Papelbon’s performance this year has been quite good; a 1.79 ERA and .908 WHIP with 26 saves in 29 chances. He went unclaimed because of his unwieldy contract — the 33-year old will make $13 million in 2015 with a fairly easy to obtain $13 million vest in 2016 — and concerns about his fastball speed and K-rate.

Nevertheless, if there was a contender who needed a closer, we’d say Philadelphia had a decent chance of flipping Pap for a prospect or two — especially if the Phillies threw in some cash. However, the Angels have already taken care if their closer problem with Huston Street, and Detroit now has Joe Nathan and Jokaim Soria with Jim Johnson in the minors. Sure all of them have had their struggles, but Detroit has to feel confident at least one will grab the job in the season’s last two months, given how successful they’ve each been in the past.

That brings us to the Dodgers. Incumbent closer Kenley Jansen came into the season poised to challenge Craig Kimbrel for the best ninth inning man baseball. It didn’t’ happen. He’s been OK, and perhaps a bit unlucky and the Dodgers bullpen has been shaky as a whole. There is now noise out of LA that the Dodgers should deal for Papelbon and move Jansen to a set up role, which would have been crazy talk a few months ago.

That brings us to Cole Hamels. He was claimed on waivers, no suprise. We don’t know what team put in the claim, but if it’s the Dodgers things could get pretty interesting.

Coming up to the deadline, there was talk that the Phillies were willing to send Cole Hamels back to Southern California for the princely sum of Joc Pederson, Corey Seager and Julio Urias, LA’s three top prospect. The Dodgers demurred and watched fellow World Series contenders Detroit and Oakland pick up big time left-handers David Price and Jon Lester, respectively.

What if Philly sweetened the pot with Papelbon, and maybe a chunk of his bloated salary? That might be hard deal for the Dodger brass to turn down.

It’s also notable that disgruntled Dodger outfielder Matt Kemp has passed through waivers.

The Bison has looked quite good (at least the plate) over the last few weeks. Nevertheless, the Dodgers need to get rid of at least one of their highly paid outfielders, and Carl Crawford and Andre Ethier are starting to look completely untradable.

The Phillies could use an outfielder, especially since Marlon Byrd (who was claimed on waivers) should be on the move. You figure any deal the Phillies make for Kemp would include money coming back. Even if Hamels’ and Papelbon’s big contracts are on the other side.

Maybe something like Kemp, half of the $107+ million he’s owed, Seager and Urias for Hamels and Papelbon. What do you think? Fair trade? We think it would make the Dodgers the instant World Series favorites, and it would give the Phillies a more interesting — and perhaps better — future.

The difference now is that a player would have to pass through the waivers before being traded.

Here’s how it works: Iif a player placed on waivers is claimed the waiving team can either arrange a trade with the claiming team, give the player and all of his contractual agreements to the claiming team, or pull the player off waivers and keep him. If a player passes through waivers without being claimed, the team is free to trade him to any team in either league.

Here are ten players who have a good chance of being traded in front of the August 31 postseason deadline.

Bartolo Colon
The 41-year old has been good enough over the last three seasons that he should be of interest to contenders. He’s also slated to make $11 million next year, when he’s 42, suggesting he should be able to make it through the waiver wire. The Orioles would be a likely destination.

Matt Kemp
The Dodgers now say Kemp isn’t available. However, they will surely run him through the waivers and if a team puts a claim on him it’s almost a given that they would just dump Kemp and the remaining five years and $107 million on his contract on them. More likely he makes it through the waivers, and the Dodgers deal Kemp elsewhere with salary relief included.

Jonathan Papelbon
Another guy who’s unwieldy contract makes him a lock to get through waivers. Pap is, however, having his best season in years. Right now there isn’t a contender with clear closer needs. But if that changes over the next month Papelbon is a prime candidate for a new address.

Aaron Hill
Both the Dodgers and Giants could use an upgrade at second base and Hill could be the answer, even though he’s having a rough season. He’ll be making $12 million a year in ’15 and ’16, which will get him through the waiver wire, but might also require the D-backs to include salary in any deal.

Marlon Byrd
Since he’s suddenly become one of the best power hitters in baseball and he makes $8 million a year Byrd is very unlikely to make it through the waivers. However he’s 36, and the Phillies need to get younger so they should certainly try to deal him if he gets claimed. Toronto, who needs outfielders, should pull the trigger if he hasn’t been snatched up before.

