MLB Trade Deadline: 5 biggest winners

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July 8, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; San Diego Padres left fielder Melvin Upton Jr. (2) is greeted by starting pitcher Andrew Cashner (34) after he hits a two run home run in the second inning against Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

2. San Diego Padres

It feels like only yesterday that the San Diego Padres were in the business of spending money so to try and become a contender through free agency. However, that plan wasn’t exactly working out as they’d planned. Through the first four months of the season, the Padres had only 45 wins to the credit and sat 16 games out of first place in the NL West. Subsequently, they prepared for a fire sale at the 2016 MLB Trade Deadline.

At the deadline on Monday and in the days leading up to it, San Diego was in the business of selling, selling, and then selling some more just to make sure that they’d sold everything that they had. They traded Andrew Cashner, Matt Kemp, and Melvin Upton Jr. in addition to others. However, it was clear that the Padres were simply unloading salary and hitting the refresh button on the organization.

Considering the lack of success of the Padres over this season and recent years, that was by far the best move for the Padres in this position. Yes, selling some of your biggest and highest-paid assets doesn’t always make you a winner, but it does when it’s the best option and you can legitimately just start from scratch and try to begin building a successful team properly. That’s what the Padres did here and that’s why I like it.

Next: No. 1 Rangers

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