MLB trade deadline: Grading every team's deadline, from an A for the Athletics to Fs for the Twins and Red Sox
Another MLB trade deadline has come and gone, the annual event in which each team, at least theoretically, is trying to improve its roster, either for this season or the future. So how did each team do? Who got better? Who got worse? Who stayed about the same? Let's run through all the moves and give each team a grade. Moves: Acquired SP Shane Bieber from Cleveland for SP prospect Khal Stephen Acquired RP Seranthony Dominguezfrom Baltimore for SP prospect Juaron Watts-Brown Acquired RP Louis Varland and 1B Ty France from Minnesota for OF Alan Roden and SP prospect Kendry Rojas Traded IF Will Wagner to San Diego for C prospect Brandon Valenzuela I really like the Bieber deal. I think it's a risk worth taking. The former AL Cy Young has been injured since last April but threw four good innings in a minor-league rehab start on Tuesday. If Bieber can be 80 percent of what he once was down the stretch for Toronto, he can start a playoff game. If he's full Bieber, that's a game-changer. If he's nothing, whatever. Call me when Khal Stephen wins a Cy Young (he's going to Cleveland; it could happen). The nitpick here, in my eyes, is that the Jays didn't do anything to capitalize on the immense momentum the club has built over the past month. Toronto, for all its raucous winning, is only 3.5 games safe in the AL East. Yes, there are a number of big reinforcements coming off the IL over the next two months who might help the cause: Alejandro Kirk, Andrés Giménez, Anthony Santander and Daulton Varsho. But still, I wanted a bit more from the Jays. Moves: Acquired RP Jake Bird from Colorado for IF prospect Roc Riggio and SP prospect Ben Shields Acquired RP David Bednarfrom Pittsburgh for C prospect Rafael Flores, C prospect Edgleen Perez and OF prospect Brian Sanchez Acquired RP Camilo Doval from San Francisco for C/3B prospect Jesus Rodriguez, SP prospect Trystan Vrieling, 1B/3B prospect Parks Harber and SP prospect Carlos De La Rosa. Acquired 3B Ryan McMahonfrom Colorado for SP prospect Griffin Herring and SP prospect Josh Grosz Acquired IF Amed Rosariofrom Washington for RP Clayton Beeter and OF prospect Browm Martinez Acquired IF Jose Caballero from Tampa Bay for OF Everson Pereira and a PTBNL Acquired OF Austin Slater from Chicago (AL) for SP prospect Gage Ziehl Traded SP Carlos Carrasco to Atlanta for cash considerations Traded IF Oswald Peraza to Anaheim for OF prospect Wilberson De Pena and international bonus pool money This was a strong deadline for the Yankees, who filled three glaring holes on their roster: third base, the bench and the bullpen. Perhaps GM Brian Cashman could've added a starting pitcher, but it seems like that market was quite steep this year, so Cashman opted to go all-in on relievers. Bird, Bednar and Doval all have additional years of control remaining, which is important considering that New York's two best relievers, Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, are free agents this winter. The Yankees also completely renovated their bench, swapping out JC Escarra (optioned), Jorbit Vivas (optioned) and Oswald Peraza (traded) for Rosario, Slater and Caballero. That's a nice upgrade. Moves: Acquired RP Steven Matz from St. Louis for 1B/3B prospect Blaze Jordan Acquired SP Dustin May from Los Angeles for OF prospect James Tibbs III and OF prospect Zach Ehrhard When the Red Sox shocked the ball world in June by sending Rafael Devers to the Giants, Craig Breslow, the team's chief baseball officer, was adamant that the trade did not represent a surrender. "This in no way signifies a waving of the white flag on 2025," he said. "We are as committed as we were six months ago to putting a winning team on the field." Since then, the Red Sox have shot up the standings and into a playoff spot. But their sleepy, lethargic deadline that failed to seriously address any of the flaws on the roster was a borderline insult to a fan base already fed up with Breslow's robotic, bizarre and uninspiring style. Matz is fine; he'll help the 'pen. May is fine; he'll add rotation