A.J. Burnett
The third and last Phillie on the list (Yes, Ryan Howard could be had after the deadline.  But nobody in their right mind is trading for him now.) Burnett’s complicated options for 2015 makes it likely he gets through the waivers. He’s been inconsistent this year, but if he strings a few good starts together he will be targeted. Maybe a return to Pittsburgh?

Justin Morneau
We’re not entirely sure that Morneau could make it through the waviers; he finally seems to be over the concussions that almost derailed his career and he only makes $6.75 in ’15 with a mutual options for $9 million in ’16. But if he were to be claimed, we think the Rockies would try to work out deal.

Ben Zobrist
The versatile Zobrist is back to just being underrated– for a period of time he was mentioned so much as a player who gets overlooked he was no longer really overlooked. He’ll get claimed, thanks to low salary this year and a $7 million team option in ’15. The question becomes, do the Rays deal him. We say yes, if the return is right. Giants and Dodgers would both be very interested.

Daniel Murphy
We’re not quite sure his offense is good enough to offset his poor defense at second — which is why the Mets could be willing to part with Murphy, who is third year arbitration eligible in 2015. But he also hits well enough to see time at first base and DH, and the Blue Jays or Royals would seem like good destinations for the 29-year old.

Josh Willingham
He’s one of the better power hitters around when he’s healthy. However, he doesn’t seem to be in the Twins future, so the ’15 free agent will likely be moved if he is claimed. And he should be claimed. Good fit for the Yankees if they remain in contention.

Others who could get dealt: Alex Rios, Curtis Granderson, Adam Dunn.

Closer Casey Janssen was somewhat subtle with his dig at the front office in an interview with MLB.com.

For us not to do anything, most of us had some ideas that we were going to improve this club a little bit. It’s unfortunate we didn’t. At the same time, we just have to do what we have to do to win games and try to find ways to get into the playoffs. Yes, it was frustrating but we have to play tonight.

Slugger Jose Bautista was somewhat less subtle while talking to MLB.com, and dropped the D-word. Twice.

Of course it’s a little disappointing that we somehow weren’t able to get anything done, but everybody around us that’s in contention somehow–and even some teams that aren’t in contention, like the Red Sox–somehow figured it out. But there’s still time to get stuff done. We still have a pretty good team put together and we’re hoping to get the guys that are hurt back and that’ll be a good injection of talent for us down the road. … But it’s a little bit of disappointment.

Anthopoulos and the Blue Jays are no strangers to big deals. Before the 2013 season they pulled off one the biggest blockbusters of the last decade, acquiring Mark Buehrle, Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson and Emilio Bonifacio from the Marlins. Then, later that offseason, thye recieved reigning NL CY Young R.A. Dickey in a deal with the Mets, which sent over catching prospect Travis d’Arnaud, among others..

While those trades famously didn’t pay off in 2013, Beuhrle, Reyes and Dickey were big parts of the Blue Jays hot start in 2013. However, the Blue Jays have been four games under .500 since June 6, when they sat 38-24 and were six games in the lead in the American League East.

Thanks their current six game winning streak, they have fought their way back to just 1.5 games behind the division leading Orioles and control the second wild card spot. The Jays had been linked to Jon Lester, Alex Rios, Asdrubal Cabrera, David Price and Bartolo Colon heading up to the deadline but, as Bautista and Jansen lamented, none of them are coming to Canada.

There is still the waiver trade deadline of August 31 to make a deal and be able to use the acquired player in the postseason. Now it’s up to Janssen, Bautista and other Blue Jays to get over their disappointment, and keep their team in playoff contention until then.

It seems like forever ago, but last week two players slated to participate in the midsummer classic — Marashiro Tanaka and Yadier Molina — went down with injuries that will take a couple months to heal at best, and will probably keep them out for the rest of the season.

Owners of the two stars have probably spent the All Star break plotting with whom to replace them with.  Some suggestions are below.

Tanaka
Let’s face it, there is no replacing Tanaka, who was the 14th ranked player in Yahoo! leagues even after his three game slide that preceded the news of his ligament damage. Jose Fernandez owners feel your pain. But here are a few suggestions, anyway.

