A Dud of a Deadline

In the end, the big deal didn’t happen. Desperate to add more offense, the Mets could not complete a blockbuster trade with the Red Sox to acquire Manny Ramirez. While the Ramirez trade would have been great for the Mets, most fans were hoping for more bullpen help at the very least and that didn’t happen either. So the Mets, who are only four games out of a playoff spot, will have to make do with what they have for now.

Across town, the pitching-starved Yankees didn’t make a deal either. The Yankees wanted to upgrade their pitching and centerfield defense, yet didn’t find a single trade to their liking. Maybe the Yankees are serious when they say they will no longer trade away their young players.

It wasn’t just the Mets and the Yankees who failed to upgrade their teams. Very few trades were made at all and perhaps the most significant one was Kyle Farnsworth going from Detroit to Atlanta. Matt Lawton went from Pittsburgh to Chicago and that was about it for the household names. Maybe more trades will be made in August, but since all players must now pass through waivers before being traded, that usually precludes a big deal from happening

Photo by Winslow Townson/AP via ESPN

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By Peter Trinkle on August 1, 2005 10:16 AM

Comments [rss]

Rich

This was an eerily quiet deadline. It was strange for the Yankees not to grab some (often former) all-star at the last second.

"Maybe the Yankees are serious when they say they will no longer trade away their young players."

Eh. What do they care if they trade a young player away? They'll just buy them back down the road with a lot of money if they turn into good player.

tien

yeah, it's kind of insane. the nl west seems soo bad. 1st place is sub .500.

also, i think a big trade could still happen. i think manny would clear waivers as would any player with such a huge contract.

stan

Biggest reason for deadline inactivity: nobody is willing to give up on this season. every team thinks they still have a chance... and really, only about five teams are completely out of it (lots of buyers, very few sellers). my giants are fourteen (14!) games under .500, mired in fourth place in the dismal NL West, but only 5.5 games back of first. and THEY made a deal for randy winn! they're buyers!