The MLB Trade Deadline has come and gone. New York Yankees and San Diego Padres fans are dancing in the streets, Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox fans are ready to get their torches and pitchforks for a riot in the streets, and Minnesota Twins fans probably just need a hug at this point. Deadline day proved to be frenetic and wild as contenders tried to posture for postseason pushes and teams out of the playoff mix tried to find the best deals possible — at least in some cases.
Whether based on expectations or even necessity, not every team is going to leave their fan base happy with what they do at the trade deadline. That doesn't mean it won't ultimately work out, of course. Just look at last year's Detroit Tigers, a team that ostensibly sold at the trade deadline only to get hot and make a run in the postseason. That can still happen, but it's much easier to look at the teams who meaningfully improved their roster before the 6 p.m. ET deadline and give them their flowers.
So who are the 2025 trade deadline's winners, and who are the sore losers? We have our thoughts and our breakdown for the teams in each of those two categories.
Winner: San Diego Padres
Look, I fully understand if you want to say that A.J. Preller and the San Diego Padres were entirely too aggressive, but that's just kind of his M.O. at this point. When you get down to it, the Padres, in their never-ending chase of the rival Dodgers, now have one of the elite bullpens in baseball with Mason Miller and Robert Suarez on the back end, have more rotation depth with J.P. Sears, upgraded the offense with Ryan O'Hearn and Ramon Laureano, and ultimately didn't end up moving on from Dylan Cease.
The Padres may have mortgaged some of their future, but that's rarely been a concern for Preller. Now, this team looks like a bonafide World Series contender, which seems like it was the goal the entire time for this team.
Loser Boston Red Sox
Craig Breslow promised Red Sox fans in the wake of the Rafael Devers trade that Boston would be buying and seemingly doing so aggressively. Apparently that meant trading for Steven Matz and Dustin May. Not exactly what fans had in mind, I fear.
While there was apparently a late push from the Red Sox to get Joe Ryan, Breslow couldn't get the deal over the finish line. Now, the rotation and bullpen are marginally deeper but not significantly improved, there still isn't a long-term answer at first base unless Kristian Campbell comes back up to the majors and rebounds, and Connor Wong is still the catcher. This team can still compete for a Wild Card spot, but this was an infuriating failure on Breslow and the Red Sox' part.
Loser: Atlanta Braves
There are numerous reasons why Alex Anthopoulos deserves his flowers, but this trade deadline certainly isn't one of them. While trading the likes of Chris Sale or Ozzie Albies was never realistically on the table for the Braves, it was all too obvious for Atlanta to take virtually whatever they could get for expiring deals like Marcell Ozuna and Raisel Iglesias, if not also guys with two more years of control like Pierce Johnson. But none of them moved. The Braves held onto them, and will now lose them for nothing in the offseason.
It's a year from hell for the Braves, without question, and there's no reason for Anthopoulos to overreact with trades of guys on long-term contracts. At the same time, standing pat to the level that they did at the deadline is a disservice to a still-bright future in Atlanta.
Winner: Seattle Mariners
It might not have been the most active trade deadline for the Mariners, but their two blockbuster moves were exactly what Seattle needs to solidify their place as AL contenders, adding a pair of Diamondbacks expiring contracts and sluggers, Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez, in separate deals.
The question about the Mariners has never been their pitching. They have one of the best young rotations in baseball already, completed with veteran Luis Castillo, and a stalwart bullpen headlined by Andres Munoz in the closer role. Offense outside of Cal Raleigh, however, has been an inconsistency for the M's over the years and what they needed to address. Now, they add another of the league's leaders in home runs in Suarez and a terrific on-base first base option in Naylor. In the thick of the AL Wild Card race, the Mariners did a stellar job of avoiding another flame-out.
Winner: New York Yankees
Man, the New York Yankees weren't just talking a big game when it came to the improvements that this team made at the deadline. Most notably, the Bronx Bombers went out and completely overhauled the bullpen. After the struggles with the likes of Devin Williams, among others, this season, the Yankees let Brian Cashman cook by grabbing David Bednar, Camilo Doval and Jake Bird. They also quietly might've alleviated the Anthony Volpe headache in a deal with the rival Rays for Jose Caballero.
While I'm a bit less enthusiastic about Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario, the whole of the Yankees trade deadline was stellar for a club that's simply not lived up to form of late. This doesn't guarantee they'll catch the Blue Jays in the AL East, but it does feel like it all but locks New York into a playoff spot, which was beginning to feel much less certain in recent weeks.
Loser: St. Louis Cardinals
In a similar vein to the Braves, the St. Louis Cardinals should ultimately be ashamed of themselves. Sure, you were able to trade Ryan Helsley, Phil Maton and Steven Matz on expiring deals, but the returns in each of those trades were a bit lackluster given the pretty lucrative reliever market. I get that the transition from John Mozleiak to Chaim Bloom is going to be about building for the future, but you would hope that higher-level prospects or at least prospects coming to the majors would be involved at some point.
On that same note, the fact that the Cardinals teased tearing it down but were unable to work out deals for the likes of Nolan Arenado or Sonny Gray — not to mention botching the Erick Fedde situation — it's hard to be hopeful for this team as this deadline only confirmed that things are going to get much worse before they get better.
Loser: Chicago Cubs
This isn't to say that Jed Hoyer and the Chicago Cubs fell completely flat at the trade deadline — far from it. Mike Soroka, Andrew Kittredge and Taylor Rogers are all meaningful additions to the pitching staff and Willi Castro is a huge utility addition to the mix, being able to fill in at multiple positions and give the Cubs more flexibility with a quality bat.
At the same time, the Cubs still have to walk away from this and say that they missed the mark at the deadline. A high-end starting pitcher was the top priority just about everywhere you looked and Chicago didn't add anyone of the sort. The rotation still has major questions about its depth, particularly as you look ahead to the postseason, and their race with the Brewers in the Central may have just shifted in the way of Milwaukee as a result.
Winner: New York Mets
Also like the Cubs, the Mets failed to address the need in the rotation, which is sure to upset some fans. However, you have to respect and admire David Stearns' pivot on that front, instead prioritizing substantial bullpen upgrades with Gregory Soto, Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley. Putting that group in front of Edwin Diaz solidifies the back-end in a monster way for the Mets.
Then there's the addition of Cedric Mullins in the outfield. While Mets fans were certainly hoping for a bit more and many understand that there is volatility and risk when it comes to the former Orioles centerfielder, he's still a higher-upside and perhaps even still a more stable option in that spot for New York. For me, they just edge out the Phillies in the NL East arms race to be named as a winner.
Loser: Minnesota Twins
I'm not going to belabor the Twins too much here because I don't want to put fans in Minnesota through much more. But this was a shameless fire sale, dealing 10 players from the 26-man roster in the final day before the trade deadline. It was all to save money to help acclimate a sale, and now this team has been completely gutted — it's hard to see a bright light at the end of the tunnel after a deadline like this.
Winner: Toronto Blue Jays
Remember when I said that the Yankees might still not be able to catch the Blue Jays? That's because Toronto had one helluva deadline in their own right. Adding Shane Bieber to the rotation is the kind of high-upside risk on a guy coming off of Tommy John that you have to love. They gave up a high-end prospect in Khai Stephen to do so, but there's a possibility that Bieber could be around beyond the 2025 season. When you then consider the additions of Seranthony Dominguez and Louis Varland to the bullpen, the Blue Jays just became much more formidable.
They would be an even bigger winner if we's have seen Toronto acquire a meaningful bat, which it seemed like they were sniffing around on, but it's still a heck of a run for one of the hottest teams in baseball to make such meaningful additions to the roster.