Clay Buchholz: Remember him? The guy who went 12-1 with 1.74 ERA and a decent K rate for Boston last year. Like with most things Red Sox-related, Buchholz has gone seriously south this season. And, lets face it, he was never nearly as good as his 2013 stats suggests. Nor is he nearly as bad as his 7.02 ERA at the end of May portends. After missing a month with an arm injury, the 29-year old has come back with three decent starts, and then a 12-K three hitter of a gem in his last outing. He’s available in over 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues and with a little luck he might be able to pull off a Tanaka-like run.

Chris Young: Even more of a blast from the past is Chris Young. (The really tall right-handed pitcher, not the really bad center field.) The Princeton grad missed all of 2013, but has been better than solid for the Mariners in 2014. He’s not going to strike anyone out, so you will have to replace Tanaka’s Ks elsewhere. Howeve,r everything about his career and current situation suggests his 3.15 ERA and 1.09 WHIP is sustainable, and he’s also been doing a good job accumulating wins. Young is only owned in 38 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

Molina
He’s still one of the better players in the game, thanks to his defense. But the youngest Molina brother’s offense wasn’t quite up to his usual standards in 2014, and offense is all that matters in fantasy. So much was Molina’s decline at the plate that there are actually widely available backstops who may be able to replicate what Molina had so far provided.

Kurt Suzuki: The Twins catcher is hitting .309 with 2 HRs, 26 runs and 37 RBIs. Molina was hitting .287 with 7 HRs, 30 runs and 30 RBIs. See what we are saying about replacing Molina? Suzuki is available in 65 percent of leagues.

Wilson Ramos
Two trips to the DL have suppressed Ramos production, which is a bad thing. They’ve also suppressed is ownership, which is good thing for those trying to replace Molina. Health has always been an issue with the Nationals’ backstop. But he’s been playing every day lately and he’s starting to show the form that had him slug 16 home runs with a decent batting average in 77 games last year. Snatch up the 26-year old before it’s too late.

The popular slugger was still basking in the afterglow of leading the Red Sox to a World Series win. In fact, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia had the second most jersey sales back in April and Sox closer Koji Uehara and 2013 center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury also made the top 20.

Fast forward to midseason, and things are a bit different in the jersey sales race. Ortiz and Pedroia are still in the top five, despite the Red Sox’s struggles. But now it’s a member of the hated Yankees at number one. We run down the top 20 selling jerseys, including their rank at the beginning of the season, below.

20. Yu Darvish Texas Rangers (ranked 19th in April)
The Japanese import sells out on both sides of the Pacific

19. Tim Lincecum San Francisco Giants (unranked)
Mr. Cy Young Award has become Mr. No-Hitter. (Although the Giants would probably prefer Mr. Cy Young.

18. Hyun-Jin Ryu Los Angeles Dodgers (unranked)
More proof of the power of the Asian market.

17. Bryce Harper Washington Nationals (12)
Eye black sold separately.

16. Manny Machado Baltimore Orioles (10)
New notoriety has led to a down tick in sales.

15. Anthony Rizzo Chicago Cubs (unranked)
At least Cubs fans have one thing to cheer about.

14. Masahiro Tanaka New York Yankees (unranked)
Injury to their rookie ace could derail the Yankees season and fast.

13. Robinson Cano Seattle Mariners (9)
Power might be gone, but his new team is surprisingly good. Still probably not worth the money.

12. Freddie Freeman Atlanta Braves (unranked)
Becoming a legit middle of the order presence, which the Braves really, really need.

11. Andrew McCutchen Pittsburgh Pirates (6)
Quietly putting up better numbers than he did in his 2013 National League MVP season.

10. Miguel Cabrera Detroit Tigers (13)
Even in a down year he still rakes.

9. Yasiel Puig Los Angeles Dodgers (11)
When you want to say “I’m exciting and unpredictable and give my manager ulcers.”

8. David Wright New York Mets (8)
“Captain America” remains a bit hit with the jersey buying public.

7. Mike Trout Anaheim Angles (14)
The best player in the world looks like he will win his first MVP in 2014; maybe then he can also top jersey sales by the end of the year.

6. Yadier Molina St. Louis Cardinals (4)
A Molina jersey will never look right without the corresponding aggressive neck tattoo.

5. Dustin Pedroia Boston Red Sox (2)
Sox fans aren’t blaming the laser show for their team’s dismal season.

4. David Ortiz Boston Red Sox (1)
Nor have they turned on Big Papi.

3. Clayton Kershaw Los Angeles Dodgers (5)
23.1 more innings to break Orel Hershisher’s scoreless struck of 59. If you were starting a team would you rather have Trout or Kershaw? Some question don’t have proper answers.

