In the hours leading up to last year’s trade deadline, the New York Yankees traded for veteran reliever Enyel De Los Santos. They put him on waivers three weeks later. The Los Angeles Dodgers made a deal for utility man Amed Rosario, then gave him only 11 at-bats. The Milwaukee Brewers traded for lefty Tyler Jay and pitched him twice.
Nearly 70 trades were completed in the run-up to last July’s deadline, and although some were career-changing and franchise-altering — Randy Arozarena leaving Tampa Bay, Tommy Edman and Jack Flaherty going to L.A. to win a championship — most were about as memorable as the saga of reliever Mike Baumann, who was traded in May, sold in July, sold again in July, and claimed off waivers in August. The five teams he played for combined to appear in two playoff games and win none of them.
Although the trade deadline is among the most anticipated benchmarks of every season, not every deadline deal is worth remembering — or even noticing — and most can be fully evaluated only with the benefit of hindsight. It often takes a while to reach a final verdict.
Today, we’re looking back at some of the notable deals from last year’s trade deadline. A few had real consequences in the short term, some are still reverberating today, and many you will have completely forgotten about by tomorrow — if you ever remembered them in the first place.
The cost of a championship
As last year’s trade deadline approached, the Dodgers had a considerable lead in the National League West, but they also had considerable depth issues up the middle and on the pitching staff. They addressed those problems in ways big and small.
- July 29: Dodgers acquire INF/OF Tommy Edman, RHP Michael Kopech and RHP Oliver Gonzalez in a three-team deal with the Cardinals (RHP Erick Fedde and OF Tommy Pham) and White Sox (INF Miguel Vargas, INF Jeral Pérez and INF Alexander Albertus)
- July 29: Dodgers acquire INF Amed Rosario from the Rays for RHP Michael Flynn
- July 30: Dodgers acquire OF Kevin Kiermaier from the Blue Jays for LHP Ryan Yarbrough
- July 30: Dodgers acquire RHP Jack Flaherty from the Tigers for C Thayron Liranzo and SS Trey Sweeney
Rosario lasted less than three weeks on the roster, and Kiermaier was a regular less than a month before moving to the bench, but Edman, Kopech and Flaherty were game-changers.
Edman needed some time to get healthy, but he became the team’s primary center fielder before moving mostly to shortstop in the playoffs (because Miguel Rojas was hurt). Kopech was a dominant reliever down the stretch and pitched 10 times in the postseason, including once as an opener. Flaherty — the last blockbuster just before the deadline — became the team’s ace, starting Game 1 of the NLCS and World Series (he pitched well enough in those series openers to help make up for falling flat in other postseason starts).
The impact was a championship. The cost, so far, has been minimal. Sweeney was called up by the Tigers late last year and became their everyday shortstop for a stunning postseason run, but he’s been optioned back to Triple-A this season. Vargas has been a roughly league-average hitter for the White Sox. Edman and Kopech, meanwhile, are back with the Dodgers, Edman having signed a five-year extension in November.
Finishing touches on postseason runs
Jazz Chisholm proved to be exactly what the Yankees needed. (Evan Yu / MLB Photos via Getty Images)
The most surprising playoff team of 2024 actually sold at the deadline. The Detroit Tigers were seemingly out of contention when they sent Flaherty to the Dodgers, but they surged into the postseason — and within a win of the ALCS — in part because Sweeney, acquired in the Flaherty deal, became their shortstop. Other playoff runs came in part because of actual trade deadline investments.
- July 27: Mets acquire OF Jesse Winker from the Nationals for minor league RHP Tyler Stuart
- July 27: Yankees acquire INF Jazz Chisholm from the Marlins for C Agustin Ramirez and minor league INFs Abrahan Ramirez and Jared Serna
- July 29: Royals acquire RHP Michael Lorenzen from the Rangers for LHP Walter Pennington
- July 30: Royals acquire RHP Lucas Erceg from the A’s for RHP Will Klein, minor league RHP Mason Barnett and minor league OF Jared Dickey
The Yankees got to the World Series after acquiring Chisholm to solve their revolving door at third base (his OPS jumped almost 100 points after the trade). The Mets made a surprising run to the NLCS with help from a series of smaller additions. Winker became a crucial left-handed bat (especially in the playoffs), but the Mets also purchased Phil Maton from the Rays and traded for Ryne Stanek from the Mariners. Those two combined to make 13 playoff appearances. The Mets also traded for A’s veteran Paul Blackburn, who was less effective as a depth starter.