depth. Those two moves alone would've earned Boston a D, but then Breslowdropped an all-time fart of an explanationfor his inaction. "I understand the frustration and disappointment ... There's not a lot of sympathy for how hard we tried to get deals across the line." If Breslow is looking forsympathyfrom the famously unsympathetic Red Sox fan base? I don't know. Dude might be good at his job, but he's a PR disaster class right now. Moves: Acquired RP Griffin Jax from Minnesota for SP Taj Bradley Acquired SP Adrian Houser from Chicago (AL) for IF Curtis Mead, SP prospect Duncan Davitt and RP prospect Ben Peoples Traded IF Jose Caballero to New York (AL) for OF Everson Pereira and a PTBNL Three-team trade with Los Angeles and Cincinnati: sent SP Zack Littell to Cincinnati and RP Paul Gervase and C Ben Rortvedt to Los Angeles, acquired SP prospect Brian Van Belle from Cincinnati and C Hunter Feduccia from Los Angeles Acquired C Nick Fortes from Miami for OF prospect Matthew Etzel Traded C Danny Jansen to Milwaukee for IF prospect Jadher Areinamo Are the Rays smarter than the rest of us or too smart for their own good? Perhaps both. For what seems like the 95th year in a row, Tampa did a bunch of deadline needle-point, neither selling nor buying. Poking their head into the Minnesota dumpster fire to scoop up Jax (under control through 2027) was a nice bit of business. The Rays also gave up a ton to get Hunter Fedducia, for some reason. That the Rays, widely considered one of the more analytically advanced teams, continue to shuffle through catchers like phone chargers (they've had the second-most backstops since the start of 2023) is very funny to me. Moves: Traded 1B Ryan O'Hearn and OF Ramon Laureanoto San Diego for prospects SP Boston Bateman, SS Brandon Butterworth, IF Cobb Hightower, RF/1B Victor Figueroa, RP Tyson Neighbors, and RP Tanner Smith Traded CF Cedric Mullins to New York (NL) for RP prospect Raimon Gómez, RP prospect Anthony Nunez and RP prospect Chandler Marsh Traded RP Seranthony Dominguezto Toronto for SP prospect Juaron Watts-Brown Traded Charlie Morton to Detroit for RP prospect Micah Ashman Traded RP Gregory Sototo New York (NL) for SP prospect Wellington Aracena and RP prospect Cameron Foster Traded RP Andrew Kittredge to Chicago (NL) for SS prospect Wilfri De La Cruz Traded 3B Ramon Urías to Houston for SP prospect Twine Palmer Acquired SP Dietrich Enns from Detroit for cash considerations It's hard to get excited about anything related to the 2025 Baltimore Orioles, a typhoon of disappointment, but GM Mike Elias had a nice deadline considering the circumstances. Baltimore traded most of its expiring contracts — Zach Eflin, Tomoyuki Sugano and Gary Sánchez were the only potential rentals who stayed put — and didn't trade away too many pieces that could help the 2026 team, with Ramons Urias and Laureano the exceptions. Packaging O'Hearn and Laureano together surely upped whatever their returns might have been separately; San Diego gave up quite a haul. That said, Elias didn't get any top-100 prospects here, appearing to opt for quantity over quality. Moves: Acquired SP Charlie Morton from Baltimore for RP prospect Micah Ashman Acquired RP Paul Sewald from Cleveland for PTBNL/cash Acquired RP Kyle Finnegan from Washington for SP prospect Josh Randall and SP prospect R.J. Sales Acquired RP Rafael Montero from Atlanta for IF prospect Jim Jarvis Acquired RP Codi Heuer from Texas for cash considerations Acquired SP Chris Paddack and SP Randy Dobnak from Minnesota for C prospect Enrique Jimenez Traded SP Dietrich Enns to Baltimore for cash considerations Traded SP Matt Manning to Philadelphia for OF prospect Josueth Quinonez The Tigers, up nine games in a once-again-lackluster AL Central, are going to win the division. They are going to play postseason games. And the stakes, considering this team has been really good for less than a year, will be relatively low. Detroit could get bounced in the ALDS, and while fans would be frustrated, they wouldn't be furious. There's no urgency here, and it showed, for the worse, at the deadline. Competitive windows often open and close