The July 31 Trade Deadline is kind of tricky. For teams in playoff contention, it’s time to add a key player or two for the stretch run. If you are out of contention, maybe you put up a “for sale” sign and try to land a player who will help in future years. And if you are on the fence, all you can do is take the temperature of the market and see what side the grass is greener. It’s difficult to judge winners/losers of the Trade Deadline until the October playoffs or maybe even years later. But let’s give it a shot three weeks after the deadline and find the eight “winners”.

Athletics. When your team is on the losing side of games more often not, maybe you don’t need one of the best closers in the game, Mason Miller. The Athletics swung for the fence and traded Miller to San Diego for one of the top prospects in baseball, shortstop Leo De Vries. When De Vries was just 13 years old, scouts raved at his potential. Now 22, he has the power, speed, and rocket arm to be a top five player someday soon. Watch for him in Vegas!

Phillies. Philadelphia has been riding high all year with elite starting pitching and an all-star studded lineup. Their big need was a closer, and they landed one, Jhoan Duran, of the Twins. It was simply a matter of the rich getting richer. Before acquiring Duran, the Phillies’ top closer, Jordan Romano, had only eight saves with a plus 6 ERA. Duran has been putting on a show out of the bullpen since the trade, but suffered a minor injury setback this past weekend.

Mariners. Seattle’s success this season has had a simple recipe – solid pitching, great defense, and a whole lot of Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez. They needed some more punch in the lineup to overtake the Astros in the AL West, and the Mariners’ GM Jerry Dipoto gave them just that! Acquiring two sluggers, Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor, from Arizona in two separate transactions may have provided an AL pennant in Seattle’s immediate future.

Padres. The aforementioned trade for Mason Miller gave the San Diego clubhouse a morale boost, but the club did more than just the headliner. Their three other needs, left field, DH, and catcher, were met in other transactions with the Orioles and the Royals. Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, and Freddy Fermin, not glamorous names but solid performers, are now Padres as well. San Diego has surged in the NL West during the past three weeks, and much of it is the result of the deadline moves.

Cardinals. St. Louis has had a teeter totter 2025. Not many experts gave them much of a chance before the year began, and their early season troubles showed why. The Cardinals though had a good May and June, and found themselves in playoff contention. They came back to earth in July, and probably it was a good thing since they became a deadline seller, the most prominent of which was sending their own closer, Ryan Helsley, to the Mets. They made the second biggest prospect pick up in so doing, landing third baseman, Jesus Baez. Baez has huge power, and Busch Stadium will soon be his launching pad.

Twins. Okay, I know you are questioning my analysis when most deadline lists you may have read suggest Minnesota was a big time July 31 “loser”. Sometimes though, especially when you are a mid-market team, you need to cash in on players you won’t be able to sign and land some future stars. The Twins acquired the top catching prospect on the market, Eduardo Tait, in the Duran deal from the Phillies. Another addition is Mick Abel, a starting pitcher, in that same deal. Look for the battery of Abel and Tait at Target Field very soon!

Reds. Cincinnati is another so called mid-market team, often unwilling to make a bold move to push them across the playoff line. Very quietly, the Reds landed three players at the deadline that may get them the #6 slot in the NL playoff field – Ke’Bryan Hayes, the top defensive third baseman in the game, from Pittsburgh; Miguel Andujar, a slugger from Oakland that gives the team some much needed pop; and Zach Littell, a solid starting pitcher from Tampa who adds to the team’s strength.

Yankees. I hesitate to place New York in a winner’s list, since the team has underperformed over the past three weeks. Their GM, Brian Cashman, has been getting a lot of heat in the New York media over the past five years for not making moves at the deadline. He certainly did this year, as the Yankees landed seven players to add to their big league roster. No huge names though, but solid ones, such as Ryan McMahon from the Rockies and David Bednar from the Pirates.

How did your favorite MLB team do at the deadline?

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach