Is it Time to Change the Trade Deadline?
By Mike Silva ~ July 30th, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva.
Imagine of the trade deadline was the original June 15th? Amazing that Tom Seaver was dealt “at the deadline,” where today that date wouldn’t even signal the end of the NBA Finals. Baseball recognized that date needed to change and made it the 31st of July. Now that we are in the Wild Card era, perhaps it’s time for the powers that be to recognize a need for another change.
The main issue I have with the current deadline is how teams who are not “out of it,” but really can’t feel comfortable being “in it” and are put in a tight spot. It’s hard to justify the Mets paying a top prospect for Scott Downs since a bad weekend against Arizona might make that trade moot. On the flip side, teams that are looking to sell (like Toronto) have a harder time doing so because of the “wait and see approach” by pseudo contenders. Let’s not forget injuries can and do happen after the 31st. The human body doesn’t take into account the MLB waiver process. Why make it harder for a contender to upgrade the roster just because bad luck afflicted them on the wrong day?
Perhaps it doesn’t matter since I believe many teams will be able to put players through the waiver wire. Does anyone honestly believe a Chad Qualls or Rich Harden will be blocked? I bet the Dodgers put Manny Ramirez through without a problem. The days of the Yankees blocking a Jose Canseco to keep him away from the Red Sox are over. Imagine a team claiming Ramirez to keep him away from a contender? I could see LA saying “thank you very much and enjoy.” That team would then be responsible for paying the remaining $7 million or so owed to “Manny” the rest of the season. Why put the league through this charade?
I propose the real trade deadline becomes August 31st, the same day rosters need to be finalized for the postseason. I could even split the difference and make it August 15th, since the Wild Card race will be vetted out by that time. It gives teams a chance to evaluate their rosters and prevents an early white flag. I remember the Phillies in 2006 trading Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle at the deadline. They got hot in August and September and nearly made the playoffs. Some argue that subtracting Abreu was part of that surge, but I wonder if Pat Gillick felt the team could compete for a playoff spot he would have made that same deal.
If MLB could get rid of the dreaded coin flip for home field advantage they could make changes to the trade deadline. Maybe it will be discussed when Bud Selig is done bothering teams for paying talented college kids over slot. In all seriousness, it should at least be on their radar. Since baseball moves at the speed of government, maybe this will be addressed in the next five years
