Inside the Clubhouse: Winners and losers from the MLB trade deadline

The Major League Baseball trade deadline is over. While the supply was short of meeting the demand, there were still some obvious winners and losers.

With few teams selling, the supply of players available was short, and resulted in a relatively inactive market. There were still plenty of big name players moved, with Max Scherzer (Rangers), Justin Verlander (Astros), Lucas Giolito (Angels) Jack Flaherty (Orioles) and Michael Lorenzen (Phillies) all among players with new teams.

Let’s go through six trade deadline winners and losers.

MLB trade deadline winners

Texas Rangers

The Rangers set out to improve their rotation and bullpen … and went out and added two of the top three starting pitchers on the market in Max Scherzer and Jordan Montgomery. They also added reliever Chris Stratton and veteran catcher Austin Hedges, who is a strong defender and No. 2 catching option.

It was a masterful deadline for general manager Chris Young, and cemented their status as contenders in the American League.

Los Angeles Angels

I absolutely loved that the Angels went all-in to win with Shohei Ohtani on the roster. It’s what baseball deserves.

Right-hander Lucas Giolito gives them the frontline starter they have long lacked. Reynaldo Lopez and Dominic Leone further bolster the bullpen. C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk help improve a lineup that needed more pop around Ohtani and Mike Trout when he returns.

Perry Minasian is among the most underrated general managers in baseball, and his deadline haul was the latest example. And it positioned his team to make the postseason for the first time with Ohtani on the roster, which could improve their chances at retaining the two-way superstar when he becomes a free agent in the offseason.

Chicago White Sox

Few teams committed to selling this deadline, but the White Sox were one, and they took advantage of a sellers market.

The White Sox traded Lucas Giolito, Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Reynaldo Lopez, Kendall Graveman, Keynan Middleton and Jake Burger and netted a plethora of top-30 prospects (Edgar Quero, Nick Nastrini, Ky Bush, Jake Eder, Korey Lee, Jordan Leasure and Juan Carela.

It’s possible that prospect list only grows in the offseason if they trade Dylan Cease, who garnered significant interest at the deadline. But for now, they are winners at the deadline, but their massive sell-off further underscores just how much of a failure this season has been.

MLB trade deadline losers

New York Yankees

It felt obvious that the Yankees should have sold players on expiring contracts (Harrison Bader) and sought to move on from others (Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres).

Instead, they added a reliever in Keynan Middleton and a former top prospect in Spencer Howard. The moves hardly improves the team now and does little to set them up for future success. This was easily the most confusing deadline of any team and left rival executives scratching their heads.

San Francisco Giants

Another confusing deadline. They added AJ Pollock and Mark Mathias in what was essentially a salary-dump deal with the Mariners and did nothing else to fortify their 59-49 roster.

They did look for infield depth. Their deadline would have looked different had their pitching stayed healthy, as there was a strong chance they would have dealt a pitcher (Alex Wood?) to upgrade a different part of the roster. Alas, late injuries to multiple pitchers derailed any chance of that.

Still, a strange deadline.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Yes, the Dodgers acquired Lance Lynn, Joe Kelly, Kiké Hernandez and Amed Rosario. But they attempted to acquire one of Justin Verlander or Eduardo Rodriguez to fortify the top of their rotation and came up empty.

Part of that wasn’t their fault. They agreed to a deal to acquire Rodriguez from the Tigers, but he vetoed the trade as the Dodgers were on his 10-team no-trade clause. The Dodgers did not want to overpay for Justin Verlander either. So while they added, their deadline left much to be desired, and puts them in the losers category.