The Deal: The Washington Nationals traded RHP Matt Capps and cash to the Twins for C Wilson Ramos (AAA) and LHP Joe Testa (AA):

The Nationals: The Nationals traded their lone All-Star Matt Capps in an effort to build up their system to hopefully begin to contend in the next couple of years. While the Nationals had control of Capps for another season they already have his replacement in rookie RHP Drew Storen and a number of solid bullpen options on their roster and in their system. In addition, a top quality closer like Capps is a bit of a luxury on a last place team like the Nationals. Washington did good to acquire a top prospect in Ramos as well as an additional young player. Ramos, who will be 23 next month, is just about Major League ready and could be up by September to begin to apprentice under Ivan Rodriguez. His offensive game has struggled some this year at AAA, but he is still highly considered in prospect circles. In addition he potentially fills a major offensive void in the Nationals current roster. While the Nationals have C Derrek Norris in the system he is 2-3 years away and could end up headlining a deal for the Nationals when he is closer to the major leagues, and Washington is ready to contend. As for the other player in the deal Testa, he isn’t considered a big prospect, but he is a lefty and could develop into a specialist. Washington kicked in $500K, but saved over $800K in the deal that they can add to their draft budget.

Twins: Minnesota was in a tough position, so far they had gotten by without Joe Nathan who is on the shelf recovering from Tommy John surgery, but their bullpen has struggled of late. Jon Rauch, had been getting the job done, but he has been hit hard this past month. Now with Capps and Rauch at the back end of the pen, the Twins should be in a better position going forward. Capps also helps the Twins next year in case Nathan comes back slow from the TJ surgery, and will come at a fair price. As for giving up Ramos, he was one of the Twins best trade chips, but he was never going to play regularly in Minnesota with Mauer there. They did get a year and a half of a good closer in return so it isn’t a truly bad trade for them.

Winner: The Nationals win here since Capps was redundant in Washington and they got a top quality prospect in return. It isn’t a huge loss for Minnesota, but they could miss having Ramos’s trade value in the future.

Orioles Trade Tejada Again: The Baltimore Orioles traded 3B Miguel Tejada to the San Diego Padres for RHP Wynn Pelzer (AA).

Orioles: Baltimore did well cashing in on Tejada, especially considering he is in the midst of one of his worst offensive seasons. Pelzer is a solid pitching prospect and was ranked 7th in San Diego’s system by Baseball America before the start of the season. To get that quality of prospect for Tejada and $1 million is a quality return. Pelzer might never be a front line starter, but he is a pretty safe bet to become a back of the rotation starter. And while the O’s had to give up $1 million, they also saved a $1 million which they can put into their draft budget. The Orioles will replace Tejada with rookie Josh Bell, and this could be the first move in a rebuilding process that could see a number of Orioles changing teams over the next 2 days.

Padres: The fact that San Diego was willing to give up such a good prospect for a hitter like Tejada shows two things. One, the desperation of the Padres and two the complete weakness of the Padres offense. That all being said Tejada is an interesting acquisition since he has a lot of good history. It would not be shocking to see Tejada get hot these last two months and give the Padres solid production in their post season run. Tejada alone won’t fix the offense, but he is a nice start.

Winner: I think the Orioles won this deal just by getting a better price than other minor veterans like Peralta and Cantu.

The Rangers add Cantu to their infield: The Texas Rangers trade RHP Evan Reed (AA) and RHP Omar Poveda (AA) to the Florida Marlins for 1B Jorge Cantu and cash.

Rangers: Texas had been looking for more production out of their first base spot since they traded Justin Smoak in the Cliff Lee deal, and found a solid upgrade in Cantu. Cantu is having one of his worse years, but is still an upgrade over Chris Davis. Cantu also made sense for Texas because of his price tag. Given the Rangers financial situation it would have been extremely difficult to acquire anyone who cost additional money. With the Marlins picking up some cash, the Rangers will be able to fit Cantu under budget. Cantu isn’t a huge upgrade, but should help Texas’s playoff run.

Marlins: Florida has pretty much fallen out of the playoff race, so did well getting what they could for Cantu and saving a little money. Reed isn’t more than a future middle reliever, but Poveda could end up being a solid mid-rotation starter. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery so it will remain to be seen how he comes back from it. Poveda does have the potential to help the Marlins down the line.

Winner: I think the Rangers won this deal, because it really strengthens their playoff lineup immensely. Chris Davis has been a huge hole in their lineup and now the Rangers have found their upgrade.