The Daily Bernie, 8/1/15: Oakland A's make minor moves on busy deadline day

Welcome back to the final installment of The Daily Bernie for the 2015 season! Since the deadline has passed, there really won't be much more trade news to report on going forward. However, it's still the best dance in the game, so let's get rolling once more!

Let's start with a recap of all of the month's major transactions leading up to yesterday's deadline:

7/23/15: Oakland Athletics send LHP Scott Kazmir to the Houston Astros in exchange for C Jacob Nottingham and RHP Daniel Mengden (link)

7/23/15: Milwaukee Brewers send 3B Aramis Ramirez and cash considerations to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for RHP Yhonathan Barrios (link)

7/24/15: Miami Marlins send RHP Steve Cishek to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for RHP Kyle Barraclough (link)

7/24/15: Atlanta Braves send 3B Juan Uribe, UT Kelly Johnson, and cash considerations to the New York Mets in exchange for RHPs Jon Gant and Rob Whalen (link)

7/26/15: Cincinnati Reds send RHP Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for LHPs Brandon Finnegan, Cody Reed, and John Lamb (link)

7/27/15: Boston Red Sox send OF Shane Victorino and cash considerations to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for IF Josh Rutledge (link)

7/27/15: Oakland Athletics send RHP Tyler Clippard and cash considerations to the New York Mets in exchange for RHP Casey Meisner (link)

7/28/15: Philadelphia Phillies send RHP Jonathan Papelbon and cash considerations to the Washington Nationals in exchange for RHP Nick Pivetta (link)

7/28/15: Oakland Athletics send UT Ben Zobrist and cash considerations to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for LHP Sean Manaea and RHP Aaron Brooks (link)

7/28/15: Tampa Bay Rays send OF David DeJesus to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for RHP Eduar Lopez (link)

7/28/15: Cleveland Indians send OF David Murphy to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for SS Eric Stamets (link)

7/28/15: Colorado Rockies send SS Troy Tulowitzki and RHP LaTroy Hawkins to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for SS Jose Reyes and RHPs Miguel Castro, Jeff Hoffman, and Jesus Tinoco (link) (link)

7/30/15: Detroit Tigers send LHP David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for LHPs Daniel Norris, Matt Boyd, and Jairo Labourt (link)

7/30/15: Cleveland Indians send OF/1B Brandon Moss to the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for LHP Rob Kaminsky (link)

7/30/15: Seattle Mariners send UT Dustin Ackley to the New York Yankees in exchange for OF Ramon Flores and RHP Jose Ramirez (link)

7/30/15: Detroit Tigers send RHP Joakim Soria to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for OF/SS JaCoby Jones (link)

7/30/15: Los Angeles Dodgers acquire RHPs Mat Latos, Jim Johnson, Bronson Arroyo, LHPs Luis Avilan, Alex Wood, 1B/OF Michael Morse, and 2B/OF Jose Peraza. In exchange, Dodgers send IF Hector Olivera, LHP Paco Rodriguez, and RHP Zachary Bird to the Atlanta Braves. Dodgers also send RHPs Kevin Guzman, Victor Araujo, and Jeff Brigham to the Miami Marlins. Marlins send competitive balance draft pick to Braves (link) (link) (link)

7/30/15: Milwaukee Brewers send OF Carlos Gomez and RHP Mike Fiers to the Houston Astros in exchange for OFs Domingo Santana, Brett Phillips, RHP Adrian Houser, and LHP Josh Hader (link) (link)

7/30/15: Cincinnati Reds send RHP Mike Leake to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for RHP Keury Mella and IF Adam Duvall (link)

Now, for news from the deadline...

• The blockbuster deal in which the Philadelphia Phillies sent ace Cole Hamels, lefty reliever Jake Diekman, and money to the Texas Rangers in exchange for lefty Matt Harrison and prospects including catcher Jorge Alfaro, outfielder Nick Williams, and righties Jake Thompson, Jerad Eickhoff, and Alec Asher was made official on Friday morning.

• The St. Louis Cardinals, looking to bolster their bullpen beyond their earlier addition of Steve Cishek, acquired righty Jonathan Broxton and cash from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for outfielder Malik Collymore (link). Broxton has struggled in 2015, posting a 5.89 ERA, but his 3.65 FIP and 3.07 xFIP are much more promising. This seems like another quality buy-low by the first-place Cardinals.

• The Baltimore Orioles picked up outfielder Gerardo Parra from those same Brewers in exchange for young righty Zach Davies (link). Parra is an interesting player, as prior to 2015 he had been elite defensively with little to offer offensively. However, in 2015, this has swapped - most defensive metrics have soured on Parra, while a .372 BABIP has helped Gerardo to a 140 wRC+. Davies is a 22 year-old right-hander that has been dominating Triple-A in 2015, and is a quality pick-up for the rebuilding Brew Crew. Righty Bud Norris was designated for assignment by the Orioles to make room for Parra.

