Season's Biggest Blockbuster goes down as Mauer, Cano, Haren, Verlander, and Lester all on the move

WinOrLoseHitTheBooze has made a trade that will alter the face of it's franchise. In the process they also cleared some much needed cap space. The deal saw WinOrLoseHitTheBooze send star C Joe Mauer ($23/$29), ace righty Dan Haren ($23), star 2B Robinson Cano ($16) and SP Ben Sheets ($10) to The Degenerates for a pair of young aces in SP Jon Lester ($15) and SP Justin Verlander ($13). WinOrLoseHitTheBooze also receives C Kurt Suzuki ($2) and closer Brad Lidge ($9/$11).

This trade is now official and the corresponding roster moves have been made to WinOrLoseHitTheBooze and The Degenerates roster pages.

Have your say.. Who won this trade?

Trade: Haren Shipped Again

The Master Batters have sent ace SP Dan Haren ($23) to WinOrLoseHitTheBooze for SP Matt Garza ($11) and RP Francisco Cordero ($12).

Haren, 29, is the definition of an ace starter. He is durable (5 straight years of 33 starts or more), effective (career 3.61 ERA 1.18 WHIP) and improving. According to FanGraphs.com, Haren has improved his K/9 IP rate over each of his seven big league seasons:

2003 - 5.33 K/9
2004 - 6.26 K/9
2005 - 6.76 K/9
2006 - 7.10 K/9
2007 - 7.76 K/9
2008 - 8.58 K/9
2009 - 8.75 K/9

If Haren can ever find a way to make his Post-All Star stats (4.21 ERA and 1.32 WHIP) look more like his Pre-All Star stats (3.08 ERA and 1.06 WHIP) he will solidify himself among the top 5 starters in the game.

The Master Batters receive a younger and cheaper, but less developed starter in Tampa Bay's Matt Garza. Garza posted an 8-12 record in 2009 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.26 WHIP to go with a 189/79 K/BB ratio.

Garza was originally selected by the Minnesota Twins, 25th Overall in 2005. Making his debut in 2006, Garza skyrocketed through the Twins system and made 9 starts in the Majors the same year. Garza split a solid 2007 season between AAA and the big club but was traded to the Rays after the season.

According to FanGraphs.com, Garza dramatically improved his K/9 rate in 2009. It jumped from 6.24 the year before, up to 8.38. Expect that number to come down a bit and settle somewhere slightly above his career average of 7.29 K/9 IP.

The second player acquired by the Master Batters will help strengthen the bullpen. RP Francisco Cordero has had two strong seasons since signing with the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 2008 season. Last year he racked up 39 saves, pushing his career total to an even 250. He also had nice peripheral numbers with a 2.16 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. Although his K rate dropped in 2009, he has more than a strikeout per inning in his career.