Bucs bid adieu to 2 starting pitchers

Associated Press

In the mix of a heated playoff race, the Toronto Blue Jays added depth in search of a second straight postseason appearance.

On the fringe of the wild card in the National League, the Pittsburgh Pirates did their best to clear the books for 2017.

Toronto acquired pitcher Francisco Liriano from the Pirates on Monday in exchange for Drew Hutchinson, hoping a return to form by the veteran starter will help the Blue Jays escape a crowded log jam near the top of the AL East.

The move was the latest and highest profile of a busy deadline day for Toronto, which also nabbed right-hander Mike Bolsinger from the Los Angeles Dodgers for right-hander Jesse Chavez and $1.15 million and received right-hander Scott Feldman from the Houston Astros for minor league pitcher Lupe Chavez.

Toronto also picked up a pair of promising minor league prospects from Pittsburgh in catcher Reese McGuire and outfielder Harold Ramirez.

The Pirates were busy too, but coming off a weekend sweep at the hands of Milwaukee and with hopes for a fourth consecutive playoff appearance fading entering August, Pittsburgh instead chose to jettison expensive disappointments Liriano and Jon Niese, who was shipped back to the New York Mets for reliever Antonio Bastardo.

Pittsburgh also acquired right-hander Ivan Nova from the Yankees for two players to be named.

elsewhere

Jonathan Lucroy got a deal he liked, Carlos Beltran joined him in Texas and Jay Bruce and Rich Hill also moved during an 18-swap frenzy at the trade deadline.

Matt Moore and Joe Smith found new homes, too, as playoff contenders stocked up for the stretch.

“That’s what we play for. Those are the moments we want to be in,” Moore said after NL West-leading San Francisco got the lefty from last-place Tampa Bay. “For someone to reach out and come get me, it’s a really good feeling.”

Monday was the busiest deadline day since at least 1995, eclipsing the 15 deals made on the final day in 2010 and 2015, according to Major League Baseball.

Teams had until 4 p.m. to make trades without waivers. From now, no player can be dealt unless he goes unclaimed by everyone else.

The AL West-leading Rangers made two major moves.

After Lucroy used his limited no-trade clause to block a deal to Cleveland, the All-Star catcher was sent to Texas.

The 30-year-old Lucroy is batting .299 with 13 homers and 50 RBIs this season.

Texas also got Beltran, a proven postseason star, from the New York Yankees for righty Dillon Tate, the fourth overall pick in the 2015 amateur draft, and two other pitching prospects.

“I think as a player, you know that this moment could happen. But when it happens, it hits you,” Beltran said.

Twice before in his career, Beltran was traded in midseason to a team with playoff hopes. Like the Rangers, Beltran has been to the World Series but never won the crown.

The Yankees kept reworking their roster, trying to turn the best parts of a .500 team into a bright future. They had already traded relief aces Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller leading up to the deadline.

The Giants aimed to bolster a shaky bullpen by getting Will Smith from Milwaukee, Boston got Fernando Abad from Minnesota and the NL Central-leading Cubs obtained sidearming righty Joe Smith from the Angels.

The Cubs previously got lefties Chapman and Mike Montgomery for their bullpen.

“That was an area we thought we could make some changes,” general manager Jed Hoyer said.

“Adding a closer, a left-hander and then adding a guy like Smith who can be a right-handed specialist, we felt like those were areas that would improve our team and improve the mix of our bullpen.”

The banged-up Mets acquired Bruce, the All-Star outfielder who leads the NL with 80 RBIs, from Cincinnati for infielder Dilson Herrera and minor league lefty Max Wotell.