The MLB trade deadline came and went. While many impact players were dealt, including Eugenio Suarez, Carlos Correa, Jhoan Duran, Mason Miller and more, the story of this deadline was the surprises. FanSided's Robert Murray was in the middle of it all, breaking news and relaying what he could to our team of our experts.
But again, that deadline was eight days ago. Since then, the media has obsessed over what if's and mistakes, rather than what to expect moving forward. That is where we come in. This is our trade deadline moratorium.
Well, we believe in exit velocity, bat flips, launch angles, stealing home, the hanging curveball, Big League Chew, sausage races, and that unwritten rules of any kind are self-indulgent, overrated crap. We believe Greg Maddux was an actual wizard. We believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment protecting minor league baseball and that pitch framing is both an art and a science. We believe in the sweet spot, making WARP not war, letting your closer chase a two-inning save, and we believe love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.
Who won the MLB trade deadline and who lost it?
Eric Cole: It is hard to argue with the Mariners being the clear winners. There were a lot of flashy moves made, but they needed a bat and managed to get the best one available in Eugenio Suarez without giving up any of their top prospects to do it. As for the worst, I am going to say the Twins. Yes, they got real talent back for guys like Jhoan Duran, but selling off a huge chunk of their roster just to make the team easier to sell feels gross.
Zach Rotman: The Mariners are the easy answer. I’d argue they got the two best bats available, and, as Eric said, they didn’t give up any of their top 100 prospects. Adding Caleb Ferguson can’t be overlooked either, with how well he’s pitched this season. As for the worst, I’d go with the Cubs. The Willi Castro addition was a good one, and guys like Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge should help their bullpen, but Michael Soroka was really the lone starting pitcher addition? Even before his injury that strategy looked questionable for a team that should be all-in right now. I get that not many, if any, high-end starters moved, but the Cubs had the assets to convince a team like the Twins or Nationals to part with Joe Ryan or MacKenzie Gore if Jed Hoyer was willing to go all-in. His reluctance to do so could be costly in their only guaranteed year with Kyle Tucker.
Adam Weinrib: Somehow, by doing very little, the Red Sox seem to have won the trade deadline! The Yankees, their closest competition, did a better job than I could’ve imagined filling their holes on the fly and adding high upside and strikeouts to their depleted bullpen. Against all odds, the moves have made them more unwatchable, while Boston’s surge has continued. The Mariners, as noted, have also very much distinguished themselves in the Wild Card race; Josh Naylor might just be this year’s “mid-tier player who swings a postseason based on vibes alone”. I still contend the Pirates lost the deadline; the Twins’ full Instagram grid of Goodbye Posts was jarring, but at least I liked Tait and Abel. I didn’t like anything the Pirates did, including settling for a Rafael Flores-led package from the Yankees for David Bednar.
Chris Landers: To Adam’s point, the Red Sox seem impervious to all baseball logic, so they get a pass despite Craig Breslow’s one pitching addition (Dustin May) already blowing up in his face. Jed Hoyer, however, might not be so lucky, and I’d argue that the Cubs right now stand out as the biggest losers of this trade deadline. It doesn’t help that the Brewers might never lose again, but seriously: How do you have such a clear need in your rotation, plus such a pressing urgency to fill it with only one guaranteed year of Kyle Tucker’s services, and come away with only Michael Soroka? Chicago still has the talent to make this work, but the margin for error is much smaller than it had to be. As for who won it, both the Mariners and Padres stand out – sure, AJ “all gas, no brakes” Preller might live to regret parting ways with Leo de Vries, but this looks like a shockingly complete team right now if Michael King comes back healthy. San Diego has built a true World Series contender, and that’s hard to argue against.
Which team surprised you the most at the MLB trade deadline?
Robert Murray: The Padres. We know that AJ Preller is as aggressive as any executive in baseball, but this? No one expected this. He traded Leo De Vries, one of the best prospects in baseball, and acquired Mason Miller and JP Sears all while filling other holes in the outfield and at catcher. Other teams kept their prospects while Preller went all-in on a World Series. I respect and admire the heck out of it.
Zach Rotman: I’ll go with the Twins. Selling assets made sense, especially in what was a seller’s market, but did anyone really expect them to go close to as far as they did? I expected them to part with one of Jhoan Duran or Griffin Jax, not both of those elite relievers plus essentially their entire bullpen. I liked some of the returns they got, but I am stunned that they gutted essentially half of their active roster.
Eric Cole: The Astros. No one saw the Carlos Correa trade coming and Houston was much more aggressive than we all thought they could be overall given their shallow minor league system. They could have used another starting pitching, but almost no one accomplished that and they checked all the other boxes they needed to with real quality. That said, the Correa trade may not age well.
Adam Weinrib: Astros for me for sure. The Correa deal was a genuine shocker - especially after the man himself basically stared the Minnesota press corps in the face the day before and talked up his love of Minneapolis and their great trout-fishing scene. Who knew Correa was kind of a snake? Learning this now for the first time.