2. Buster Posey San Francisco Giants (7)
Giants fans always support their main man.

1. Derek Jeter New York Yankees (3)
To his credit, the retiring Hall of Famer has been keeping his head above water lately.

Dropped out of the 20: Koji Uehara, Jacoby Ellsbury, Adam Wainwright, Prince Fielder, Matt Harvey,

The first was a bonafide blockbuster. The Cubs sent their two aces, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to the As for Addison Russell, one of the 15 best prospects in the game, Billy McKinney, the team’s second best prospect, and Dan Straily, who was an effective starter in 2013.

Samardzija jumps out as the biggest beneficiary of the trade. Shark had only won two games with the Cubbies, despite his 2.83 ERA. The 29-year old already has one win with the A’s, taking his first start after seven innings of one run ball with 5 Ks on Sunday. Not only does Samardzija go from one of baseball’s worst offenses to the best, but Wrigley Field favors hitters, whereas as O.co Coliseum, with his sprawling foul territory, is a pitchers’ park.

That’s why Hammel, who wasn’t having any problem accumulating wins for the Cubs, also becomes much more of a fantasy asset. It’s been under the radar — maybe because he doesn’t have long hair, Notre Dame football ties and a cool nickname –but Hammel was actually having a better season than Samardzija, even when taking wins out of the equation. Having spent the last six years in hitter’s havens Colorado, Baltimore and Chicago it will be interesting to see what Hammel can do in the spacious Coliseum. If he improves much on his current numbers he’s a front line ace.

Russell and McKinney are still at least a year from the majors and the Cubs plan on keeping Straily at Triple-A for now. He will likely be called up by the end of the season and should be monitored when he is.

In the week’s second significant trade, The Yankees acquired starter Brandon McCarthy from the Diamondbacks for starter Vidal Nuno. McCarthy’s inability to strike batters out has always made him a dodgy fantasy play. He should improve in New York — if only because his 5.01 ERA should regress to his 3.79 FIP. But we really don’t view him as being much better than Nuno, who you probably weren’t considering for your fantasy roster.

Injured first baseman
Tough break for owners of Edwin Encarnacion and Joey Votto as both appear to be headed to the DL today and are expected to miss two-to-four weeks. The truth is, Votto owners aren’t going to have that tough of a time replacing his production. The four-time All-Star hasn’t looked right all year and if you take away his walks — which don’t do much good in fantasy — he’s been a below average fantasy first baseman. Encarnacion, with his 26 homers and 70 RBIs, however, is a pretty substantial blow.

Votto and Encarancion owners should take a hard look at C.J. Cron, who’s first base eligible for the Angels. The 24-year old has nine homers in a 160 plate appearances with a .288 batting average and has been playing every day. He doesn’t have terrific minor league pedigree — although the power is real — and he never walks, so he’s run of good play may not last. Still, he’s available in over 80 percent of Yahoo! leagues and is as good a bet as anyone the free agent first baseman pool to give you production for the next couple of weeks.

Encarnacion’s injury, coupled with Brett Lawrie’s broken index finger,  has also fueled speculation that the Blue Jays will make a deal for Padres third baseman Chase Headley. Headley has struggled all year, but it seems everybody hits once they put on a Blue Jay uniform. If Headley is moved up north, he’s worth a flyer. He just turned 30 and is only two seasons removed from a 31 home run 115 RBI 17 steal season at the notorious Petco Park, where hitters careers go to die. He’s available in 67 percent of Yahoo! leagues.

MVP: Troy Tulowitzki
MVP voters like to reward players on winning teams and for good reason. While it certainly shouldn’t be the main criteria, good stats for a team that’s playing good baseball does mean a little extra. The two best players in the National League, Troy Tulowitzki and Giancarlo Stanton, play on bad teams. The Marlins were keeping their head above water for a while, but have reverted to form in the last couple weeks. The Rockies are just bad. Nevertheless, there would be no denying Tulowitzki even if his team was winless. He leads the league in batting and .OPS and before you yell “Coors Field” he’s also just about the best fielding shortstop in baseball. His Baseball Reference WAR — which takes into account park effects — is 5.1, topping all, even Mike Trout. If Tulowitzki falters (or his old injury bugaboo returns) Stanton could be the beneficiary. MVP candidates with more traditional team resumes include Carlos Gomez, Yusiel Puig and Jonathan Lucroy. Don’t count out 2013 winner Andrew McCutchen either, especially if the Pirates get back into the race.