faster than teams think (see 2016 Cubs, Chicago). I wish Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris had been more aggressive. Reinforcing the bullpen with a cavalcade of relievers is solid if unspectacular, with nice moves to survive the grind of 162. But the Tigers didn't do anything this week to up their World Series odds, which, given the talent on the roster, is a darn shame. Moves: Traded SP Shane Bieber to Toronto for SP prospect Khal Stephen Traded RP Paul Sewald to Detroit for a PTBNL and cash considerations Things in Cleveland got off to a ... crummy start this week,as all-world closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on administrative leaveafter getting wrapped up in a gambling scandal. But while that news could've thrown the organization into full sell mode at the deadline, the Guardians stayed the course, holding on to outfielder Steven Kwan despite significant interest from a number of suitors. That's a good thing. José Ramírez is a once-in-a-generation force still cooking with gas. The Guardians owe it to themselves, their fan base and Ramírez himself to try to contend as long as this version of their star third baseman is still around. Sometimes, the best choices are the ones you don't make. Moves: Acquired SP Ryan Bergert and RP Stephen Kolek from San Diego for C Freddy Fermin Acquired SP Bailey Falter from Pittsburgh for RP Evan Sisk and 1B prospect Callan Moss Acquired OF Randal Grichukfrom Arizona for RP prospect Andrew Hoffmann Acquired OF Mike Yastrzemski from San Francisco for SP prospect Yunior Marte The most important move Kansas City made this week wasextending hurler Seth Lugo through the 2027 season. It has been an odd year for the Royals, who sit just three games out of a wild-card spot despite battling an avalanche of pitching injuries. With that in mind, this deadline of half-measures doesn't really bother me. Falter is a cheeky, under-the-radar add; he's a solid back-end arm under team control. Moves: Traded SS Carlos Correato Houston for salary relief and RP prospect Matt Mikulski Traded CP Jhoan Duranto Philadelphia for SP Mick Abel and C Eduardo Tait Traded SP Chris Paddack and SP Randy Dobnak to Detroit for C prospect Enrique Jimenez Traded UTIL Willi Castro to Chicago (NL) for RP prospect Ryan Gallagher and SP prospect Sam Armstrong Traded RP Griffin Jax to Tampa Bay for SP Taj Bradley Traded OF Harrison Bader to Philadelphia for OF prospect Hendry Mendez, SP prospect Geremy Villoria Traded RP Brock Stewart to Los Angeles for OF James Outman Traded RP Danny Coulombe to Texas for SP prospect Garrett Horn Traded RP Louis Varland and 1B Ty France to Toronto for OF Alan Roden and SP prospect Kendry Rojas The Twins are currently up for sale. Apparently, so was their roster. Any time you trade 10 players off the big-league roster during a season in which you planned to contend, you get a big, fat F, regardless of the prospects. Dealing away Correa, whom Minnesota had hailed as a franchise cornerstone, was as deflating as it was shocking. What even is this team now? There are dark days ahead up north; a years-long winter of woe awaits. Moves: Traded SP Adrian Houser to Tampa Bay for IF Curtis Mead, SP prospect Duncan Davitt and RP prospect Ben Peoples Traded OF Austin Slater to New York (AL) for SP prospect Gage Ziehl The Pope's team didn't have a lot to trade after last year's firesale, but it was certainly interesting that GM Chris Getz held on to Luis Robert Jr. The mercurial outfielder has a $20 million team option for next year, an option that given his rough start to this season did not appear likely to be picked up. But the Sox didn't deal Robert, likely because they value him as a controllable player while other teams saw him as a rental. They'll hope he continues rebounding enough that they can justify picking up his option. That's a nice haul for Houser, whom the Sox scooped up off the scrap heap earlier this year. Moves: Acquired SS Carlos Correafrom Minnesota for salary relief and RP prospect Matt Mikulski Acquired 3B Ramon Urías from Baltimore for SP Twine Palmer Acquires OF Jesús Sánchez from Miami for SP Ryan Gusto, OF