Kuzul

It is Wednesday, August 1, and everyone in baseball knows what that means. The 2012 July 31 non-waiver trade deadline has passed, and any deals that hope to be done from now until August 31 will have to be completed by attempting to pass players through waivers. Not an easy venture.So, as usual, 2012 saw its fair share of players switch uniforms over the past week or so. But which teams made the best trades? Which moves will most greatly benefit their clubs, giving them a better shot at reaching the postseason, or maybe just enhance their chances of victory once they get there?I've come up with a list of 10 teams who have made the best of the trade deadline for themselves, and now I'm going to bring us all back to school. For every team listed, I will assign a grade on how well I think the move ...

Right now, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim appear to have one of the best squads to contend for a World Series title. They have three solid starters in Jared Weaver, Zack Greinke and Dan Haren. They have a reliable bullpen. And any lineup where Albert Pujols is the third biggest threat cannot be trifled with.They have depth, experience and the energy that feeding off young stars can bring. They also have Mike Scioscia at the helm. The Angels skipper is one of the most reliable in the game. And with the 2002 World Series title and five other Division Championships to his credit, he is assembling a Hall of Fame-caliber resume.In any short series against any team, the Angels would be given at the very worst a fighting chance if they didn't come in as favorites.And yet as of this writing, they are in third place in the American ...

The MLB trade deadline came and went with a flurry of deals. Such excitement was bound to have some hilarious fallout. The biggest mistake wasn't from a team overpaying for a pitcher, or a down-in-the-dumps team selling off top talent—it was from a news agency being duped by a fake Twitter account. Deadspin caught a humorous gaffe by WCPO.com. which included two tweets from @Brox4AllStarz, a fake account for former Royals pitcher Jonathan Broxton, in its article about the trade. The big man who blows away hitters from the mound was just traded from the Royals to the Cincinnati Reds, and this ABC affiliate was no doubt eager to get word from the man being sent out of town. Here is a screen capture of the initial report, which has since been amended. Look to the bottom and you can spot the hilarious rants of a faux Twitter account. It's less of a real pitcher's thoughts and ...

The MLB teams that will be fighting for a playoff spot needed to part ways with prospects and add solid veterans, and a few clubs made all the right moves. These teams will all pass with flying colors as trade grades are handed out, but even among the ball clubs who did well for themselves, there are still some that stood out. The clubs that added productive players to their rosters will see the benefits in September and October, but for now, they will be praised with top marks. Here are the teams that pulled off the most impressive deals.  Los Angeles Dodgers  Players added: Hanley Ramirez, Shane Victorino, Brandon League Grade A+  The Dodgers needed to add bats, and they were able to put two big-time hitters in their lineup before the trade deadline. The team traded with Miami Marlins to get Ramirez on July 26, then pulled off ...

The Cincinnati Reds made a relatively small splash before today's MLB trade deadline by acquiring relief pitcher and Kansas City closer, Jonathan Broxton, according to Jerry Crasnick on ESPN.com.In return, the Reds send minor league pitchers J.C. Sulbaran and Donnie Joseph to the Royals. Sulbaran has continued to put up solid numbers but is still a ways away from earning a shot in the bigs, while Joseph is a flame-throwing reliever that is expected to be in a Reds uniform later this season.Broxton joins an already impressive collection of arms in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen, that has seen Aroldis Chapman put up ridiculous numbers as Cincy's closer. With that being said, one must begin to wonder just what Broxton's role will be?Chapman is and will remain the Reds' closer for the time being, so Broxton will join Sean Marshall and Logan Ondrusek in the revolving door for set-up man and most likely be the ...

The Pittsburgh Pirates didn't land any of this year's most coveted trade chips, but they approached the July 31 deadline with a level head and the necessary poise.Pittsburgh added four players either at, or prior, to this year's trade deadline. Check out NBC Sports' Matthew Pouliot's overview of the Pirates new acquisitions:They certainly got more interesting with Travis Snider in right field and Sanchez replacing Casey McGehee in the first base platoon. Snider hasn’t been quite as much of a disappointment as everyone thinks—he has a .248/.306/.429 line and 31 homers in 835 at-bats—and he’s just 24 years old. Sanchez is a career .298/.390/.488 hitter against lefties. He’s been way off this year, but if the Pirates can get him straightened out, he’ll be a nice part-timer. Again, I’m not sold on the moves—Brad Lincoln was looking pretty good since a switch to the pen—but factor in the Wandy Rodriguez ...

The 2012 trade deadline has come to pass. For the Philadelphia Phillies, though, it could have gone better.At roughly noon Eastern time today, the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Shane Victorino in exchange for reliever Josh Lindblom and pitching prospect Ethan Martin. Then, about two hours later, the San Francisco Giants made a trade that nabbed Hunter Pence from the Phillies for outfielder Nate Schierholtz, catching prospect Tommy Joseph and minor league starting pitcher Seth Rosin.It was thought that Joe Blanton could be traded today as well, but a deal with the Baltimore Orioles fell through. Blanton remains on the team for now, as he could be a trade candidate in August through the waiver trade system.In the meantime, the Phillies have called up Domonic Brown and have activated Brian Schneider off the DL to take the roster spots of Victorino and Pence. But with the returns the Phillies received in ...

A number of big trades went down before the 2012 MLB trade deadline as big names went from struggling teams to teams that are in contention in the playoff races.These deals could help shape the results that we see throughout the rest of the season. There were certainly a number of winners and losers from the 2012 MLB trade deadline.The following analysis is for the biggest deals that went down on July 31st.Begin Slideshow

Major League Baseball's trade deadline always brings its fair share of surprises and game-changing moves, and this year was no different.Several contenders picked up some prime additions, including by two bitter divisional rivals.Other teams, on the other hand, didn't get what they needed or didn't get rid of all their excess baggage.Here's a look at the winners and losers of MLB's trade deadline on Tuesday. WinnersSan Francisco GiantsOn Tuesday, the Giants acquired outfielder Hunter Pence from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for outfielder Nate Schierholtz, catching prospect Tommy Joseph and Class A right-hander Seth Rosin.Pence, 29, is hitting .271 with 17 home runs, 59 RBI and 59 runs this season. He represents a big upgrade at right field for the Giants, who were starting Schierholtz and Gregor Blanco at the time of the trade.While Pence's average has dipped overall this season, he's a two-time All-Star who hit .324 with 11 home ...

Like a moth drawn into a flame, fans of the Boston Red Sox were drawn in by the cunning proclamations made by team president Larry Lucchino that general manager Ben Cherington would be able to make "bold moves" at the trading deadline.3:59 pm: nothing.4:00 pm: nothing.Oh sure, the Red Sox did make two moves today, neither of which can be classified as bold, that's for sure.For example, WEEI.com's Alex Speier reported the first move that came through was a trade that sent pitcher Matt Albers and outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for left-handed pitcher Craig Breslow.Breslow will be returning for his second stint with the Red Sox, as he played in Boston in 2006-2007.In 40 games for the D'backs, he owns a 2-0 record with a 2.70 ERA and 1.177 WHIP in 43.1 innings of work on the season. Additionally he owns a 8.7 K/9 ratio, which ...