3 Teams Ripped by Ken Rosenthal for Lack of Trade Deadline Action

The trade deadline has come and gone, and there were some big movers and shakers, like the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres, who had the best deadlines, followed by the solid moves made by the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies to bolster their bullpens significantly. 

But which contenders dropped the ball, failing to make the necessary adds to head down the stretch? 

Noted insider Ken Rosenthal named his three biggest disappointments, speaking on Foul Territory:

Boston Red Sox:

"I see them in the harshest light," said Rosenthal.

With a minimal addition of Dustin May and Steven Matz, the insider calls out the Red Sox:

"EPIC FAIL. This was an epic fail... The Red Sox are one of many teams that uses modeling, and tries to figure out what the best values are, and it's all about efficiency, and getting the best deal, and this, and that and the other thing... 

"But they did not even address first base! My goodness! That was a position where they had to act... I don't get it. I don't understand it. There's going to be a lot of people in Boston questioning what they did."

Chicago Cubs:

Yes, they did make some nice bullpen additions in Andrew Kittredge, Taylor Rogers and Mike Soroka, and a valuable utility man in Willi Castro. But they've spent the entire season in desperate need of another frontline starter for the rotation, ever since ace Justin Steele went down in his 4th start on April 7th. They did not get it done. 

"The only defense I will give the Cubs is that a lot of big-time starting pitchers were not traded... The prices were excessive and evidently the Cubs didn't feel it was worth meeting the price," suggested Rosenthal. "But there comes a time in a team's evolution when they have to overpay... 

"This might be the Cubs' only year with Kyle Tucker. He's eligible for free agency. In my view, this was a year in which they had to overpay. Their rotation is vulnerable, was vulnerable, and will be vulnerable."

Milwaukee Brewers:

Decent bullpen addition in Shelby Miller (if he's healthy), but the Brewers did not get another bat that they needed, especially on the left side of their infield. They do currently have the best record in baseball, at 66-44, but only a slim 2.0 game lead on the Cubs for first place in the NL Central. And with their huge internal rotation boosts in Jacob Misiorowski (from the minors) and Brandon Woodruff (reinstated from the injured list), they really have an opportunity to be the team to beat. 

But did they blow their chance with a lack of an offensive upgrade?

"It seems to me that more effort was needed," says Rosenthal. "And this is another team that you look at and you wonder if this was an opportunity lost."