Yesterday was the non-waiver deadline day. I have to say I’m proud to work with a great group of guys that cover the sport as well as any group I’ve been a part of. Feel free to peruse the site and look at how the trades will affect your fantasy teams moving forward. I’ll offer my opinions on the day overall following the release of my daily lineup. However, I won’t offer anything all that earth shattering since my colleagues covered it so well.

As per usual, the trade deadline was anti-climatic. There is always a ton of rumors and never as much action as you expected. However, we have to remember that the waiver deadline is August 31st. We will start to see some limited movement in another week and a half. So, you can take a deep breath, but it’s not over yet.

Today, I’m playing in a Double Up! contest again. They range anywhere from a dollar to ten dollars, but each works the same way. If you finish in the top half you get almost twice as much as you put in. Naturally, DraftKings gets their cut because they have to pay their employees, the light bill, and make a little for their trouble. That being said, they are very generous to those that start playing as they will give you a deposit bonus you can access here.

Daily baseball is not as difficult as a traditional fantasy team. Trades and roster shifts don’t affect you as much. If anything, this is an exciting time of year because more and more rookies will be making their debuts. If you stay on top of that you can make some serious hay at Draftkings.

My Lineup

Grading the Deadline

Like with any significant sporting period, grading something like the trade deadline or an amateur draft is next to impossible the day after. The deadline is different because you are talking about established players going one way and prospects going the other. I’ll give it my best shot although my grades will probably establish my biases more than anything.

Winners

1) Houston Astros

It’s easy to look at this any number of ways. First, you can look at what they did last year and wonder why they also didn’t deal Wesley Wright, Erik Bedard, and Lucas Harrell. I suspect Bedard may end up moving in August and Wright could as well under the right circumstances. Yet, they added four prospects that immediately become a part of their top twenty according to MLB.com and they will also get a player to be named later. Maybe the most impressive part was getting a competitive balance sandwich pick from the Orioles in addition to two prospects for Bud Norris.

2) Anaheim Angels

They have been in add mode for several years, so getting a prospect like Grant Green for a decent, but unspectacular player like Alberto Callaspo is a pretty good get. They also got a decent relief prospect for Scott Downs, so it was a beginning for them.

3) Boston Red Sox

As you can see, I usually like the teams that admit they are out of it. Selling your soul collectively is not going to get you much in the long run most of the time, but occasionally the risk is worth it. Boston is battling for first place and getting a pitcher the caliber of Jake Peavy is a good bet. This particular nucleus probably has only a year or two before the window closes.

Losers

1) Chicago White Sox

I’ve never seen an organization worse at selling off assets than the White Sox. The White Sox sold off two prime relievers and a prime starting pitcher and I’m just not a fan of what they got in return. You could argue that the Astros got more for three lesser players.

2) Philadelphia Phillies

They are going nowhere and getting older by the second. Yet, they trade none of their tradeable assets. Michael Young is still there. Jimmy Rollins is still there. Chase Utley is still there. Cliff Lee is still there. If they traded them all then they may have added at least a half dozen prime prospects to their system. They still could move some in August, but they missed out on some prime possibilities.

3) Pittsburgh Pirates

A team in prime position to add some much needed talent couldn’t add anyone. They were in the market for starting pitching, outfielders, and a first baseman. They weren’t able to land any of their targets. I suppose we don’t know the asking price from their trade targets.