Cy Young: Clayton Kershaw
If your choices for American League Cy Young are Clayton Kershaw or The Field, you would be wise to take Kershaw. Even this year, when the the field has been pretty great. Johnny Cueto, Adam Wainwright, Julio Tehran and Kershaw’s teammate Zach Grienke all have the stats befitting of a Cy Young winner. And Kershaw even spotted them all a month with an injury. Since he’s been back Kershaw been the best of a great lot, posting a 9-2 record with a 2.04 ERA. The lefty is on a 28 inning scoreless streak which includes 36 Ks and a no-hitter that rates among the best games ever pitched. Kershaw is our midseason National League Cy Young winner and the 26-year old is the heavy favorite to take his third full season Cy Young in four years.

Rookie of the year: Billy Hamilton
We have to admit, we doubted Billy Hamilton. Sure he was fast, but his profile suggest he wouldn’t be much of a big league hitter. He hasn’t squashed all of our concerns with his bat. His .283 average is OK, and his four (outside the park) homers are a surprise. But a .314 OBP is not what you want out of a lead off hitter. He also gets thrown out stealing too much, which negates some of his speed advantage. On the plus side of the ledger, he’s quite a center fielder. He’s our midseason MVP, but his lead over Chris Owings in tenuous, and we would not be surprised of Arizona’s slick fielding shortstop ends up with the hardware.

Manager of the Year: Ron Roenicke
Who had the Milwaukee Brewers atop the American League central and by a 6.5 game margin? Nobody? Exactly. Ron Roenicke is the easy pick for the National League midseason Manager of the year. At this point nobody else is even close.

Santana caught a break when most the Braves pitching staff went down, and he inked a one-year deal with Atlanta late in spring training. Drew returned to the Red Sox a couple weeks ago on a pro-rated one year deal after they had their own injury problems. That left Morales, and the speculation was that he wouldn’t sign until after the 2014 MLB entry draft because at that point he would no longer cost a team the draft pick.

The draft started last night, and according to Boras his client will sign in the next couple days. Here are the teams who maybe be interested in the switch-hitter slugger.

New York Yankees
Word is the Yankees told Boras to hold off a few more days on signing so they could evaluate the health of Carlos Beltran and Mark Teixeira, and would make an offer on Morales if they didn’t think one or both could be relied on going forward. Each switch-hitters played yesterday and even if one were to go down Morales seems like a questionable fit. The Bronx Bombers, who are looking less and less like contenders every day, are already an old and lumbering lineup and the rapidly aging and already lumbering Morales doesn’t seem like the answer.

Seattle Mariners
Seattle knows Morales well; he played for them last year. Since they could have always had him back without sacrificing a pick, why now? Well, the Mariners have been surprisingly competitive this year and would be in the wild card game if the postseason started today. And they are doing this with barely any production from either the first base or DH slot. A mid-season reunion would make a lot of sense , particularly if they don’t have to give Morales the long-term contract they were never interested in tendering him

Milwaukee Brewers
Boras threw this out there, but we’re not sure if it works. True, the Brewers have also been unexpectedly good and would clearly be in buy mode. However, third baseman Aramis Ramirez just came back from his hammy and hit a homer in his return. That means they can move Mark Reynolds across the diamond to first. Morales might be a somewhat of an offensive upgrade from Reynolds, at least the batting average department, and would be a hedge against Ramirez’s 36-year old tendons.  But there are serious questions about his defense and it’s unclear if the Brew Crew would be a better team overall with Morales in the lineup.

Texas Rangers
Once Prince Fielder went down, Morales to the Rangers started to make an awful lot of sense. Mitch Moreland has displayed a stunning lack of power for a first baseman who makes his home in Arlington and Texas is essentially playing .200 hitter Michael Choice at DH. But there hasn’t been much movement on this logical front. The Rangers are hovering around .500 and have been decimated with long-term injuries, suggesting they just might not be willing to add to their already team record $133 million payroll.