prospect Esmil Valencia, SS prospect Chase Jaworsky From a vibes perspective, no club had a sicker deadline. This was essentially owner Jim Crane climbing a bartop, hoisting a handle of tequila into the air and screaming "GUESS WHO'S BACK?!" to an adoring crowd. It was panache, theater, transactional bravado. Does reuniting with Correa make this Astros team better? Probably yes, considering that 3B Isaac Paredes is out for a while. Plus, Correa is still only 30 and coming off a sensational, albeit injury-plagued, 2024. There's juice left in this proverbial lemon, and you gotta think he'll be rejuvenated by the move back to the team that drafted him first overall way back in 2012. Moves: Acquired 3B Eugenio Suárezfrom Arizona for 1B Tyler Locklear, RP Hunter Cranton, RP Juan Burgos Acquired 1B Josh Naylorfrom Arizona for RP Brandyn Garcia and SP Ashton Izzi Acquired RP Caleb Ferguson from Pittsburgh for SP prospect Jeter Martinez This might be the best offense Seattle has had since the team won 116 games in 2001. Adding Suárez and Naylor gives them an imposing top six that also includes JP Crawford, Julio Rodriguez, Randy Arozarena and Cal Raleigh. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto caught some much-deserved flack a few years back for insinuating that he's content to build a team that wins 54% of its games. This deadline was a refreshing departure from that ideology; the Mariners are going for it. Moves: Acquired RP Danny Coulombe from Minnesota for TBD Acquired SP Merrill Kelly from Arizona for SP prospect Mitch Bratt, SP prospect Kohl Drake and SP prospect David Hagaman. Acquired RP Phil Maton from St. Louis for SP prospect Mason Molina and RP prospect Skylar Hales To be fair, the Rangers were in an odd spot entering the deadline. This team has one of the best pitching staffs in baseball and a bunch of famous, well-paid hitters who aren't hitting. Because Texas is kind of stuck with that position-player group, they opted to improve on the margins by adding arms. Kelly gives them nice depth as a rental. Coulombe and Maton should help the 'pen. But what this team really needs — for its veteran sluggers to wake up — can't be acquired via trade. Moves: Acquired RP Andrew Chafin and RP Luis García from Washington for SP/RP Jake Eder and 1B Sam Brown Acquired IF Oswald Peraza from New York (AL) in exchange for OF prospect Wilberson De Pena The Angels operate in their own universe, and honestly, it seems like a great universe, full of joy and rainbows and hopeful obliviousness. Is this team bad? No. Are they going to win the World Series? Definitely not. Will they make the playoffs? Probably not. That four-game gap between the Angels and a postseason spot looks a lot larger when you remember these are the Angels. Adding Peraza, the once-upon-a-time top prospect, is a nice buy-low move, but adding two middle relievers to "go for it" is fittingly odd for this organization. Moves: Traded RP Mason Miller and SP JP Searsto San Diego for prospects SS Leo De Vries, SP Braden Nett, SP Henry Baez and RP Eduarniel Núñez Traded DH Miguel Andujar to Cincinnati for SP prospect Kenya Huggins Trading away a reliever, even one as dominant and as controllable as Miller, for a potential franchise-altering piece such as De Vries is, in my opinion, a no-brainer. That's especially true for a team such as the A's, who aren't in a competitive window right now. In other words: Bullpen arms are almost as volatile as prospects. Evaluators I spoke with think De Vries has a real shot to be a superstar, somewhere on the scale between Francisco Lindor and Ketel Marte, depending on how his body develops. The rest of this group has some interesting arms, too. Good for the A's, who are putting together a really exciting position-player group ahead of their supposed move to Vegas in 2028. Moves: Acquired RP Ryan Helsleyfrom St. Louis for SS prospect Jesus Baez, SP prospect Nate Dohm and RP prospect Frank Elissalt Acquired RP Tyler Rogersfrom San Francisco for RP José Butto, OF prospect Drew Gilbert, SP Blade Tidwell Acquired RP Gregory Sotofrom Baltimore for SP prospect Wellington Aracena and RP prospect