This baseball season has been full of trades with some big names being moved such as Shelby Miller, Aroldis Chapman, and Craig Kimbrel.  Not all trades are good trades though. 

Sometimes teams are desperate and they trade more than they should to get a player or you may have the reverse effect where a theam is desperate to move on from a player and they are willing to accept less than market value just to move on from a guy.  Below are my best and worst trade of the MLB offseason thus far.

Best Trades

1. Aroldis Chapman Traded to the New York Yankees 

This was a fantastic deal for the Yankees.  By acquiring Chapman, the Yankees have by far the best back end of a bullpen in baseball with Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, and now Aroldis Chapman, all of whom throw upper 90’s with the fastball.  The Yankees now own the pitchers with the highest strikeout percentage from 2014-2015, and they have now essential turned baseball from a nine inning game to a six inning game if they have the lead heading into the seventh.  

The Yankees were able to form this dominant bullpen without trading any top prospects from their bullpen.  The Yankees traded three mid level prospects, and a 28-year-old bullpen piece in Cotham who had his first major league experience last season, but he does have excellent strikeout to walk ratios.  The Reds needed to bull this trade now or risk losing Chapman next season as a free agent which is how the Yankees were able to get such a great closer without trading any top tier prospects.

2. New York Mets Acquire Neil Walker from the Pittsburgh Pirates for Jon Niese

One trade that I particularly like this offseason is the trade between the Mets and the Pirates.  The Mets acquired Neil Walker who will fill the void at second base after Daniel Murphy left for the Nationals. The Pirates added Jon Niese in the deal  

While Niese did have a down year last season he had been slid the three previous seasons posting ERA’s of 3.40, 3.71, and 3.40.  The Pirates have also had a ton of success with pitchers in recent years who many thought were at the end of their days or were washed up, and were able to turn them into god starting pitchers.  On the other side the Mets get a sec on baseman who plays much better defense than Murphy, as well as providing better power.  Walker is also a switch hitter which is always a great addition to any lineup.

3. New York Yankees Acquire Starlin Castro from the Chicago Cubs for Adam Warren

Another trade that stuck out to me as a good trade this year was the race between the Yankees and the Cubs that sent Starlin Castro to the Yankees, and Adam Warren, and Brendan Ryan to the Cubs.  From the Cubs perspective they acquired a pithier who has success both in the bullpen and out of the rotation. 

In fact, Warren’s numbers last year out of the rotation are very similar to his numbers out of the bullpen the previous season where pitchers tend to actually have more success.  Also with the move to the National League it would be reasonable to expect Warren to be slightly better than he was last year.  

From the Yankees side the acquire a player who is going to solve their second base woes.  Second base was easily the worst position on the Yankees last year with Stephen Drew struggling the entire season.  Castro is only going to be 26 years old and could definitely be the long term answer for the Yankees, and may allow them to trade Rob Refsnyder whom many teams have inquired about in the past.

Worst Trades

1. Arizona Diamondbacks Acquired Shelby Miller from the Atlanta Braves for Ender Inciarte and Prospects

The first trade that I am not particularly fond of is the Shelby Miller trade between the Diamondbacks, and the Braves.  Sure the Diamondbacks have switched to a win now mentality with their offseason moves and already strong lineup, but they sure gave up a ton for a guy who has been really god but not great yet.

The Braves were able to get Ender Inciarte who is developing into a very good player, as well as Aaron Blair who is a hard throwing right hander and was the D-Backs number three prospect, and Dansby Swanson, a short stop who was the D-Backs number one draft pick in 2015 as well as their top rated prospect.  This is quiet a gaul for the Braves who only had to give up Miller who has yet to have a sub 3.0 ERA and Gabe Speier a pitching prospect who has yet to make it out of A ball.

2. Houston Astros Acquire Ken Giles from the Philadelphia Phillies 

The trade of Ken Giles is another one that is not a particularly good one.  I understand the premise behind the trade with Giles being a hot commodity for teams looking to win now, but the trade feels very rushed.  The Phillies being where they are needed to trade him but if they had waited a little longer and not looked to deal him to the first bidder they could’ve received more.  The Phillies were able to get quantity, not necessarily quality with the players they got from the Astros.  

From the Astros perspective though you have to love the trade.  The traded a bunch of names without depleting their farm or impacting their major league roster. 

Now the Astros are a step closer to fixing their bullpen, particularly the closer role as Luke Gregerson was very up and down last year.  Giles is going to bring a lot of stability to the ninth inning which is going to make thew Astros dangerous with their potent lineup and good starting rotation.  

3. Los Angeles Angels Acquire Yunel Escobar from the Washington Nationals

The last trade that is the Yunel Escobar trade.  Anytime a player puts up possible his best career season at the age off 32 it seems a little suspect in today’s day and age where performance enhancing drugs are so prevalent in the game.  Even if Escobar was clean last year he’s due for a decline as players simply just don’t get better with age.  Even though the Angels clearly need help in their infield, I don't Escobar being the answer.

Then from the Nationals perspective you don’t have much talent or depth at the infield position so why would you trade the player who was your best infielder last year both offensively and defensively? 

While the Nationals were able to get a young hard throwing righty for their bullpen, he hasn't been able to control his fastball well enough to have a high strikeout rate, and as a result, he has a high walk rate.  If Trevor Gott can harness his fastball this may wind up being a good deal but until then it doesn’t make a ton of sense for either team.