RINGOLSBY: Trade winds were only a whisper

By Tracy Ringolsby, Rocky Mountain News

Published July 31, 2008 at 10:21 p.m.

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He said it

"You wish you had the DH. We didn't plan in advance how to move things around."

Joe Torre, Dodgers manager, on the acquisition of Ramirez.

Numbers game

25 major-league trades were made in June and July, the fewest since 1997, when 23 deals were made. There were at least 30 deals every year in between except 1999, when 28 were made. Last year, there were 33 trades. The most in the past 11 years was 52 in 2006 and 2000.

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Twenty-four days in advance of Thursday's trading deadline, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired left-handed pitcher CC Sabathia from the Cleveland Indians for a package of four prospects, including highly regarded power-hitter Matt LaPorta.

The next day, their National League Central rival Cubs answered by sending four players to the Oakland Athletics for right-handed pitcher Rich Harden.

What had the makings of an explosive trade front in July, however, never materialized.

Other than a final flurry Thursday, when two big-name bats were traded - Ken Griffey Jr. from Cincinnati to the White Sox and Manny Ramirez from Boston to the Dodgers - in deals that didn't really make sense, the trading sequels didn't come close to the first two in terms of sizzle.

Winners

* Yankees. They needed a catcher with the loss of Jorge Posada for the season and came up with All-Star Ivan Rodriguez from the Tigers while being able to unload right-handed pitcher Kyle Farnsworth, who had become excess baggage. And that came after they filled two other crucial needs by picking up outfielder Xavier Nady and left-handed reliever Damaso Marte from Pittsburgh for four prospects.

* Pirates. First-year general manager Neal Huntington is trying to replenish a depleted farm system, particularly short on arms. In deals that sent Marte and Nady to the Yankees and Jason Bay to the Red Sox, the Pirates received eight prospects, including Jeff Karstens, who will start tonight; right-hander Craig Hansen, who moves into the bullpen; outfielder Jose Tabata, ranked No. 3 among Yankees prospects; right-hander Ross Ohlendorf, ranked No. 9 in the Yankees system; and third baseman Andy LaRoche, the second- ranked prospect in Dodgers system.

* Oakland. GM Billy Beane saw his farm system going fallow. With the offseason trade of right-hander Dan Haren to Arizona and outfielder Nick Swisher to the White Sox, plus the July moves that sent Joe Blanton to Philadelphia and Harden to the Cubs, he added 20 prospects, most of whom will fit into the Athletics' top 30 list this offseason.

* Cubs. The Brewers made a strong statement by landing Sabathia, but the Cubs topped them, particularly if Harden stays healthy because they also added the versatile arm of right-hander Chad Gaudin from the Athletics for a package of four players, only one of which, right-hander Sean Gallagher, fit into the Cubs' plans for now or the future.

Losers

* Cardinals. The Brewers and Cubs added big-time arms to their rotations, but the Cardinals, who want to think they can hang with the big boys down the stretch, did nothing, much to the chagrin of manager Tony La Russa. But then the Cardinals don't have a lot to dangle in terms of prospects, which makes it difficult to give up one of the five or six they do have.

* Astros. What are they thinking? They have a farm system that has suffered from years of neglect from ownership and they deal away breathing bodies for left-hander Randy Wolf, whose stamina is in question and who figures to cost the Astros' $3.5 million at least, and struggling right-handed reliever LaTroy Hawkins, whom the Yankees were going to release.

* Padres. They thought they might be able to add some depth to a needy farm system, but talks with the Dodgers about right-hander Greg Maddux fell through and nothing developed for outfielder Brian Giles or third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff.

* White Sox. They didn't give up much to get Griffey, but he is less of a fit with the White Sox than the defensively challenged Ramirez is with the Dodgers. The White Sox are going to force Griffey back into center field, where his legs no longer can handle the grind, and they wind up having to remove Paul Konerko's or Swisher's bat from the lineup. Oh, well, at least they won't have $25 million tied up in outfield reserves like the Dodgers, who, with Ramirez's addition, figure to sit Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones.

Infield chatter

* With Houston's trade of second baseman Matt Cusick, their 10th-round pick in 2007, to the Yankees for about-to-be-released Hawkins, the Astros have only four players from the first 10 rounds of last year's draft in their system. They lost their first two picks as compensation for signing free agents Carlos Lee and Woody Williams and did not sign the Nos. 3, 4 and 8 selections.

* Hansen not only was the Red Sox's first-round draft choice out of St. John's in 2005, but he was given a $4 million major league deal, the richest draft package in Red Sox history.

The rotation

Teams still trade players. They just have to clear waivers first. Five players whose contracts figure to allow them to clear waivers and make it possible for them to be dealt in August:

* Left-hander Jarrod Washburn, Seattle, $10.35 million salary in 2009.

* First baseman Konerko, White Sox, $12 million salary in 2009 and 2010.

* Center fielder Jones, Dodgers, $15 million salary in 2009.

* Center fielder Pierre, Dodgers, $10 million salary in 2009 and 2010, $8.5 million salary in 2011.

* Outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., Angels, $10 million salary in 2009, $11 million salary in 2010 and $12 million salary in 2011.

Mile High watch

Rockies scouting director Bill Schmidt went 2-for-3 in his bid to take advantage of players who slipped in the draft.

Indications, however, are that he won't connect with third baseman Andy Burns of Rocky Mountain High School, who is considered to have the ability to have been drafted in the third through fifth rounds but slipped to the 25th round.

Burns had said he wanted $1 million or would take a scholarship to Kentucky, and even with a coaching change there, indications are that he remains committed to the Wildcats.

Burns faced a major challenge and held his own this summer for the Duluth Huskies in the Northwoods League. In a wood-bat league designed for college players, Burns has hit .221 but shown an ability to make some adjustments.

Meanwhile, Schmidt has to feel good about signing athletic Tyler Massey, a 14th-round choice out of The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn., who turned down a baseball scholarship to Virginia, and outfielder Delta Cleary, a 37th-round draft choice out of Eunice (La.) Junior College.

Massey received what Baseball America has reported was a $525,000 signing bonus that the Rockies can spread over four years because he also was highly recruited by colleges to play football. Cleary is a raw athlete, who was described as a slam-dunk force on Jonesboro High's 6A state championship basketball team two years ago and was quarterback at the Louisiana high school before attending college.

* Kit Pellow, who appeared briefly with the Rockies during the 2003-04 seasons and became a popular member of the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox, became the first player in 14 years to win the Mexican League Triple Crown this summer. Playing for the Saltillo Serape Makers, Pellow hit .385 with 34 home runs and 107 RBI.

* Former Rockies outfielder Juan Pierre has joined Tommy Harper, Otis Nixon and Brett Butler as the only big-league players with at least 100 stolen bases for three different teams. Pierre reached the century mark Tuesday with the Dodgers, having already gotten to that level with the Rockies and Marlins.

Vested interest

Agent Scott Boras has a stake in outfielder Manny Ramirez not having the $20 million option in his contract for 2009 exercised.

The contract Ramirez currently has belongs to previous agent Greg Genske, who would get the 5 percent commission off the option.

With the option rejected, Boras will get paid based on the new deal he gets Ramirez.

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