MLB Trade Deadline WInners & Losers
After a wild deadline day, here are the winners and losers from the mayhem that is the MLB trade deadline.
Winner: Philadephia Phillies
The Nationals ranked 27th in runs scored in the majors with Soto and Bell. With both of them gone, the Nationals figure to have the worst offense in baseball going forward for the rest of 2022.
In sensible trades, the Phillies also acquired Angels pitcher Noah Syndergaard, Brandon Marsh, and David Robertson.
Winner: San Diego Padres
Any time you have the chance to acquire a generational talent at 23 years old, you do almost everything you can to make it happen. That is what the Padres did and then some. The Padres traded for one of the game's brightest stars (Juan Soto), an elite reliever (Josh Hader), and an All-Star-caliber first baseman (Josh Bell).
Losers: New York Mets
The Mets made several additions at the deadline. Still, after seeing the impactful moves made by the Padres and the rumors surrounding the Mets coming into the deadline, many, including myself, felt like this was their opportunity to pull off something big. Before the deadline, they were linked to Wilson Contreas, J.D. Martinez, and Christian Vasquez but did not acquire one of these big names available.
Loser: Cleveland Guardians
The Guardians are only 3 games back of Minnesota in the division and in the thick of the AL wild card race but did not make any major moves to upgrade their roster or sell off rentals. Especially with Minessota getting better and making moves.
Winner: Washington Nationals
Any time you trade a generational talent, you usually do not get the type of return the Nationals did, but this case is different. Soto is 23 with three more years of team control via arbitration, so the return pictured below was a given.
Winner: New York Yankees
The Yankees went all in at the deadline, getting a frontline starter (Frankie Montas), multiple relievers (Scott Effross and Lou Trivino), and another outfielder (Andrew Benintendi). Late on deadline day, the Yankees also got Harrison Bader in exchange for Jordan Montgomery.
Loser: Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto did not do much at the deadline after being heavy favorites heading into the season after just missing the playoffs last year. However, at the buzzer, the Jays acquired Whit Merrifield, who has a -0.2 bWAR and is hitting just .240 with a .643 OPS. Merrifield also is unvaccinated, which bars him from playing in Canada, and he has been vocal against the vaccine.
Undecided: Boston Red Sox
Going into Tuesday with a record of 52-52, the Red Sox faced a questionable situation and used an unorthodox buying and selling approach. First, trading away Christian Vasquez for prospects but also acquiring players like Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer.