The MLB trade deadline is typically a time for optimism, to dream big on the players you've just acquired and the role they might play in a potential World Series run. But several would-be contenders, though, that honeymoon period lasted less than a week.
Of course, any reaction after just a few days inevitably runs the risk of looking foolish in a few weeks' time. But right now, there are several front offices who deserve intense scrutiny for how they handled Monday's deadline — and how the time since has laid bare the flaws that they failed to address on the trade market.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners made exactly one significant addition at the trade deadline, and while Taylor Ward profiled as exactly the sort of righty bat this lineup was crying out for, it's become clear in the ensuing days that Seattle was more than a single player away from turning this season around. The M's have gone just 1-3 in four games since the deadline, scoring exactly five runs over that span.
It's hard to blame Jerry DiPoto for not selling out a team that got within one game of the World Series less than 12 months ago, and for having faith in his very talented core. But that core has been unable to put it together at the same time for any extended period, and they now enter the weekend with five teams standing between them and the final AL Wild Card spot. The American League will hardly ever be as wide-open as it is this season, and it feels like the Mariners missed an opportunity to shake things up in a more profound way — or at least bolster a bullpen that remains hard to rely on.
Chicago White Sox
Arguably no AL contender was more disappointing to me at the trade deadline than Chicago, which led its very winnable division and sure profiled like a legitimate pennant contender but decided to take the cheap route toward hopefully upgrading their pitching staff. Safe to say it hasn't worked: The White Sox have dropped all four games since the deadline, giving up a grand total of 38 runs.
Their lone significant pitching addition, Luis Castillo, gave up five runs over just four innings of work in his White Sox debut earlier in the week. The bullpen remains an issue. The White Sox just called up their two top pitching prospects, Hagen Smith and Tanner McDougal, but where was that urgency when they had the chance to acquire proven MLB talent? Yes, Chicago was ahead of schedule in its rebuild, but sometimes you have to strike while the iron is hot — because you never know when you'll get the chance again.
New York Yankees
The Yankees have split four games since the deadline against the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, but they've done so in a fashion that can't make anybody in the Bronx feel good about this team's title chances moving forward. The offense remains anemic despite the additions of Luis Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos. The bullpen is increasingly threadbare, running the risk of wearing down the few trustworthy options Aaron Boone has like David Bednar and Brent Headrick. Every win feels like pulling teeth right now, and that figures to continue unless and until Aaron Judge finally returns.
All of which was readily apparent before the deadline, and yet Brian Cashman was once again unwilling to push all of his chips in to land the impact bat or relief help this team desperately needs. Top prospect George Lombard Jr. has looked right at home at shortstop since making his MLB debut earlier in the week, but it's hard to compare this team to the Rays and Red Sox and think they have enough in the tank. And that means another year closer to the end of Judge's prime.
Philadelphia Phillies
Locked into an aging core for the rest of the decade and with a bottom-of-the-barrel farm system not getting much better any time soon, the Phillies had as much reason as any contender to throw caution to the wind and go all-in in pursuit of a title. But while Dave Dombrowski paid through the nose for two months of Luis Arraez's services, he stopped short of going all the way, leaving his outfield untouched and a very top-heavy pitching staff still in need of some reinforcements.
That's become all too apparent in the days since, in which the rotation trio that's carried Philly this far has begun to show some cracks in the foundation. It's just a lot to ask of a handful of stars, and Dombrowski had the chance to at least add a No. 4 or 5 starter and a back-end relief arm. Arraez is already paying dividends, but if the Phillies were going to buy this summer, they were better off not settling for half measures, and now they feel a step behind of the true contenders in the NL.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Everyone was all too ready to declare the Dodgers the big winners of the deadline for landing Tarik Skubal, myself very much included. But lost amid all the hubbub is that L.A. ... didn't do a whole lot else to improve its roster, and they've spent the days since showing that this is very much a roster still in need of improvement.
The Dodgers have now lost seven in a row after getting walked off by the D-backs on Friday night. The bullpen remains in flux, while the offense has glaring holes up the middle at catcher and both middle-infield spots (not to mention left and right field, where Teoscar Hernandez and Kyle Tucker continue to underperform). Knowing this franchise, we'll probably get to October wondering how anyone will beat them in a short series. But they came awfully close to losing last fall, and right now this is a team that seems all too beatable.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh's top priority at the deadline was to address its beleaguered bullpen, and just about everybody thought they did so pretty well with deals for Luke Weaver, Lake Bachar, Kirby Yates and Camilo Doval. We may have forgotten about the rest of the team, though — particularly the offense, which has floundered amid the Pirates' four-game losing streak.
This is a group that kept the Bucs afloat while its pitching staff underperformed, but it appears to be running out of gas with guys like Konnor Griffin, Ryan O'Hearn and Oneil Cruz on the IL and Brandon Lowe and Esmerlyn Valdez come back to Earth a bit. I don't blame the Pirates for buying, but it's fair to wonder whether a more well-rounded approach would've better positioned them for a Wild Card push.
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