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MLB Trade Deadline: 5 biggest winners

By Cody Williams

Jun 6, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Matt Kemp (27) hits an RBI double during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 6, 2016; San Diego, CA, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Matt Kemp (27) hits an RBI double during the fifth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 11, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Tyler Clippard (19) delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
May 11, 2016; Denver, CO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Tyler Clippard (19) delivers a pitch in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports /

3. New York Yankees

Had you asked the New York Yankees front office what they expected from this team coming into the season, my guess would be that they would’ve told you that they believed that the Yanks could be competitive in the AL East this year. However, that turned out to be less of the case through the first four months. It’s definitely a three-team race in the AL East where any of the three could wind up winning the division. The problem for the Yankees is that they aren’t one of those three teams.

Subsequently, New York came into the 2016 MLB Trade Deadline with selling on the brain and that’s what they were able to do. They unloaded their biggest (and possibly most troublesome) arm in Aroldis Chapman while also getting rid of the likes of Andrew Miller, Ivan Nova, and Carlos Beltran. In the process, the Yankees were able to pick up some high-profile prospects that could really help the team build into a contender sooner rather than later.

Let’s be clear, it’s not every day that you see the Yankees mercilessly selling at the MLB Trade Deadline and then you can still call them a winner. However, they were going nowhere with their current roster and could’ve potentially lost Chapman for nothing in the offseason. That they were able to move pieces to help better prepare for the future is the precise direction they should’ve been heading toward, so you have to applaud them for doing so. And if they were able to pick up a nice arm like Tyler Clippard in the process, so be it.

Next: No. 2 Padres

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