The Cleveland Indians obtained Detroit Tigers center fielder

Leonys Martin on Tuesday.He should form a platoon with Rajai Davis: Martin (.782 OPS vs. right-handers) should start most of the time http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , while Davis should take the field vs. southpaws.Davis has struggled this year vs. left-handers (.580 OPS), but his .700 OPS against southpaws from 2015 to 2017 is a bit better than what Martin has done in that time span (.654 OPS).But the Indians still could have used an upgrade in right field, and Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson would have fit.The 37-year-old has 10 home runs and a .786 OPS against right-handers this year. Combined with Indians right fielder Brandon Guyer (.953 OPS vs. left-handers), the duo could have created an excellent hitting option in right field.Furthermore, it likely would not have cost the Indians much to obtain Granderson, who is on the back end of his career and a free agent after this season. Perhaps Cleveland didn't want to give up anyone for what might be a two- to three-month rental, but he still would have fit well with the club as it gears up for the playoffs.As is, Cleveland will likely have Melky Cabrera in right field in a platoon with Guyer. In his past 84 games dating back to last year, Cabrera has hit just five home runs (only one this year in 26 contests).The 33-year-old Cabrera has shown some pop and hitting prowess in the past (132 lifetime dingers, .286 batting average), but the lack of power is concerning. He also has a negative defensive WAR this year (-0.5).It's conceivable Cleveland could add another outfielder past the non-waiver trade deadline in August, however, so keep an eye out for a potential move.Colorado Rockies: John Axford, Brad Ziegler or Jake Diekman4 of 6Justin Edmonds/Getty ImagesOnly one MLB team has a worse bullpen ERA than the Colorado Rockies, and that's the Kansas City Royals, who are 32-73 and have the second-worst record in baseball.Colorado's 5.14 mark is far worse than the National League average of 3.99.The team did make a solid pickup when it acquired Seunghwan Oh from the Toronto Blue Jays (2.55 ERA, 56 strikeouts in 49.1 innings), but Colorado didn't add to the pen after the Oh move, and that could be a big issue down the stretch.Numerous relievers changed teams in the moments leading up to the deadline, including Toronto Blue Jays right-hander John Axford to the Los Angeles Dodgersand Miami Marlins right-hander Brad Ziegler and Texas Rangers left-hander Jake Diekman to the Arizona Diamondbacks.It would have been ideal for Colorado to obtain one of those arms, especially considering that the rich just got richer within their own division now: L.A. and Arizona have the 11th- and second-best reliever ERA in baseball, respectively.Colorado is facing those two teams a combined 17 more times, and if any of those games becomes a battle of the bullpens, then it's advantage L.A. or Arizona.However, the Rockies stood pat, which is a risk as the team shoots for the postseason.Seattle Mariners: Baltimore Orioles SP Kevin Gausman5 of 6Lindsey Wasson/Getty ImagesThe Seattle Mariners are chasing the Houston Astros for the American League West crown. Houston has lost five consecutive games, and the time is now for the M's to make a run at it.However, one area of need (the starting rotation) went unaddressed at the deadline. Arguably http://www.stlouiscardinalsteamshop.com/authentic-marcell-ozuna-jersey , it needs more depth outsideMariners aceJames Paxton (2.94 SIERA and 32.3 percent strikeout rate) and Marco Gonzales (3.47 xFIP, 21.9 percent strikeout rate).Felix Hernandez is a six-time All-Star and has enjoyed a fantastic career in Seattle, but he's struggling through the worst season of his career (5.58 ERA). Mike Leake strikes out just 14.3 percent of hitters and allows a37.2 percent hard-hit contact rate. Wade LeBlanc has been decent, but a .264 BABIP suggests that some regression may be on the way.One option could have been Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Kevin Gausman, who was traded to the Atlanta Braves. The 27-year-old Gausman was a highly touted prospect in 2012 when he was drafted fourth overall by the Baltimore Orioles. His career has been a bit up and down to this point, but his overall numbers (21.4 percent strikeout rate, 3.93 xFIP) are decent.It didn't help Gausman that he (a) pitched in a hitter's ballpark half the time and (b) had to face the powerful Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees an inordinate number of times due to the league's unbalanced schedule. A change of scenery could boost his career, and Seattle would have been a great location, especially given that Safeco Field is one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the game.In addition, Gausman has been on the wrong side of BABIP luck, as his career mark there is .314 (including a ridiculous .336 in 2017). So he could be the beneficiary of positive regression as well.Ultimately, Gausman could have been a solid third starter for the M's.Philadelphia Phillies or Boston Red Sox: Toronto Blue Jays SP J.A. Happ6 of 6Mike Stobe/Getty ImagesThe New York Yankees won the J.A. Happ sweepstakes, and that could be an issue for two other teams.The Philadelphia