Chris Landers: The Padres going for broke can only ever be so shocking, and everyone has already (correctly) identified the Correa deal as the biggest jaw-dropper of this deadline. So instead I’ll pivot here and pose a question: Are we sure the Dodgers are bullet-proof? Granted, most of the holes on their roster can be filled by their pitchers simply getting healthy over the next few weeks. But that’s always a dangerous thing to rely on, and I was surprised that Andrew Friedman – himself an aggressive deadline operator in years past – chose to largely fiddle on the margins.
Minus Leo De Vries, which prospect dealt at the deadline will have the biggest impact?
Robert Murray: I actually don’t see any prospect this deadline that’ll come back to haunt a team except for De Vries. Maybe that’s a boring answer, but it’s reality. There were hardly any high-end prospects moved this deadline and even one team that moved high-end prospects (Eduardo Tait and Mick Abel), the Phillies got a dominant reliever in Jhoan Duran who will shore up their ninth inning for years to come.
Zach Rotman: Robert hit the nail on the head here - De Vries is the only prospect I think has the potential to go full-on Pete Crow-Armstrong (I’m still a salty Mets fan). With that being said, there’s a lot to like about Mick Abel’s potential. If the Twins can ever get his command down, and that’s definitely a big if, he’s got the stuff to be a frontline arm. The Twins have had success on the rotation front in recent years. It’ll be interesting to see how Abel does in Minnesota.
Eric Cole: I’ll go with Abel here. I don’t think he ends up being a Cy Young candidate (although it could happen!), but I do think the Phillies are getting older. Aaron Nola is on the backside of his career and Zack Wheeler is already hinting he may call it quits once his contract is up after the 2027 season. At some point, Philly has to have some young talent to backfill their roster even with Dombrowski around and Abel might be a stalwart middle-of-the-rotation arm for a decade if he stays healthy.
Adam Weinrib: De Vries and Eduardo Tait! He turns 19 in a matter of weeks. If there’s one criticism we’ve all held for the Phillies’ Citizens Bank Park revival, it’s the lack of preparation for the closing of the window. They essentially have to extend Kyle Schwarber this offseason to give themselves a fighting chance of stopping the curtain from closing. JT Realmuto-to-Tait was the cleanest succession plan, and Tait’s already proving in the mid-minors with Minny that his power is very real. Slugging catchers are hard to find.
Chris Landers: de Vries and Tait are the best answers here, but in the interest of variety, I’ll say Khal Stephen. I don’t have any problem with the Jays betting big on Shane Bieber at the deadline; they needed another starter, and the former Cy Young winner brings genuine frontline upside for far less than what, say, Joe Ryan or Edward Cabrera would’ve cost. But man, Stephen seems like exactly the sort of arm that the Cleveland Guardians specialize in developing, a polished college righty whose command and pitchability offer a high floor and who just needs a bit of a stuff bump to truly take off. The Guardians have been helping pitchers like this find extra velocity for years now, and it would not surprise me in the least if Stephen is a rising star sooner rather than later. Depending on how the rest of this year shakes out for Toronto, that could hurt.
How much did the Padres and other NL contenders close the gap on the Dodgers at the deadline?
Robert Murray: The Padres absolutely closed the gap on the Dodgers. The Brewers didn’t do much, acquiring Shelby Miller from the Diamondbacks. But their early season additions of Andrew Vaughn and Quinn Priester have proven masterful and have Milwaukee squarely in the World Series mix. So it’s not just the Dodgers in the National League. They have competition.
Zach Rotman: I think that the Padres and Mets were the two NL contenders to seriously close the gap on the Dodgers at the deadline. I wouldn’t have given up De Vries for Mason Miller, but there’s no disputing that acquiring him makes San Diego even tougher in 2025. The Mets parted with a ton of intriguing pieces for rentals, but they built one of the best bullpens in baseball while also filling a hole in center field in the process. Both the Padres and Mets have questions that must be answered in the rotation and lineup, but the Dodgers won it all last season with a lethal bullpen playing a substantial role. If the Mets or Padres lead after five or six innings, they should feel good about winning any given game. The Dodgers are the favorites, and teams like the Cubs and Brewers can’t be ignored, but it would not be shocking to see the Mets or Padres find their way in the Fall Classic.
Eric Cole: I think the Padres made some very obvious headway and look as dangerous as anyone heading into the second half. With all of the Dodgers injuries, they should be spooked by what is going on in San Diego. As for the Mets, I don’t really buy them. They added Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers which does make their bullpen better, but I don’t think the current version of Cedric Mullins moves the needle and that is still a flawed roster.
Adam Weinrib: The Padres are the only team I feel genuinely took a leap closer to LA, though a late lead feels safer for Philly if they manage to grab one. The Brewers, aka the first team to 70 wins, have some serious devil magic going right now, and apparently can prosper no matter who they’re plugging in. I expect greatness from Shelby Miller, as well as an injured Jordan Montgomery, who can’t even physically pitch. Did you know Andrew Vaughn has done all this in just 22 games?!
