The MLB trade deadline came early for three aspiring World Series contenders as the Detroit Tigers, Tampa Bay Rays and Atlanta Braves all acquired pitching help on Monday.
The Tigers are a great team, but they’ve been lacking some stability in the bullpen, but that changed when Detroit rescued reliever Jose Veras from the woeful Astros. Veras has 19 saves and an ERA below 3.00 this season with 44 Ks and 14 walks. Put simply, that’s exactly what the Tigers needed heading into the playoff stretch run.
Nobody really knows what happened between the Chicago White Sox and Rays on Monday — including MLB commissioner Bud Selig — but we do know Tampa Bay came away with All-Star reliever as Jesse Crain. The right-hander is still on the disabled list, but he’ll be back just in time to help the Rays catch the Boston Red Sox in the fierce AL East title race.
Despite losing Tim Hudson for the season, the Braves are still quietly rolling along as the best team in the NL East. However, Atlanta made some noise on Monday by acquiring left-handed reliever Scott Downs from the Los Angeles Angels. Lord knows L.A. ain’t gonna do nothing with him, so Downs will be better off chasing the NL pennant with the Braves.
Which of these three teams do you think benefitted most from these early trades? Comment below and let us know!