Phillies' starting rotation is solid (eighth in starter ERA), but it is also entirely composed of right-handers. It would have been ideal for the Phils to grab a southpaw, especially considering that Happ has been excellent against left-handers this year (.638 OPS).That could have been a boost in the playoffs, as three teams vying for the postseason (the Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers) have the 17th-, 19th- and 21st-ranked OPS against left-handers in baseball.However, Happ would have been a boost to the rotation as is. His strikeout rate (26.2 percent),xFIP (3.74) and SIERA (3.59) would allrank third among Phils' starters. Of note, he was just diagnosed with a mild case of hand, foot and mouth disease, asYankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters, although he hasn't been ruled out of making his next start on Saturday against Boston.As for the Boston Red Sox, a Happ trade would have prevented one notable thing, and that's another solid performance against them from the left-hander. Happ is 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA against Boston since 2015.Current Boston hitters have managed just a .214 batting average against and .687 OPS. If not for Steve Pearce's phenomenal numbers versus the lefty (five home runs, 1.405 OPS), those figures would be far lower.The issue is that the Red Sox face the Yankees 10 times in three series down the stretch Paul DeJong Jersey , so Happ could pitch against Boston three times. Wins there could be the difference for the American League East crown.Happ could have also solidified the back end of the Boston rotation. Southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, who is on the disabled list, has not thrown off a mound as of Monday, per Peter Abraham of theBoston Globe. Another option (Drew Pomeranz) has a 6.91 ERA in nine starts.As is, a team can't have enough starting pitchers:Red Sox ace Chris Salejust landed on the 10-day disabled list due to shoulder inflammation. Thankfully, it's possible he only misses one start (the DL stint is retroactive to July 28), but Happ could have helped fill a void for Sale or any other starter potentially forced to miss time.The Sox did get former Tampa Bay Rays starter Nathan Eovaldi, who started his Boston career with seven shutout innings, but the addition of Happ as well could have given the Red Sox the deepest rotation in the game. NEW YORK (AP) — The big league batting average dropped to its lowest level since 1972, strikeouts topped hits for the first time and defensive shifts increased by another 30 percent while innings and pitches per starting pitcher dropped again in a another baseball season of rapid change.The batting average fell seven points to .248 in the regular season that ended Monday, down from a Steroids Era peak of .271 in 1999.Strikeouts set a record for the 11th straight year, increasing by 1,103 to 41,207, and topped hits (41,019) for the first time in big league history. Hits led by 2,111 last year and by 13,418 in 2006.Home runs dropped from a record 6,105 to 5,585 but was the fourth-highest total behind last year, 2000 and 2016.In a game transformed by teams’ use of advanced analytics, defensive shifts on balls in play rose to 34,673 from 26,705, according to Sports Info Solutions. There were just 6,882 as recently as 2013 and 17,826 in 2015.Twenty-six of the 30 teams increased use of shifts, with Detroit lex Reyes Jersey , Kansas City, the New York Mets, Philadelphia and St. Louis doubling. Only the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee, Texas and San Diego declined, but the Brewers had the fifth highest overall total.Innings per starting pitcher dropped to 5.36 from 5.51 last year and 5.89 in 2012, and average pitches per start fell to 88 from 92 in 2017 and 95 in 2012. Relievers per team per game rose to 3.4 from 3.2 last year and 3.0 in 2012.As a result, complete games set a record low for the fourth straight year at 42, down from 59 last season and 104 in 2015. Complete game shutouts dropped from 27 to 19, the fewest since 1874, when there were just eight teams. There were 65 shutouts as recently as 2014.There were 95 starts of one inning or fewer, more than double the 38 in 2017, and 244 of two innings or fewer, up from 133. Use of an “opener” reliever instead of a starter by Tampa Bay in many games was a factor, and some other teams started to copy the innovation.Sacrifice bunts dropped from 925 to 823, the fewest since a record-low 806 in 1900, the last season with eight teams. Toronto had a record-low five, while Oakland and the Los Angeles Angels had six apiece and Boston seven. There were 1,667 as recently as 2011 and no club dropped below double digits until Texas had nine in 2005. No team had fewer than 50 in 1972.Nine-inning games averaged 3:00:44, down from 3:05:11 for last season, helped by new restrictions that cut mound visits without pitching changes to an average of 4.01 from 7.41.There were 1,400 video reviews, an increase of four, and overturned calls rose by six, from 47.3 percent to 47.6 percent, and the average time of reviews dropped five seconds to 1:23.Disabled list placements rose from 702 to 737. There were 563 in 2016, the last season before the primary disabled list switched from 15 days to 10.