Cameron Foster Acquired CF Cedric Mullins from Baltimore for prospects RP Raimon Gómez, RP Anthony Nunez and RP Chandler Marsh The Mets added four meaningful rentals without giving up any of their elite prospects; that's exactly what a great deadline looks like. This club has been ravaged by pitching injuries, particularly to the bullpen, so kudos to president of baseball operations David Stearns for rebuilding his relief corps on the fly. Slotting Helsley, Rogers and Soto alongside Edwin Díaz, Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Brooks Raley gives New York one of the more interesting bullpens in the National League. Getting Mullins was also a big upgrade in center field, where Tyrone Taylor has struggled on offense this year. Moves: Acquired RP Jhoan Duranfrom Minnesota for SP Mick Abel and C prospect Eduardo Tait Acquired OF Harrison Bader from Minnesota for prospects OF Hendry Mendez, SP Geremy Villoria President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and his front office deserve credit for adding Duran, one of the more dominant relievers in the game, to a bullpen in need of reinforcements. They also deserve criticism for not properly addressing the bullpen in the offseason, when both Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estevez departed in free agency. That said, the suspension of Jose Alvarado was impossible to predict. The Duran move helps the Phillies both now and for the next few seasons, as he's under control through 2027. Bader is a fine addition, though a more impactful bat would've been nice, considering the Phils are 26th in MLB with a .677 outfield OPS. Moves: Traded OF Jesús Sánchez to Houston for SP Ryan Gusto, OF prospect Esmil Valencia and SS prospect Chase Jaworsky Traded C Nick Fortes to Tampa Bay for OF Matthew Etzel It was a relatively quiet day in South Florida for the team that made more deals than any other last deadline. Gusto is a nice get for a player in Sánchez who clearly wasn't considered an integral part of the next good Marlins team. Most notably, Miami chose not to trade starters Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera,both of whom were heavily mentioned in rumors all month. Without knowing the details, I like that decision. It shows me that president of baseball operations Peter Bendix isn't out here to trade for the sake of it. Moves: Traded RP Rafael Montero to Detroit for IF prospect Jim Jarvis Acquired RP Tyler Kinley from Colorado for RP Austin Smith Acquired SP Erick Fedde from St. Louis for cash considerations or PTBNL Acquires SP Carlos Carrasco from New York (AL) for cash considerations The Braves, 13.5 games adrift of a wild card, were not particularly flush with enviable rentals. Between Marcell Ozuna's offensive decline/hip injury and Raisel Iglesias' poor season, Atlanta was never going to conjure up a massive prospect bounty. But still ... this is it? They couldn't even find a home for solid reliever Pierce Johnson? Odd deadline for Alex Anthopolous, who truly might not know how to be a seller. Moves: Traded SP Mike Soroka to Chicago (NL) for OF Christian Franklin and IF prospect Ronny Cruz Traded IF Amed Rosario to New York (AL) for RP Clayton Beeter and OF prospect Browm Martinez Traded OF Alex Call to Los Angeles for SP prospect Eriq Swan and SP prospect Sean Paul Liñan. Traded RP Kyle Finnegan to Detroit for SP prospects Josh Randall and SP prospect R.J. Sales Traded RP Andrew Chafin and RP Luis García to Los Angeles (AL) for SP/RP Jake Eder and 1B Sam Brown It was a pretty straightforward deadline for interim head honcho Mike DeBartolo, who took over for the fired Mike Rizzo less than a month ago. The Nats dealt five rentals in Soroka, Rosario, Finnegan, Chafin and García and got a really interesting prospect (Swan) back for Call, who was a weird fit on a roster with so many young outfielders who need every-day time. I'm somewhat surprised the Nats couldn't find a suitor for Josh Bell, who has experience and an .842 OPS against righties since June 1. Moves: Acquired RP Shelby Miller and SP Jordan Montgomery for PTBNL/cash Traded SP Nestor Cortes and SS prospect Jorge Quintana