More interesting as trade deadline buyers were the Royals. In third place, with playoff odds hovering around 50 percent, the Royals made an early move for Nationals reliever Hunter Harvey, then further supplemented at the deadline by trading for starter Lorenzen, reliever Erceg, and White Sox infielder Paul DeJong. Lorenzen (1.57 ERA in seven games, six starts) and Erceg (more than 10 strikeouts for every walk and 11 late-season saves) were especially effective in getting the Royals into the playoffs for the first time in nine years, and then past the favored Baltimore Orioles in the wild-card round.
Lingering impact
There are other examples, but here we’ll list five deadline deals from which the buyers didn’t get the intended impact. At least not right away.
- July 26: Mariners acquire OF Randy Arozarena from the Rays for OF Aidan Smith, RHP Brody Hopkins and RHP Ty Cummings
- July 27: Brewers acquire RHP Nick Mears from the Rockies for RHP Bradley Blalock and minor league RHP Yujanyer Herrera
- July 28: Padres acquire RHP Jason Adam from the Rays for OF Homer Bush, C J.D. Gonzalez and RHP Dylan Lesko
- July 28: Cubs acquire 3B Isaac Paredes from the Rays for 3B/OF Christopher Morel, RHP Hunter Biggie and RHP Ty Johnson
- July 30: Phillies acquire LHP Tanner Banks from the White Sox for INF William Bergolla
Only three of these teams made the playoffs in 2024 (the Brewers, Padres and Phillies), and only one actually won a playoff series (the Padres), But a year later, all five are back in the hunt with some lasting impact from these deadline deals. Mears, Adam and Banks have stuck around to become important bullpen pieces for the Brewers, Padres and Phillies (Mears, in particular, was pretty awful in the second half of last season, but he’s been great this year). Arozarena, too, has struck around as the Mariners take another shot at the postseason. They missed last year, but they’re back in the hunt this season, and Arozarena’s been one of their best players.
Then there’s the Paredes trade. The Cubs didn’t get much out of him (.633 OPS in 52 games) and missed the playoffs, but they included him in their offseason blockbuster trade for star right fielder Kyle Tucker, who’s helped the team take control of the NL Central this season.
Moves that kinda worked
Yusei Kikuchi delivered for the Astros after the trade deadline. (Thomas Shea / Imagn Images)
What’s the definition of a good trade? Does it depend on the player acquired, or the impact it has on the team’s championship ambition? These trades can be evaluated differently depending on where you set the goalposts.
- July 25: Diamondbacks acquired LHP A.J. Puk from the Marlins for INF Deyvison De Los Santos and OF Andrew Pintar
- July 27: Phillies acquired RHP Carlos Estevez from the Angels for LHP Samuel Aldegheri and minor league RHP George Klassen
- July 29: Astros acquired LHP Yusei Kikuchi from the Blue Jays for INF Will Wagner, OF Joey Loperfido and RHP Jake Bloss
- July 29: Braves acquired OF Jorge Soler and RHP Luke Jackson from the Giants for LHP Tyler Matzek and minor league INF Sabin Ceballos
- July 29: Mariners acquired 1B/DH Justin Turner from the Blue Jays for minor league OF RJ Schreck
- July 29: Brewers acquired RHP Frankie Montas from the Reds for RHP Jakob Junis and OF Joey Wiemer
- July 30: Giants acquired 1B/OF Mark Canha from the Tigers for RHP Eric Silva
- July 30: Padres acquired LHP Martín Pérez from the Pirates for minor league LHP Ronaldys Jimenez.
- July 30: Diamondbacks acquired 1B Josh Bell from the Marlins for cash
Look at the post-trade numbers for these guys. Generally speaking, the key pieces were pretty good after the fact. The Astros took a lot of heat for trading for Kikuchi (who had a 4.71 ERA at the time), but he was awesome for Houston, making 10 starts with a 2.70 ERA. Soler gave the Braves an offensive jolt, Pérez made 10 pretty good starts for the Padres, Canha got on base at a good clip for the Giants, Puk was dominant for the Diamondbacks, Bell helped fill a void when Christian Walker was hurt, and both Montas and Junis were better after the trade than before.
But the end results were… not much. The Astros were swept out of the playoffs before Kikuchi got into a game, Pérez also didn’t pitch in the postseason (Montas did, but in a loss), the Giants didn’t have a ton of at-bats for Canha, and none of the Mariners, Diamondbacks or Giants even made the postseason. The Astros can sleep a little easier knowing none of the guys they gave up in the Kikuchi deal has done much for the Blue Jays this year, but there are multiple years of team control for that to change.
It pays to sell
It’s more fun to buy at the deadline, but it’s occasionally more useful to sell. Trade deadline deals often take years to pay dividends for the selling team, but some of last year’s trades are already making a difference.
