Hanrahan, Melancon, and Bullpens

The Red Sox and Pirates officially completed a trade that was more or less done a few days before Christmas. Joel Hanrahan goes to Boston, either as the closer or insurance for oft-injured closer Andrew Bailey, and several players often characterized as spare parts go to the Pirates. One of those spare parts, Mark Melancon, happens to be the bullpen arm that Hanrahan more or less directly replaces on the Red Sox roster.

The idea is that Hanrahan upgrades Boston's bullpen. It is debatable if he actually will though. The fact that this trade happened suggests a team with a surplus of successful bullpens, like the Mariners may have at the trade deadline, could swing some interesting trades.

Trades, Trades, Trades

This has turned into a more active trade deadline than I thought it would be.  Here are recaps of all the trades that have happened in the past couple days that did not involve Roy Oswalt:

• Rangers acquire INF Jorge Cantu from the Marlins for RHP Evan Reed and RHP Omar Poveda - For as good as Texas has been, they have had a black hole at first base the entire year. While Cantu is not an impact guy for most teams, he may prove to be for Texas because of how big the hole was. There was also some initial speculation that Cantu may play some second base with Ian Kinsler heading to the DL, but I doubt that thanks to today's action. As for what Florida got in return, it is a pretty standard trade deadline kind of haul for a guy like Cantu. Reed is a reliever in AA with nothing to positive or negative about him. He looks to me like the AAAA reliever type at best. It is tougher to say what Poveda becomes, since he is out all of this year with arm surgery. He had great strikeout rates through the lower levels of the minors, but those started to desert him, even before the big injury. How Poveda bounces back will decide how good this deal was. If I had to pick a winner right now, I'd go with Texas.
• Rangers acquire INF Cristian Guzman from the Nationals for RHP Ryan Tatusko and RHP Tanner Roark - Guzman is a nice backup infielder that will play in Kinsler's absence. Probably the most noteworthy piece of this deal is that it seems to be a clear indication that Texas sees Cantu more as a first base option, and won't try him much at second base. Given that it has been a few years since Cantu has played second, that's probably a good idea. As for the Nats, they get a pair of largely uninteresting arms. Tatusko's ERA has dropped considerably this year, even though he is more hittable than ever. That's weird, and it makes it hard to say how good he is, though no matter what I think he is a marginal MLB arm at best. Roark has a great name, but not the game to match it. He has pitched better out of relief in the minors, but who doesn't? Both of Tatusko and Roark profile as roster fillers, but when you have a place for Miguel Batista, you welcome these kind of guys with open arms. Solid, though utterly forgettable deal for both sides.