to San Diego for OF Brandon Lockridge Acquired C Danny Jansen from Tampa Bay for IF prospect Jadher Areinamo I feel odd critiquing an organization made up of people who are smarter than I am and have a track record of sustainable roster-building, which I very much do not have. But I look at this Brewers team and those 96.6% playoff odds, and I wish they'd been a bit more aggressive. Milwaukee could've used one more versatile offensive piece like Willi Castro or one more difference-making bat like Ryan O'Hearn or one more lockdown reliever like Ryan Helsley. The postseason is a roulette wheel, but the Brewers should at least try to help their own odds every once in a while. Moves: Acquired UTIL Willi Castro from Minnesota for RP prospect Ryan Gallagher and SP prospect Sam Armstrong Acquired RP Andrew Kittredge from Baltimore for prospect SS Wilfri De La Cruz Acquired SP Mike Soroka from Washington for OF Christian Franklin and prospect IF Ronny Cruz Acquired RP Taylor Rogers from Pittsburgh for OF prospect Ivan Brethowr In an oddly timed maneuver, the Cubshanded president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer a contract extensionjust days before the deadline. Whether that was the reason for Hoyer's relative passivity is unclear, but Chicago didn't make a serious upgrade on Thursday, despite holding the third-highest playoff odds in baseball. Castro is a really underrated player, an above-average, switch-hitting bat capable of playing almost anywhere on the diamond. His addition was the only thing keeping me from crushing the Cubs with a D or an F. Moves: Acquired 3B Ke'Bryan Hayesfrom Pittsburgh for RP Taylor Rogers and SS prospect Sammy Stafura Three-team trade with Tampa Bay and Los Angeles: Acquired SP Zack Littell from Tampa Bay, traded RHP Brian Van Belle to Tampa Bay, traded LHP Adam Serwinowski to Los Angeles Traded DH Miguel Andujar to Cincinnati for SP prospect Kenya Huggins Some folks were clowning on the Reds for the Hayes deal, but I actually dig that move. He's a bad hitter (career 87 OPS+), but the glove at the hot corner is downright special. If Hayes keeps swinging with a pool noodle and keeps picking it like Brooks Robinson, he's a 2.0-WAR player. And leaving the debacle that is the Pirates could be a boon for Hayes. If there's any untapped potential in the bat, this could be a really valuable player who's making only $7 million. Moves: Traded Ryan Helsley to New York for prospects SS Jesus Baez, SP Nate Dohm and RP Frank Elissalt Traded RP Steven Matz to Boston for 1B/3B prospect Blaze Jordan Traded SP Erick Fedde to Atlanta for cash considerations or PTBNL Traded RP Phil Maton to Texas for SP prospect Mason Molina and RP prospect Skylar Hales A basic deadline for the Cards, who sold off some of their rentals and did nothing else. St. Louis got off to a hot start, but tumbled down the standings as the weather warmed. They didn't send away any controllable pieces like Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson or Lars Nootbaar. This was neither a disasterclass nor a masterclass. Moves: Traded 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes to Cincinnati for RP Taylor Rogers and SS prospect Sammy Stafura Traded RP David Bednar to New York (AL) for C prospect Rafael Flores, C prospect Edgleen Perez and OF prospect Brian Sanchez Traded SP Bailey Falter to Kansas City for RP Evan Sisk and 1B prospect Callan Moss Traded RP Taylor Rogers to Chicago (NL) for OF prospect Ivan Brethowr Traded RP Caleb Ferguson to Seattle for SP prospect Jeter Martinez Moves: Acquired OF Alex Call from Washington for SP prospect Eriq Swan and SP prospect Sean Paul Liñan. Acquired RP Brock Stewart from Minnesota for OF James Outman Three-team trade with Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. Sent C Hunter Feduccia to Tampa Bay. Acquired RP Paul Gervase and C Ben Rortvedt from Tampa Bay. Acquired SP prospect Adam Serwinowski from Cincinnati. Acquired SP Dustin May from Los Angeles for OF prospect James Tibbs III and OF prospect Zach Ehrhard An atypically serene day for the defending champs, who in recent years have been very aggressive at the