Despite being almost a week removed from the MLB trade deadline already, the dust is still far from settled. We've yet to see Tarik Skubal be a dominant force for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Adley Rutschman just began his rehab assignment with the Boston Red Sox organization, and there are still two months of the regular season for other additions to make an impact. But there are also the trades that never happened that still ring loudly.
Whether we're talking about the Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, Milwaukee Brewers or someone else, the rumors about the MLB trade deadline are still quite telling now that the deadline has passed.
Braves tried (and failed) to land Logan Webb at the trade deadline
In the immediate wake of the trade deadline, Atlanta Braves fans discovered, for better or worse, that the team's tepid set of moves at the deadline was largely due to the fact that Texas Rangers star Jacob deGrom wouldn't waive his no-trade clause to come to the Braves. However, that wasn't the only big name that Alex Anthopoulos had his eye on as he reportedly tried to pry Logan Webb away from the San Francisco Giants.
The Braves were "among the teams" that tried to get the Giants to move the All-Star right-hander at the deadline, according to USA Today insider Bob Nightengale, but San Francisco wasn't particularly willing to move Webb given that he still has two years left on his contract after this season.
While it might provide some solace to Braves fans that Anthopoulos didn't have total tunnel vision when it came to upgrading the starting pitching that's been ravaged by injuries this season, it doesn't totally quell those concerns. The team's only move ended up being adding veteran Tyler Mahle, which is far from a high-impact acquisition that fans felt like they were promised.
It seems as if Anthopoulos didn't believe there were any meaningful upgrades to be made if it wasn't a trade for deGrom or Mahle. That feels like a complete miscalculation on the part of the Braves front office, though. Atlanta still maintains a hefty lead in the AL East, but they've also been quite mediocre overall entering the stretch run and even leading up to the trade deadline. If they continue that level of performance into the postseason, the trade deadline will be used as fodder against Anthopoulos and Co. as for why they fell short.
Red Sox couldn't get Reds to budge on Elly De La Cruz trade
The Boston Red Sox traded for arguably the biggest bat that was moved at the deadline, acquiring Adley Rutschman in an in-division blockbuster with the Baltimore Orioles. However, it appears that Craig Breslow was trying to make an even bigger deal happen in the team's widely reported pursuit of a shortstop. Namely, the Red Sox were trying to bring star shortstop Elly De La Cruz to Boston.
According to insider Bob Nightengale for USA Today, the Red Sox "tried to convince" the Reds to deal De La Cruz at the deadline, though he also reported that the deal never got close to getting across the finish line. That's not wholly surprising on the part of Cincinnati, but it does seem real on Boston's side that they were swinging for the proverbial fences.
One does have to wonder about the timeline on this, if the Red Sox' offers included some of the prospects like Anthony Eyanson or Kyson Witherspoon that were moved in the Rutschman trade. At the same time, the more interesting question is if this was simply Breslow laying the groundwork for another pursuit of De La Cruz in the offseason.
The looming potential lockout could obviously complicate things, but we've seen Breslow and the Red Sox work in this manner before. They inquired about Garrett Crochet with the White Sox before the trade deadline in 2024, but waited until the offseason to eventually work out the blockbuster trade. Maybe that's the playbook we'll see back in play this offseason as Boston seems ready to move on from Trevor Story, though the rapid ascension of top prospect Franklin Arias further complicates the calculus there.
De La Cruz has three years of club control remaining after this season while the Reds have not yet been able to get to the right number on an extension for their superstar shortstop.
Mariners were in pursuit of Zach Neto
Los Angeles Angels shortstop Zach Neto ultimately stayed put at the trade deadline, despite wide reports that various teams were inquiring about his services with the Halos, once again, selling. The Red Sox were maybe the most often discussed possible suitor, but it seems that the Seattle Mariners were also one of the teams who made contact with the Angels, which is quite intriguing because of their process behind it.
Because J.P. Crawford is an impending free agent and Colt Emerson can play either shortstop or third base, the Mariners were reportedly dipping their toes in the water with Neto as a potential contingency plan moving forward, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported. It's worth noting that conversations reportedly never included names, but the Mariners' interest itself is notable.
Seattle was clearly in search of offensive upgrades, as they were willing to deal from their pitching surplus. They traded away veteran Luis Castillo and were long rumored to at least listen on the likes of George Kirby and Emerson Hancock. Those players stayed put, but the look at Neto tells us they were open to a number of options to improve the roster now and long term in order to contend.
Much like Boston with De La Cruz, one has to wonder if this is a conversation the Mariners and Angels could resume in the offseason. That's especially true if Crawford eventually signs elsewhere, at which time Seattle could reopen conversations with Los Angeles and maybe even exchange names this time around.
Tigers drawing criticism for Tarik Skubal trade process
It was said the moment that the Los Angeles Dodgers mainfested the long-destined trade for Tarik Skubal, but the Detroit Tigers continue to draw criticism for their process in this. But more so than the Tigers trading him to the "villainous" Dodgers is the fact that they did so two days before the trade deadline — and potentially hurt themselves in the process.
We know that teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and Atlanta Braves were involved in the Skubal trade sweepstakes, but Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that rival executives still don't understand the Tigers' timing. The belief is that Detroit could've either gotten more from the Dodgers or from the Brewers as well, who were seen as the two most likely suitors when it got down to crunch time.
There are also those who have criticized the Tigers for trading Skubal and Casey Mize because of the weak American League and AL Central. I'd contend that they made the right pivot there. But on the timing front, that criticism is warranted. There was no need to make that deal two days before the actual deadline. The deal they took from LA seemed like it was going to be there no matter what, so it makes no sense to just forego any more potential leverage in the situation just to get the deal done.
That's not to say that the Tigers got a poor return from the Dodgers. But it is to say that they could've gotten more, or at least tried to. The fact that they didn't even make that attempt simply isn't the right process in the business at the trade deadline.
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