• The Toronto Blue Jays continued to push all of their chips towards 2015 with another pair of notable acquisitions. The Canadians picked up reliever Mark Lowe from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for lefties Nick Wells, Jacob Brentz, and Rob Rasmussen (link). Lowe, a righty, is experiencing a breakout season at age 32. He has posted a 1.00 ERA, supported by a 1.83 FIP. While none of Wells, Brentz, and Rasmussen are big names, Rasmussen will likely be a serviceable reliever, and Brentz and Wells each have back-end rotation potential.

• The Blue Jays also picked up speedy outfielder Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for young righties Jimmy Cordero and Alberto Tirado (link). Revere, 27, is what he is - a speedy, contact-oriented outfielder - and is nothing more. Revere has a .053 career ISO (isolated slugging; slugging percentage minus batting average). Yeah, that's really low. He doesn't walk a whole lot either, but is definitely a quality speedster to use at the bottom of a lineup as stacked as the Jays'. Cordero and Tirado each have back-end potential, but have serious control problems that need ironing out. If the Phillies can fix them, however, it'll be a nice return for Revere.

• The Oakland Athletics picked up lefty Felix Doubront from those Blue Jays in exchange for cash (link) and have dealt Triple-A reliever Ryan Cook to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a player to be named later (link). For more on those moves, check out the threads here and here.

• In another pair of minor moves, the Chicago Cubs picked up righty Dan Haren from the Miami Marlins in exchange for infielder Elliott Soto and righty Ivan Pineyro (link), as well as grabbing righty reliever Tommy Hunter from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for outfielder Junior Lake (link). Haren will eat innings at the back end of Chicago's rotation, while Pineyro, 23, is a quality pick-up for the Marlins who may make an impact at the big league level at some point in 2016. Hunter, meanwhile, adds depth to the Cubs bullpen, while Lake still has some untapped potential in him that Baltimore could look to uncover.

• The Pittsburgh Pirates pulled off a pair of minor moves that could make a real impact. They acquired lefty JA Happ from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Triple-A righty Adrian Sampson (link), as well as Michael Morse and cash from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for disappointing outfielder Jose Tabata (link). Happ will replaced injured righty A.J. Burnett in the Pirates' rotation, while Morse will add some pop off the bench. Neither Sampson nor Tabata is much of a loss for Pittsburgh (who is probably even relieved to have Tabata's contract taken off their hands) and these seem like very smart moves by the Bucaneers.

• The New York Mets, after being connected to every available power-hitting outfielder and their mothers, finally picked up their thumper. Former Athletic (and a cause of controversy even to this day) Yoenis Cespedes will be joining the Metropolitans in exchange for righties Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa (link). This seems like an overpay for half a season of Cespedes, as Fulmer has number-two potential while Cessa has been impressive in his own right, but the Mets are dealing from surplus and wouldn't have had a spot for either in 2016 and beyond anyways. Cespy will be joining his fourth team in the last calendar year.

• Finally, the San Diego Padres picked up lefty reliever Mark "Scrabble" Rzepczynski from the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Abraham Almonte (link), and the Texas Rangers picked up righty reliever Sam Dyson from the Miami Marlins in exchange for catcher Tomas Telis and lefty Cody Edge (link). Both acquisitions are very minor, and simply add bullpen depth to two squads on the fringe of contention.

• Speaking of those Padres...that was all they did, pick up a lefty reliever. Sitting at 50-53 and 6.5 games back of the second NL Wild Card spot, the Padres could have chosen to sell off a plethora of players, including closer Craig Kimbrel, righties James Shields, Tyson Ross, Andrew Cashner, Joaquin Benoit, and Ian Kennedy, and/or outfielder Justin Upton. Instead, General Manager A.J. Preller stood pat, believing his club could make the playoffs as is. This is certainly a curious move, as San Diego's depleted farm could sorely use an upgrade after Preller demolished it last offseason, and his inaction could cost the Padres dearly.

Bernie's Daily Deal: Eric O'Flaherty and Edward Mujica go somewhere, for a bag of baseballs (or two)

This is pretty much the only move remaining. O'Flaherty and Mujica are pending free agents, and while they have struggled, some team will take them off the A's hands in a waiver trade in August in exchange for a player-to-be-named-later or cash considerations. It's bound to happen, and it will likely have no real impact on either club involved, but it's a situation to monitor, especially as switch-pitcher Pat Venditte and lefty Sean Doolittle are eyeing returns to the bullpen.

That does it for the final installment of The Daily Bernie for 2015. Feel free to dump any links in the comments below. I would like to personally thank you all for reading each edition of The Daily Bernie. This has been a dream come true for me, and I have had an amazing time being able to provide content for you all. I have been utterly overwhelmed by all of the support you all have given me, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for it.

Until next time, whenever that may be - lean on, A's fans!