Fansided

MLB Trade Deadline 2017: 5 teams that emerge losers

By Joshua Sadlock

BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 30: General manger of the Baltimore Orioles on the field before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden yards on April 30, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - APRIL 30: General manger of the Baltimore Orioles on the field before a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Oriole Park at Camden yards on April 30, 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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It’s hard to lose at the MLB Trade Deadline in this day and age, but these teams managed to come out on the short end of the stick on July 31.

With so many teams either rebuilding or on the fringes of playoff contention, it’s hard for MLB teams not to get deals done at the trade deadline on July 31. Even the Tampa Bay Rays were involved in the action this year. There was an arms race in the National League, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs offering the world to get what they needed. Simply put, it was hard for any front office to mess this one up.

Misguided buying, standing pat or selling extremely low because the pressure was on to get something done are the only real ways to lose at the trade deadline, and it happens every year. If it was easy running an MLB team and making the decisions that change the fate of a franchise, every fan with a fantasy team would be enjoyed in a front office. It’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it. That aside, there are winners and losers in everything when it comes to sports, and these five teams missed a chance to capitalize at the trade deadline.

5. San Francisco Giants

The Giants are the worst team in the entire league dating back to the end of the first half last year. This can no longer be written off as a bad stretch for a good team. The Giants went 30-42 in the second half last year, but eked their way into the playoffs by the smallest of margins and actually gave the Chicago Cubs a tough series in the NLDS.

At 70-108 over the past year-plus, it’s painfully obvious that the Giants are not headed in the right direction. Signing Johnny Cueto and Jeff Samardzija did not solve the issues behind Madison Bumgarner. Matt Moore, who went 17-4 in his second full MLB season, has never recovered from elbow surgery.

Eduardo Nunez was the only player the front office was able to trade, and he did not give them a substantial return. Cueto can leave for nothing after the season ends. Samardzija still looks like the Melvin Upton of pitchers. Hunter Pence’s health is still an issue. Hunter Strickland should have been traded. There were moves the Giants could have made to help add depth to a weak farm system, but they could not make anything happen.

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