Trade deadline winners and losers

The trade deadline has come and gone with a rush of trades over the weekend. A lot of managers were active. In total, half the league made a trade over the past couple weeks, trying to improve their team in some form.

With that, we take a look back and by doing so we in essence look ahead.

Here are your 2009 trade deadline winners and losers.


Winners

1) Ken - Traded dead wood (Beltran) for arguably a top-10 player in Abreu. And, as one rival GM put it, "More than anything he didn't have to deal with the vetoes or firestorm of backlash over the 'this year/next year' debate."

2) Shea - Acquired A-Rod and now goes into next year with the arguably the best three keepers, assuming Morneau and Hernandez don't suffer big injuries from now until the end of the season.

3) Andy - He needed hitting and got his wish, yet paid a big price by giving up Lincecum. But, adding Morales and Markakis into a lineup with McCann, Howard, Utley, Youkilis, Dye and Cruz is pretty scary. "He got the most bang for his buck," one GM said.

4) Chris - Losing A-Rod for next year will be tough, but like Andy, he's going for it this year. Getting Kershaw, Tejada and a rejuvenated Vlad was a strong move, and it can only help Chris going forward.

5) Richie - Assuming Reyes comes back next year, it was a good move by our last-place friend. He's certainly more valuable of a keeper than anyone else on his current roster.

6) Jack - Successfully made his points about the keeper system's failures, likely forcing the league to reevaluate the issue in the offseason.

Losers

1) Joe - He sat around while three other playoff teams significantly improved their hitting, including two in the division race. Sources tell me he was offered a package including Chipper, Span and Kershaw for Ichiro, and Joe turned it down. As one rival GM put it, "Joe already has a team that can be VERY hit or miss and could have used the upgrade in two positions."

2) Bob - With so much pitching, it seems like it would have made sense to swing one of them for an extra bat. The division is within reach, but he didn't grab it at the deadline.

3) Mike - Most active of the GMs with three deadline trades. All in all, here's what he did: Reyes, Abreu, Morales, Markakis, Lester for Beltran, Holliday, Quentin, Scott, Lincecum. Whew. He's only two games out of the playoff race, which could be one by Sunday, but he firesold anyway, playing for next year.

4) Ricky - This would have been a GREAT opportunity to swing one of his two star pitchers (Halladay/Sabathia) with contracts expiring. He could have sent them for a keeper pitcher and a couple bats in return and made a move for the playoffs. Instead, it's likely he's watching from home for the first time.

5) Adam - With his season basically over, it would have been nice to see him swing a deal to improve for next year. Right now, he has three 1-year keepers.