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Harper wasted little time to record his first big league hit as he did so in his third at-bat of the ballgame with a double to left-center field over the head of Matt Kemp before later adding a sacrifice-fly. With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and runners on first and second, the Las Vegas native and LVHS alum would also showcase his cannon of an arm after fielding an A.J. Ellis single and throwing a strike to catcher Wilson Ramos in time to snag the runner at home, but Ramos failed to hang on to the ball, allowing the run to score. Unfortunately Harper's debut would then be overshadowed by the red-hot Matt Kemp who stole the show with a walk-off home run in the 10th inning as the Nationals fell to the Dodgers, 4-3. 

After receiving a warm welcome from the Nationals fan base during Harper's first home stand in Washington, Cole Hamels of the division-rival Philadelphia Phillies gave Harper a welcome of his own in front of a nationally televised audience with a bean ball to the lower back on the first pitch he saw. Later in the inning after advancing to third on a single by Jayson Werth, Harper would get a bit of revenge by stealing home plate on an attempted pick-off throw to first. Among those to congratulate Harper on his rare steal was teammate Mark DeRosa who's been nursing a sore left oblique muscle since late-April. DeRosa aggravated that same injury when the two exchanged high-fives, extending his time on the shelf. But similar to his first big league hit, his first steal would come in a losing effort as the Nats went on to lose the ballgame, 9-3. The biggest news however, would come after the game when Hamels admitted to intentionally throwing at Harper. "I was trying to hit him," Hamels said. "I'm not going to deny it." Little did Hamels know his comments would land him a 5-game suspension issued out by the Commissioners office as well as some backlash dished out by a variety of managers throughout the league who were opposed to Hamels purposely throwing at Harper for no apparent reason. 

And though Hamels' beanball was received without leaving a cool battle wound to brag about and show his friends, the mark left by Harper's bat tells a different tale. On a night he went 0-for-5 against the Reds, Harper vented some frustration by swinging a bat against the dugout wall which ended up bouncing back and catching the 2010 Golden Spikes Award winner right above the eye. With blood running down the side of his cheek, the cut which would require ten stitches looked like something out of a Gladiator scene with Harper's face-paint and eye black the only thing missing. If anything, that shot to the head was just what Harper needed to wake up the sleeping giant from his slump. Two games later, Harper would connect for his first Major League home run with a solo shot to center field off of Padres pitcher Tim Stauffer in the third inning, worthy of a curtain call. And after rounding the bases and receiving high-fives in the dugout from his teammates without hurting anybody this time, Harper ran up the stairs and acknowledged the fans still standing and applauding the 19-year old on what should be his first of many round-trippers. 

So just to recap the first few weeks of Bryce Harper's Major League endeavors, the kid has already stolen home, has a pair of home runs under his belt, was intentionally thrown at, injured a teammate, stirred up a bit of controversy and received his first medical bill (ten stitches). Pretty event-filled if you asked me. And with a young crop of talented hitters in Harper, Wilson Ramos and Ryan Zimmerman as well as veterans Jayson Werth and Michael Morse and pitchers Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez and Jordan Zimmerman in the rotation, the Nationals' rebuilding phase appears to have finally payed off with the ball club currently sitting atop the NL East at 22-13 and beginning to play a winning brand of baseball the city of Washington has waited so desperately to see since the organization relocated from Montreal and changed their name from the Expos in 2005. With almost all of their top prospects panning out at the Major League level and other organizations within the division only getting older and beginning to deteriorate, it wouldn't surprise me if the Nationals end up taking off in a similar way that the Tampa Bay Rays did a few years ago in '08. 


Follow me on Twitter: @FraserKnowsBest

Strasburgmania

Step aside Hulkamaniacs! - Since early June when pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg first took the mound in a big league uniform and made his Major League debut by living up to the hype and striking out 14 Pirate hitters in 7 innings, while allowing 0 walks, and 2-earned runs on 94 pitches, it was obvious the 22-year old right-hander was going to be a bright star for many years to come. However, since his dominant outing in front of a sold-out crowd at Washington's Nationals Park, Strasburg has only further enhanced his stardom by creating larger than normal gatherings at the ballpark and selling out numerous games both on the road and at home. With less than a handful of starts under his belt, analysts are already comparing the craze Strasburg has created to that of 'Fernandomania' when the city of Los Angeles embraced Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela as soon as he hit the scene in Strasburg like fashion.

Even more surprising, with only his debut outing on his resume, he's already got a burger named after him called, you guessed it, a 'Strasburger'! The menu item which has already became a fan favorite and can be purchased at the restaurant inside the Washington ballpark. *Eat at your own risk!* If having a dish named after you isn't considered rock star status, maybe having opposing stadiums double ticket sales when you're scheduled to start will do the trick. Or perhaps the fact that his jersey and other Strasburg merchandise is being sold at the oppositions ballpark? The starting pitcher out of San Diego Sate University and Southern California native has received early fan fare that hasn't been seen since Mark 'The Bird' Fidrych began manicuring the mound in the mid to late 70's when he was embraced by fans across the league, and most notably in Detroit. His presence causes much attention similar to the man he shares the spotlight with in the nation's capital, President Obama. But if Strasburg can continue to deliver like he has been, don't be surprised if you see any 'Vote Strasburg' campaigns come the next election in 2012.

Prior to his arrival in Washington, the Nationals were almost irrelevant and rarely ever received any air time. However since being called up to the bigs, almost every one of Strasburg's starts have made it on ESPN or another major media outlet. Something I find very fun considering you couldn't pay someone to watch a Nats game a month or two ago. But just a little more than a month into his big league career, Strasburg is already the biggest thing since 'Beatlemania' took the world by storm (alongside Beiber-Fever of coarse). Continuing the love fest that has followed Strasburg since being drafted first overall in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft and signing a record breaking $15.1 Million dollar contract, his extremely rare 1 out of 1 special edition "Superfactor" baseball card out of the 2010 Bowman Chrome set was being auctioned off on eBay for an astounding $50,000 big ones before the seller decided to remove the item. With the card scheduled to hit the online auction once again in the near future, collectors can begin asking themselves, "Hmm a brand new car or a baseball card?"

But back to his work on the field, Strasburg has shown no signs of slowing down since his much anticipated and critically acclaimed debut performance that put him on the map. Through 9 starts, Strasburg owns a record of 5-wins and 2-losses. In both losses combined, Strasburg only allowed 4-earned runs including a 1-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals during Interleague play which was also his first Major League loss. Also worth noting, the young hurler received 0 runs of support in both losing efforts. Now that it's clear both defeats were received due to a poor offense, I think it's safe to say Strasburg would be undefeated on almost every other ball club in the league. If he continues to dominate the opposition, it'll be hard to root against him in terms of the Rookie of the Year Award. But if management decides to shut down their superstar pitcher which is what general manager Mike Rizzo has in mind, it'll be a close call. According to sources, the phenom will be limited to 160-total innings to avoid over working him which sounds a lot similar to the way the Yankees approached the young talent of Joba Chamberlain several years ago when forming the 'Joba Rules'. But if that's what they gotta do to prevent another Mark Prior or Kerry Wood incident, then so be it.

Noteworthy: Strasburg became only the third pitcher in MLB history to record at least 14 strikeouts in his Big League debut. J.R. Richard of the Houston Astros (1971) and Carl Spooner of the Brooklyn Dodgers (1954) the others. ESPN's 'By the Numbers' did a crazy comparison of Strasburg and the All-Time Major League punchout king Nolan Ryan. Ryan started a total of 698 games before having himself a 14 K performance without giving any walks. It took Strasburg only 1. Still think the kid's all hype?