The Curious Cases of the Relievers Who were not Traded

Again, Zach Britton found himself waiting for a phone call that never came.

Fellow left-handed reliever and fellow significant trade chip of a motivated seller, Brad Hand, is also staying put.

While the headlines Monday were tied to the top front-line starters traded, the Yankees adding Sonny Gray and the Dodgers beating the 4 p.m. eastern buzzer to land Yu Darvish, this was a reliever-heavy deadline period. This should be remembered as the trade deadline of The Reliever when more and more teams are focused on improving bullpens and attempting to build super relief corps.

And what’s interesting is that two of the best relief options available — arguably the two best options available Monday — were not moved among the high volume of relievers traded prior to the deadline.

The Yankees strengthened their bullpen earlier in the month by adding Tommy Kahnle and David Robertson. The Nationals had earlier acquired Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson, and added Twins closer Brandon Kintzler at the deadline. Also on Monday, the Dodgers added left-handed relievers Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani. The Indians added a bullpen upgrade in Joe Smith. The Cubs added Justin Wilson last week. Jeremy Jeffress returned to the Brewers Monday, and prior to the deadline the Red Sox tried to keep pace with the Yankees’ super pen by adding Addison Reed.

Take a breath. There’s more.

David Hernandez is headed to the Diamondbacks, Joaquin Benoit to the Pirates, and the Astros added Francisco Liriano, whom they plan to transition to a reliever. The one thing Liriano has consistently done in his career is dominate lefties, and it’s not crazy to think he might excel in a situational role.

Eno looked at all the relievers traded Monday. But among the notable names not included were of course Britton and Hand.

One problem with Britton is he has not been vintage Britton — at least according to traditional numbers — since returning from the disabled list. In 11 innings since his return, he has allowed six runs and 13 hits. But then again, he has been vintage Britton in regard to his ground-ball rate, which remains at an elite 80 percent in July, and his velocity has been trending back in the right direction.

Against the Royals on Monday night, Britton looked like Britton. His 97 mph sinker darted under bats in a scoreless inning.

The Orioles did not have to trade Britton. He has another season of control. Perhaps he will have more value in the offseason if he can finish with two excellent months, or perhaps the Orioles can work out a waiver deal. Perhaps the Orioles were asking too much, or were simply being too stubborn in regard to their future and current positions. There is the Peter Angelos factor.

Important dynamic in Britton negotiations: Needs to be big haul for #Orioles, or owner Angelos will not approve.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2017

And maybe the Orioles — at least some key decision makers — still believe they can win, as Dan Duquette told the Baltimore Sun Monday.

“We’re going to take a shot at getting the most out of this season,” Duquette said. “I mean nobody’s running away with the American League East. The teams are so evenly matched if you make a move here or there and it jells, who knows? We still have some hope that we can make the playoffs.

“We like our guys and we like our team,” he added. “… You do one or two things right and you get on a roll, there’s still hope. There’s still hope. And that wild card keeps hope alive for a lot of teams. Frankly, I’m glad that we’re adding. I’d much rather be adding this time of year than subtracting.”

The Orioles have a 4.4% chance to reach the postseason according to our playoff odds.

The risk is that the Orioles are facing an inevitable rebuild in a tough AL East, and if they wait too long to tear down, there might be nothing left to tear down — whether it be players walking as free agents, losing value due to injury and/or moving closer to free agency.

As for Hand, there were reports that the Padres were asking too rich a return, and perhaps as they kept their ask high — maybe even misreading the market — other options began to go off the board, like Wilson.

Sources: #Padres remain firm on price for Brad Hand. One interested club says SD “overreaching.” Beauty is in the eye of the beholder…

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2017

If the Orioles and Padres were hoping for returns anything near what the Yankees enjoyed last deadline for Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, they were certainly disappointed.

In this year’s deadline market, the Yankees gave up less for 2.5 years of control over Gray than they enjoyed in return for two months of Aroldis Chapman last year. The Yankees acquired a top-of-the rotation arm without giving up a top 50 overall prospect. Ditto for the Dodgers and Darvish, who was a rental.

Beyond this not being a great seller’s market, it was also a market flooded with short-term relief options.

Benoit, Hernandez, Kintzler, Liriano, Reed, Smith, and Watson — who were traded Monday — are all impending free agents. While they are not the talent that Hand is, they were undoubtedly cheaper in terms of return required.

You could make a case that Hand is a poor man’s Miller, and that he was the most valuable reliever chip available Monday. Jeff just opined he was and that the Padres were right to ask for a hefty package.

But the Padres might have waited too long in a market flooded with lesser but adequate options. Teams might have paused about giving up a significant haul for a pitcher with a short track record of dominance in addition to the volatile nature of bullpen arms.

And whether it was because of outrageous asks, stubbornness and/or a flooded market, two of the best relief options available Monday — perhaps the best two — were not moved. That was something of an upset. And while that’s not a great look for the Orioles and Padres, they’ll get another chance to move them this coming winter or next deadline.

But you can also second guess some contenders. Should they have been willing to pay more for relievers who had a chance to not just be upgrades, but to be difference makers, in a game trending more and more toward the bullpen?