Chris Landers: Maybe I gave myself away a bit by listing the Dodgers as my biggest surprise, but I would be genuinely worried about the Padres if I were L.A. right now. If they just get enough from King, Nick Pivetta and Yu Darvish, San Diego could be terrifying to face come October. If there’s a silver lining here for the Dodgers, it’s that none of the other major NL contenders really did all that much: The Mets’ bullpen got better, but there are still real questions about the rotation and the lineup; the Cubs and Brewers largely stood pat; and the Phillies, while Jhoan Duran certainly helps, didn’t do much to address depth concerns. I’d still consider the Dodgers the favorites right now, but they’re another injury or two away from potentially losing that label.
Which player wasn’t dealt at the MLB trade deadline, but should be this offseason?
Robert Murray: Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins. Trading Alcantara now would have been the Marlins selling low on a star right-hander coming off an injury. They set the price very high, as they should, and no team came close to matching that. If Alcantara finishes the season strong, then he becomes an obvious trade candidate in the offseason for Miami, who can have Edward Cabrera, Eury Perez and others step into more prominent positions.
Zach Rotman: I’ll go with Joe Ryan. I think trading him would be yet another gut punch to a Twins fan base that deserves to have a pitcher of his caliber on their roster after what they just witnessed at the deadline, but it’s abundantly clear that the team won’t be in contention during his additional two years of club control. If winning during Ryan’s remaining arbitration years isn’t in the cards, given the unlikelihood that he sticks around as a free agent, why not trade him now? I mean, the Twins got a fairly substantial haul for Duran, a reliever, and can get a whole lot more than what they got in that deal for Ryan, a bona fide ace. It wouldn’t be a fun move for Twins fans, but if you’re going to go as far as you did at the deadline, why stop now? Capitalize on Ryan’s absurd value and get a franchise-altering haul.
Eric Cole: I can respect not wanting to sell low on Alcantara at the deadline, but I am not sure his market will improve this offseason unless he starts pitching better. At this point, Minnesota kind of has to trade Joe Ryan, though, as their trade deadline moves effectively closed their window of contention for his arbitration years anyways.
Adam Weinrib: Joe Ryan, and the one oddity is just how much the Red Sox telegraphed their interest. Shouldn’t the Yankees get involved this offseason, at least for show? Don’t make it easy on them.
Chris Landers: Alcantara and Ryan are great answers to this question, but there’s another star right-hander I’d like to nominate: Freddy Peralta. He’s about to enter his walk year in 2026, and we know how much Milwaukee loves to be one year ahead of moving on from players who figure to cost a hefty amount on the open market. Plus, this organization has no shortage of young pitching depth with which they can backfill Peralta’s spot in the rotation (and it helps that Jacob Misiorowksi now looks like a future Cy Young winner).
Roundtable! Share one article you wrote this week
Eric Cole: I broke down the prospects that were on the move at the trade deadline as well as a couple I was surprised didn’t get traded. Make sure you keep an eye on the Baseball Insiders feed as there is always something fun getting dropped in there.
Adam Weinrib: We spoke to so many incredible people at The National. Here’s an interview with Dennis Eckersley - follow that YouTube video to the channel to find so many more.
Chris Landers: It was a very cathartic experience for me to write about the debacle that was the Speedway Classic and why it’s everything wrong with Rob Manfred’s stewardship of the game. Tl;dr: The players have zero reason to trust that this man has their best interests at heart when he comes calling about why they should be making less money, and that may well result in a lockout in 2027.
Robert and Adam's favorite moments from the National Sports Card Convention
Robert Murray: It was insane. The overall number of people at this event, both selling cards and buying them, far exceeded my expectations. The athletes were kind and generous with their time. But what I learned the most from this was the amount of money and people involved in the sports card industry. It’s massive.
Adam Weinrib: There’s a hilarious thing that happens at The National where you can easily spend only $40-$50 rifling through discount bins and find so many gems that make you, personally, happy. You can also easily spend $45,000 on seven jaw-dropping items (we saw a case of Ichiro rookie cards that had been signed retroactively and graded for thousands a piece). It’s much harder to spend, like, $200 on mid-tier bangers. But I did it! Went in with a budget of $150, left with a few PC items for my Hall of Fame autograph collection (Willie Stargell, Ozzie Smith), and only blew past it by $14. They’ve got to make the food options more accessible next year, though. It was like finding needles in a haystack, except all the haystacks were covered in Ringo Starr-signed artwork.
MLB trade deadline notes: Deals that almost happened
- The Mariners tried for Jhoan Duran and at one point, I thought the star right-hander was going to Seattle. Instead, the Mariners got Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, and look like one of the best teams in the American League.
- The Brewers showed interest in both Eugenio Suarez and Ryan O'Hearn. They got neither player, of course, but Milwaukee was serious about trying to add a slugger this deadline as they fight to get to the World Series.