deadline. There wasn't even that much buzz around the Dodgers, save for a pursuit for Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan. In the end, Los Angeles added two helpful, unspectacular pieces in Call and Stewart. The Dodgers just need to get some arms back, though it's odd they didn't think it necessary to solve part of that issue via trade. Moves: Acquired RP Mason Miller and SP JP Sears from the Athletics for four prospects: SS Leo DeVries, SP Braden Nett, SP Henry Baez and RP Eduarniel Núñez Acquired 1B Ryan O'Hearn and OF Ramon Laureano from Baltimore for six prospects, SP Boston Bateman, SS Brandon Butterworth, IF Cobb Hightower, RF/1B Victor Figueroa, RP Tyson Neighbors, and RP Tanner Smith Acquired C Freddy Fermin from Kansas City for SP Ryan Bergert and RP Stephen Kolek Acquired SP Nestor Cortes and SS prospect Jorge Quintana from Milwaukee for OF Brandon Lockridge Many teams, nowadays, use computer models to help inform and, in some cases, dictate decision making. Padres GM AJ Preller cares not one bit for your model or anyone else's. Once again, the free-wheelin' exec swung a headline deal for an All-Star and gave up a bounty in prospect capital to do it. I think giving up De Vries for a reliever is a mistake, though it appears that San Diego might be planning to move Miller back to the rotation next year. For now, the flamethrowing closer gives the Padres a dynamite bullpen capable of knocking off the Dodgers in October, which is the whole point of this anyway. Don't sleep on the O'Hearn/Laureano deal. Those guys are both having splendid offensive seasons and the top-heavy Padres lineup was in desperate need of reinforcements. Moves: Traded RP Tyler Rogers to New York (NL) for RP José Butto, OF prospect Drew Gilbert, SP Blade Tidwell Traded RP Camilo Doval to New York (AL) for C/3B prospect Jesus Rodriguez, SP prospect Trystan Vrieling, 1B/3B prospect Parks Harber, and SP prospect Carlos De La Rosa. Traded OF Mike Yastrzemski to Kansas City for SP prospect Yunior Marte These trades, in and of themselves, are perfectly cromulent. But it's certainly not the approach people thought Giants POBO Buster Posey would be taking at deadline time when he swung a blockbuster for Rafael Devers last month. San Francisco has plummeted down the standings since then, so kudos to Posey, I guess, for being realistic. Moves: Traded 3B Eugenio Suárez to Seattle for 1B Tyler Locklear, RP Hunter Cranton, RP Juan Burgos Traded SP Merrill Kelly to Texas for SP prospect Mitch Bratt, SP prospect Kohl Drake and SP prospect David Hagaman. Traded RP Shelby Miller and SP Jordan Montgomery to Milwaukee for PTBNL/cash/salary relief Traded 1B Josh Naylor to Seattle for RP Brandyn Garcia and SP Ashton Izzi Traded OF Randal Grichuk to Kansas City for RP prospect Andrew Hoffmann Once it was clear this season was a goner, Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen pivoted into full seller mode with a purpose. All the pieces headed out of the desert were rentals, a sign that the Snakes fully plan on competing as soon as next season. The only notable player to stay put was starter Zac Gallen; whether that's because Arizona couldn't find a match or they plan on hanging on to Gallen and extending him the qualifying offer is unclear. In all, a well-run deadline by the D-Backs. Moves: Traded RP Jake Bird to New York (AL) for IF prospect Roc Riggio and SP prospect Ben Shields Traded 3B Ryan McMahon to New York (AL) for SP prospect Griffin Herring and SP prospect Josh Grosz Traded RP Tyler Kinley to Atlanta for RP Austin Smith The Rockies did some trades! Baseball's most isolated organization usually doesn't engage much in the deadline, preferring to hang onto players, no matter how ugly the loss column looks. Well, things clearly changed this season, perhaps because the Rockies are on pace to be one of the worst teams of all time. I don't particularly care who they got or gave up; I'm just happy they're outside with the rest of us, participating in the real world.
MLB trade deadline: Grading every team's deadline, from an A for the Athletics to Fs for the Twins and Red Sox Another MLB trade deadlin...