Oakland As
Billy Beane uncharacteristically gave closer Jim Johnson $10 million this off season, perhaps because there is no such thing as a terrible one year contract. (Although the wildly ineffective Johnson is testing that mantra.) So would the Moneyball A’s also go against type and shell out medium bucks to get Morales for the rest of the season? The best team so far in 2014 always operates under a pretty tight payroll, but Morales must be pretty tempting given that they are playing Alberto Callaspo and his middle infielders .OPS of .659 at DH.

Florida Marlins
It’s not that controversial Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria refuses to spend money. It’s that he won’t shell out his art dealer cash for bad teams. Now that they are in a tie for first place in the National League East, it’s safe to say the no-budget Fish are unexpectedly pretty good. Garrett Jones has been doing an adequate job at first base, but can’t be trusted against lefties and works better as a bench piece on a contender. Morales is Cuban, which is added bonus given the demographics of South Florida. Kendrys to the Marlins. You heard it here first.

The 16-28 Cubs have the worst record in the National League. They are 1-9 overall in Samardzija’s starts, having scored 20 total runs for the ace. While that is some pretty paltry support, it’s actually enough runs for Samardzija to be 6-0 if they had been distributed more evenly.

If sabermetrics has taught us anything, it’s not to judge a pitcher on his win-loss record. And we’re not going after Samardzija —  clearly a hard luck case — here.  But we do have to point out that some pitchers have been able to overcome the awfulness around them and post pretty great all-around pitching numbers on really bad teams. Check out the five best bad team pitchers of all-time below.

5. 23-7 Bob Gibson 1970 St. Louis Cardinals 76-86
In his nine post-season starts, Gibson was 7-2 with a 1.89 ERA and 92 Ks, earning the reputation as one of the greatest big-game hurlers of all-time. But Gibson didn’t need the stakes to be high to perform on a Hall of Fame level. He racked up the most wins of his career in 1970, despite the Cardinals falling out of pennant contention early in the season. His totals of 23-7 with a 3.12 ERA and 274 netted him his second Cy Young award. But we suspect the ultra-competitive rightly still viewed the season as a failure.

4. 18-5 Tim Lincecum 2008 San Francisco Giants 72-90
Recently, Lincecum has been a pretty lousy pitcher on a really good team. But it was just the opposite for the freak earlier in his career. The little righty burst on the scene in 2008, finishing 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and league-leading 265 Ks for the last place Giants. High-profile rotation mates Matt Cain and Barry Zito weren’t so fortunate; they finished 8-14 and 10-17 respectively.

3. 20-6 R.A. Dickey 2012 New York Mets 74-88
Dickey’s journey from traditional pitcher without an ulnar collateral ligament to accidental knuckleballer is well documented. It all came together in 2012 when the-then 37-year old went 9-0 with a 1.33 ERA and 88 strikeouts in 11 May and June starts. He was pretty darn good for the rest of the season as well, finishing 20-6 with a 2.73 ERA and league leading 230 Ks, good enough for the National League Cy Young. His team, not so much. The 2012 New York Mets suffered from too much Jason Bay, among other aliments, and finished 74-88 despite Dickey’s best efforts.

2. 25-17 Walter Johnson 1910 Washington Senators 66-85
On Walter Johnson’s Hall of Fame plaque it reads that he pitched “for many years with a losing team.” While the Senators awfulness during Johnson’s career is part of the popular lore, it’s not quite correct; Washington finished in the top half of the standings in 11 of Johnson 21 seasons and won a couple of World Series. Now it is true that Johnson often lacked for run support, losing 65 games his team didn’t score in at all, and going 38-26 for his career in 1-0 games. Perhaps his reputation for being great pitcher on terrible teams was born in 1910, when a 22-year old Big Train went 25-17 with a 1.36 ERA and 313 Ks for a cellar dwelling Senator squad. The next year he also had 25 wins, this time for a team that only won 64 games.

1. 27-10 Steve Carlton 1972 Philadelphia Phillies 59-97
In 1972, Carlton had the bad team pitcher season all others are compared to. It was his first year with the hapless Phillies, and he learned early on if he was going to win a game he was going to have to finish it himself. Pitching primarily on three days rest, Lefty had 30 complete games, including three extra-inning efforts. That’s 346 innings total of 1.97 ERA pitching with a league leading 310 ks. His 27 wins were almost half of his team’s 59 total victories — the highest such percentage in modern baseball history — and earned him the National League Cy Young. The next winning-est pitcher on Philadelphia’s staff had seven victories.

