The West is the Best

The power shifted to West Coast teams at the trade deadline today. Players with a big impact have moved to teams in the Western divisions. It was an entertaining trade deadline and plenty of teams made changes. Lets cover all of them in chronological order.

 The Rangers acquired catcher Giovanni Soto from the Chicago Cubs for minor league pitcher Jake Brigham. That wasn't the only move the Rangers would make before the deadline.

The Braves we're a very sneaky team after they were out of the Ryan Dempster trade talks. They acquired outfielder Reed Johnson and and starting pitcher Paul Maholm. Maholm has a 3.74 ERA in 120.1 innings this year and Johnson has a .307/.361/.452 slashline this season. The Braves only gave up pitchers Jaye Chapman and Arodys Vizcaino.

The Blue Jays and Pirates swap outfielder Travis Snider and reliever Brad Lincoln. Snider hasn't performed well this year in his short time in the big leagues and hasn't been great in his career. Lincoln has a 2.73 ERA this season out of the bullpen for the Pirates.

The Dodgers traded for right handed reliever Brandon League of the Mariners. League will take his 3.63 ERA to the Dodgers in exchange for prospects Leon Landry and Logan Bawcom.

The Dodgers weren't done there. They woke up in the morning and acquired gold glove outfielder Shane Victorino. Victorino is 31 years old and is in the last year of his contract. Victorino will help the Dodgers at the top of the lineup and be on base for when Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier come up to bat. Victorino brings his speed and .324 on base percentage to the Dodgers in exchange for pitching prospect Ethan Martin and major league reliever Matt Lindbolm.

To counteract the trade for Victorino and to boost their own lineup the Giants traded for right fielder Hunter Pence. Pence is still under team control for next year and has been effective for the Phillies, but will bring his talents to the Giants. Pence is 29 years old and in 2012 he has a .336 on base percentage and 17 home runs. Nate Schierholtz, minor league pitcher Seth Rosin and catcher Tommy Joeseph will go to Philadelphia.

The Cardinals will bolster their bullpen with Edward Mujica. Mujica has a 4.38 ERA in 2012 with the Marlins. He will be a definite help down the line. Third base prospect Zack Cox will go to the Marlins.

The Red Sox showed that they are not out of competition for the American League Wild Card. They held onto all aspects of their team and added a reliever. Lefty Craig Breslow will go to Boston in exchange for pitcher Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik. Breslow has a 2.70 ERA this season with the Arizona Diamond Backs.

After getting Snider the Pirates were not done. They added struggling first baseman Gaby Sanchez from the Miami Marlins. Sanchez lost his job due to the acquisition of Carlos Lee. Sanchez is hitting just .202/.250/.306 this season, but he has done much better in his career. Pitcher Kaminska will also go to Pittsburgh in exchange for Gorkys Hernandez and a future draft pick.

The Reds were unsuccessful in getting a lead off hitter, but they did strengthen their already fantastic bullpen. They added Jonathon Broxton. Broxton will head to Cincinatti for pitchers Donnie Joseph and J.C. Sulbaran. Broxton has a 2.27 ERA this season with the Kansas City Royals and will set up for Aroldis Chapman.

Back to the Rangers. They traded for starting pitcher Ryan Dempster. Dempster was the biggest fish on the market coming into the last day before the deadline. He has pitched 104 innings with a 2.25 ERA in 2012. The Rangers gave up minor league third baseman Christian Villanueva and pitcher Kyle Kendricks. The deal was completed with seconds remaining before the deadline.

The final acquisition of the day was completed by the New York Yankees. With Alex Rodriguez heading to the DL the Yankees needed a part time third baseman. The two teams exchanged reliever Chad Qualls and third baseman Casey McGehee. McGehee has history of success and will have a chance to prove it in New York. The Yankees won't miss Qualls because Joba Chamerlain is back on the team from an injury.

Teams can still make trades with players who pass through waivers. Possible players to move are bench players, relievers, and players with big salaries.

The biggest winners of the day were the Giants and Dodgers. They will be in competition with each other down the line and both made moves to beat each other.