- July 27: Blue Jays trade C Danny Jansen to the Red Sox for INF Eddinson Paulino, INF Cutter Coffey, and RHP Gilberto Batista
- July 28: Tigers trade C Carson Kelly to the Rangers for C Liam Hicks and RHP Tyler Owens
- July 29: Nationals trade OF Lane Thomas to the Guardians for INF José Tena, LHP Alex Clemmey, and INF Rafael Ramirez Jr.
- July 29: Blue Jays trade DH/1B Justin Turner to the Mariners for OF RJ Schreck
- July 30: Angels trade RHP Luis Garcia to the Red Sox for 1B Niko Kavadas, INF/OF Matthew Lugo, RHP Ryan Zeferjahn and RHP Yeferson Vargas
- July 30: Marlins trade LHP Trevor Rogers to the Orioles for OF Kyle Stowers and INF Connor Norby
- July 30: Marlins trade LHP Tanner Scott to the Padres for LHP Robby Snelling, RHP Adam Mazur, INF Graham Pauley and INF Jay Beshears
One year removed from his 2023 breakout, Thomas was having a good-not-great season when the offense-needy Guardians traded for him to be their new center fielder. He’s been replacement-level or below ever since. Thomas did hit a big Guardians home run last postseason, but he’s otherwise struggled offensively and with injuries. The Nationals sold when he still had some value, and Tena became their regular third baseman until prospect Brady House made his debut last month. The other prospects in the deal are still extremely young, but Clemmey has a lot of strikeouts as a teenager in A ball. Schreck, acquired by the Blue Jays in the Turner deal, also has yet to reach the big leagues, but he’s having a good offensive season in the upper minors, suggesting he could be close (Turner hit pretty well after the trade, but did not get the Mariners into the playoffs and became a free agent).
The Marlins ultimately could be among the big winners of last year’s deadline. In return for Rogers — who’s been basically a depth starter for the Orioles — the Marlins got Stowers, who’s been one of their few bright spots and still has four years of team control remaining. Norby has been the Marlins’ primary third baseman, while Snelling and Mazur are two of their top 11 prospects according to Keith Law. Hicks — acquired by the Tigers in the Kelly trade — went to the Marlins in the Rule 5 draft and has been pretty good as a semi-regular catcher, first baseman and DH. (The other piece of that Kelly deal, Owens, made his big league debut this season and threw a scoreless inning in each of his first two Tigers appearances.)
Nothing about the Red Sox’s 2024 trade deadline worked. Kavadas, Lugo and Zeferjahn have been little more than up-and-down role players for the Angels — though Zeferjahn could have some staying power — but the Red Sox got next to nothing from any of their deadline rentals. Garcia had an 8.22 ERA, Lucas Sims had a 6.43, James Paxton got hurt after three starts, and Jansen hit .188 with three extra-base hits. The Red Sox didn’t give up a ton to get any of them (though the minor leaguers in the Jansen deal are having decent seasons), but they didn’t get much in return, either, and they missed the playoffs.
Back on the block
Some of last year’s deals might be primed for a do-over, especially if some key pitchers can get healthy in the next few weeks.
- July 13: Royals acquire RHP Hunter Harvey from the Nationals for INF Cayden Wallace and a draft pick
- July 26: Orioles acquire RHP Zach Eflin from the Rays for INF/OF Mac Horvath, OF Matthew Etzel and RHP Jackson Baumeister
- July 26: Orioles acquire RHP Seranthony Dominguez and OF Cristian Pache from the Phillies for OF Austin Hays
- July 30: Orioles acquire LHP Gregory Soto from the Phillies for RHP Seth Johnson and RHP Moisés Chace
- July 30: Pirates acquire INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa from the Blue Jays for INF Charles McAdoo
The Orioles made moves at the 2024 deadline assuming they’d remain in contention in 2025. Instead, they were swept in the wild-card round last season, and they’ve been among the most disappointing teams in baseball this season. That means two of the relievers they acquired a year ago — pending free agents Dominguez and Soto — could be trade bait again. It would make sense to trade Eflin, too (he’s also about to be a free agent), but Eflin got hurt late last month, and even before the injury, he was performing far worse this season than last season, leaving little hope that the Orioles could recoup what they gave up.
Harvey, too, has been hurt while the Royals, too, have underperformed. Harvey could be another trade chip if he can get back on the mound in the next few weeks. Kiner-Falefa is providing his usual defense for the Pirates and reportedly is already generating trade interest. Two pitchers acquired at last year’s trade deadline — veteran Aaron Civale by the Brewers and young Quinn Priester by the Red Sox —already have been traded again this year.
(Top photo of Flaherty: Harry How / Getty Images)