The season is shaping up as a long one for the geriatric Yankees who, to their credit, are still keeping their heads above water at 21-19. But barring what would be an even more catastrophic injury, Yankees fans will still have something to look forward to every fifth day, thanks to Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka.

Last year for the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the NPB Tanaka went 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA. Those are more than just video game numbers. They would be an indication you need to get a more difficult video game.

While there was no way he could repeat those numbers in MLB, his current stats, 6-0 with a 2.17 ERA and over a strikeout an inning, make him the odds-on favorite for not just Rookie of The Year but for the American League Cy Young.

However, we can’t be sure Tanaka will continue to pitch at quite this high of a level.  MLB has a history adjusting to exotic imports after they’ve seen them a few times. Check out how other foreign phenoms have feared after their novelty wore off.

Fernando Valenzuela
Velenzuela is a bit different from the others on this list because he did do about a year in the minors after the Dodgers plucked him from the Mexican Leagues.  He gave up no earned runs in ten relief appearances for the big club in 1980, and then utterly dominated out of the gate in his official rookie year of 1981, starting the season 8-0 with five shutouts and a .50 ERA and sparking “Fernandomania” all over Southern California. The rest of that strike-shortened season was actually pretty mediocre for Velenzuela, 5-7 with a 3.66 ERA. Still, his total stats were 13-7, 2.48 and league-leading 180 strikeouts, enough for the NL Cy Young. He also helped the Dodgers to the ’81 World Series title and was almost as good in 1982, going 19-13 with a 2.87 ERA. The rest of his career with Dodgers was up and down; he was great in 1985 and 1986, not so great in the two years before that, and pretty washed up by the late eighties. Valenzuela’s was undoubtedly a good career, although it never quite lived up to the promise of its first few months.

Hideo Nomo
In 1995, Nomo became the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues in 30 years. It took him about a month to get acclimated and he wouldn’t get his first win for the Dodgers until his seventh start. But once he did, he went on a Velenzuela-like run that sparked a new sort of LA-area mania. Between that seventh start and his 21st, Nomo would go 10-2 with a 1.55 ERA and over a strikeout an inning. He finished his rookie season 13-6 with a 2.54 ERA and league-leading 236 punch outs. In 1996, he went 16-11 with a 3.19 ERA and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting for the second year in a row. However, the league began to catch up to Nomo’s funky delivery and forkball in 1997, and he was pretty much an average pitcher for the rest of his career. He did have some high points: he led the AL in strikeouts for the Red Sox in 2001 and followed that up with two fine years back with the Dodgers But, overall, if Tanaka has a similar career path to his countryman the Yankees will be mighty disappointed.

Jose Contreras
Contreras had been a dominate pitcher in Cuba before defecting to the United States in 2003. But since Cuban baseball players almost never made it to MLB — Livan Hernandez had defected eight years earlier as a 20-year old, but hadn’t established himself in Cuban baseball at that point — nobody was quite sure what to expect when the Yankees signed Contreras to a four-year deal. He was pretty good out of the gate, going 7-2 with a 3.30 ERA (which was 34 percent above the league average) as 31-year old rookie who rotated between starting and relieving. A full-time move to the rotation in 2004 wasn’t successful, and the Yankees traded him mid-season to the White Sox. Contreras would pitch another decade, always an useful arm but rarely a particularly good one.

Daisuke Matsuzaka
The Red Sox famously paid Matsuzuka’s Japanese club, the Suibe Lions, $ 51 million just for the exclusive rights to Dice-K. Then Boston signed the righty to a six-year $52 million deal. In his first year in MLB, 2007, he showed promise, finishing 15-12 with a 4.40 ERA (eight percent above league average) and 201 strikeouts. In his second season he started to really earn his money, going 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA. But he also led the league in walks, and his lack of control, along with shoulder troubles, would led to a pretty rapid undoing. Matsuzaka is seeing some success this year for the Mets out of the bullpen, but has been a pretty lousy pitcher since 2008.

Yu Darvish
If Matsuzuka is the worst case scenario for Tanaka, Darvish would be the best. He’s only in his third season — so he could very well go the way of Dice-K himself.  But so far Darvish has improved every year and can safely be considered a top ten pitcher in the league, if not top five. Darvish was in the news last week for coming within one out of a no-hitter, the second time that’s happened to him in his short career.