Baseball Update: The Haren Trade Reaction & More

In a surprise move the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim traded for Arizona pitcher Dan Haren. Haren was traded for Joe Saunders, minor league pitcher Patrick Corbin, reliever Rafael Rodriguez, and a player to be named later.

This is a surprise because the Angels weren't expected to make a deal. The Phillies and Yankees were the ones supposedly in the running for Haren. Now the Phillies and Yankees will have to look to make a deal for Roy Oswalt or Ted Lilly. (More on this later.)

The immediate reaction to this trade doesn't look good for Arizona. The immediate reaction was that this was a salary dump for Arizona, but that isn't the case. Compared to Joe Saunders though, Haren is actually underpaid compared to market value. Joe Sheehan says the deal isn't a salary dump."It's not even an effective salary dump. Saunders will be 4+ and probably make $6M next year. (Haren: $12.75M.)" 


There is a saver in the deal for Arizona is the player to be named later. Most Arizona fans would like Angels prospect Mike Trout to be the player named later. According to Yahoo's Jeff Passan though that's not happening."Unless that PTBNL is Mike Trout -- and it isn't -- the Angels pulled off a whopper of a deal. Inauspicious start for D-Backs without Byrnes." And that's where this deal looks terrible for Arizona. The Arizona basically received nothing for Haren who is under contract for the next two seasons for a relatively cheap price. And because Joe Saunders, Pat Corbin, and Rafael Rodriguez aren't expected to mount up to much this looks like Highway robbery for the Angels. 

Kicking the Tires: There are several teams that have needs to be addressed through trades, but GM's have been kicking tires on trades. The Minnesota Twins could use a starting pitcher but have kicked the tires so far as the trade deadline approaches. The Rays have also kicked the tires approaching the deadline. The Rays and Twins aren't the only teams standing pat so far, the Phillies, Giants, and Yankees all have problems that need to be addressed but haven't. 

Roy Oswalt Rumors: Yesterday the Houston Astros president Tal Smith said the Astros will move Oswalt before the deadline on Saturday. The Phillies are still the front-runners for Oswalt and could even trade for Oswalt without giving up Jayson Werth. Todd Zolecki reports the Astros are interested in Phillies pitcher J.A. Happ and that Happ could be package in a deal for Oswalt. If Oswalt wants to be traded he should drop the demands and go to the best team. 

A Buyer's Market?: Jon Heyman reports that we have a buyer's market this season for the trade deadline. The Rangers and Angels have improved their teams and there are up to 12 other teams looking to improve. And that in lays the problem, there aren't enough bad teams looking to sell. Mediocre teams like the A's, Cubs, Royals, and Blue Jays aren't necessarily looking to sell off their talent for prospects. So we have buyer's, but not enough seller's.