The National League East

As we approach the trading deadline, teams that are vying for playoff positions are trying to figure out how to make changes without destroying the team that exists.

The three teams in the National League East that are fighting for the playoffs are the New York Mets, Atlanta Braves, and the Philadelphia Philles. Each of these teams have missing pieces that they're trying to fill to make their run at a championship. The Mets need a second basemen with the loss of Jose Valentin (although most can argue they needed a second basemen even with a healthy Jose Valentin). The Braves needed a potent bat in their lineup. Their offense has been inconsistent and could use more fire power. The Phillies need starting pitching. With the losses of Freddy Garcia and Jon Lieber to injury and moving Brett Myers to the bullpen, they're starting rotation has holes that need to be filled.

The Mets addressed their void by trading two minor leaguers (which doesn't upset their current team) for Luis Castillo. Currently, the Mets have had a platoon between Ruben Gotay and Damion Easley. Gotay who has performed brilliantly when he's started apparently does not have the trust to be a quality everyday player. Castillo brings over his playoff experience (on the World Champion Florida Marlins in 2003), something which Gotay doesn't have (his past major league experience being on the Kansas City Royals). Castillo has a solid glove and consistent bat. He's shown to have speed which is good at the top of the order after Reyes and behind Beltran and he's a contact hitter, which will help Willie Randolph call the hit and run play. Although, Castillo's stolen bases have slowly become extinct, he's still a threat and he still has speed. This deal will also help with the Mets consistency. Having a platoon in the batting order causes confusion and a lack of settling for the hitters. With Castillo, he'll solidify his position in the batting order and the constant shuffling of the batting order won't be necessary (once Beltran comes back from his latest injury). When the Mets had a consistent lineup at the beginning of the season before Moises Alou's injury, the Mets played the best ball they've played all season. Excellent move by Minaya to help the Mets try to push themselves over the hump.

The Braves have struggled mightly in production from their first basemen. At the start of the season, they had a platoon of the youngster Scott Thorman and Craig Wilson. Wilson struggled at the beginning of the season, quickly fell out of favor, and was let go. The Braves did not have too much confidence in Thorman hitting against lefties, which lead to their young and talented catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia to play some first base and bat against righties. The Braves didn't like using their backup catcher as a first basemen because they would like to have the insurance if Brian McCann were to get injured, so once Julio Franco was let go by the Mets, the Braves pounced and picked up Franco to bat against lefties. Franco has struggled mightly offensively this season. At 48 (49 in August), his bat might be slowing down a bit. With Franco not producing from the right side and Thorman needing more seasoning in the minors, the Braves had to address this issue. Success came when they contacted the Rangers and made a deal to bring Mark Teixeira over. The Braves did send Saltalamacchia the other way, but with McCann signed to a long term deal, he was too valuable to just sit on the bench. Teixeira will solidify the middle of the lineup that already have potent bats just as the two Joneses, McCann, and Francoeur. They also get a quality defender, with Teixeira earning a gold glove already in his young career. He's a 40 HR guy, can drive in 100 runs and is also under contract throughout the 2008 season. He can be a difference maker on a team searching for consistent offense.

The Phillies have Cole Hamels...that's pretty much it. Yes, they have Jamie Moyer and Kyle Kendrick, but they're not the solid starters they need to make a push for a playoff spot. The Phillies needed a starter badly so they did what any other team in their situation would do, look for a hopeless team. The target: Cincinnati Reds. The Phillies acquired Kyle Lohse from the Reds for Matt Maloney, a minor league pitcher. They could have done worse, but a pitcher like Lohse is not a difference maker. He has a career ERA in the high 4's, not what you want in a pitcher that's supposed to help your season. We cannot look at his record because he was on a bad team, it's harder to have winning records when you're on a bad team (although Victor Zambrano was a winning pitcher on a bad Devil Rays team, but as a Mets fan I will not touch that subject). Lohse is a filler pitcher. He's been a pitcher that's had plenty of potential and has still not figured it out. Don't expect him to be the catalyst for the Phillies winning the pennant. They need Lieber and Garcia to get healthy. Lohse is not a proven winner, unless the Phillies are expecting Lohse to become what Jeff Weaver was to the Cardinals last year (which doesn't happen very often).

Analysis:

Mets - Luis Castillo (2B) - Good - solidifies defense and batting lineup, 3 switch hitters at the top of the order

Braves - Mark Teixeira (1B) - Great - finally found a producer out of the first base slot, which has been dormant since Adam LaRoche was traded

Phillies - Kyle Lohse (SP) - OK - he needs to show me something to prove he's worth it, the Phillies didn't give up much so even if he falters it's not a huge loss, just shows the Phillies are desperate for starters

Barring any sort of injury, the Mets and Braves should have a close race to the finish. It could be a three team race if the Phillies get their pitchers back or if Lohse actually figures it all out.