In the summer of July 2007, the Braves were in a tight race for the NL East. They were 3 1/2 games back of the Mets. They needed an established hitter to replace the weak spot in their order, 1st Base. The Braves had been trying to deal for a 1st baseman, at any cost. They were all out buyers with a Win-Now strategy.
July 31, 2007 Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay are traded to the Atlanta Braves for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Elvis Andrus, Neftali Feliz, Matt Harrison, and Beau Jones.
The Braves had filled a void in the field and recieved an established hitter and a good bullpen piece. They had gave up Top Prospects to try and make it to the playoffs. Now lets visit how good Teixeira and Mahay did with the Rangers and Braves.
Mark Teixeira Before Trade
| Games | AVG | HR | RBI |
| 78 | 0.297 | 13 | 49 |
Mark Teixera After Trade
| Games | AVG | HR | RBI |
| 54 | 0.317 | 17 | 56 |
As you can see Teixeira did way better with the Braves than he did with the Rangers. I don't know if he was worth all those prospects, but wait and see.
Ron Mahay Before Trade
| Games | Innings | E.R.A. | W | L | SO |
| 28 | 39 | 2.77 | 2 | 0 | 32 |
Ron Mahay After Trade
| Games | Innings | E.R.A. | W | L | SO |
| 30 | 28 | 2.25 | 1 | 0 | 23 |
Mahay did better E.R.A. wise, but he was probably worth one of the prospects given to the Rangers. He was a good piece to add for a team in the hunt.
For the prospects acquired, I am just going to do their career stats in the majors to give an idea of what they have done for the Rangers so far.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
| Games | AVG | HR | RBI |
| 221 | 0.255 | 20 | 88 |
Elvis Andrus
| Games | AVG | HR | RBI |
| 74 | 0.253 | 3 | 15 |
Neftali Feliz
No Major League Stats
Matt Harrison
Games
Innings
E.R.A.
W
L
SO
26
181
5.76
13
8
76
Beau Jones
No Major League Stats
As you can see, none of these players have amounted to much. Mostly they are just "Prospects" worth a look.
What happened after deadline
The Braves did not make the playoffs. They ended 5 games back from the Phillies. I say that the Rangers won this trade because they got top rated prospects for some of their best players. The Braves considerably weakened their farm system while not making the playoffs. Ron Mahay signed with the Royals the next season and Mark Teixeira was traded again in 2008 for Casey Kotchman and Steve Marek. The Braves definitely lost this trade.
What does everyone else think about this trade and who the winner of the deal was.
