In 1983, the Cleveland Indians made a trade with the White Sox, sending infielder Jerry Dybzinski to acquire first baseman Pat Tabler. This trade set off a chain of transactions that spanned several years and involved multiple teams and players.
Fast forward to the present day, and we can see that evaluating trades can be a complex task. Some trades have long-lasting effects on teams and can shape their future success.
However, in the context of the Trade Deadline, contenders are focused on immediate improvement. So let’s take a look at which contenders have successfully fulfilled this mission so far.
The Kansas City Royals surprised many with their aggressive approach last offseason, signing seven free agents for over $110 million. Building on this momentum, they continued to make moves at the Trade Deadline.
While some of their deals may have been too aggressive, such as acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Nationals (who is currently injured), they have had better results with other acquisitions. Lucas Erceg has been a valuable late-inning reliever for them, recording eight saves and five holds. Infielder Paul DeJong has also made an instant impact by providing offensive production at third base. Additionally, Michael Lorenzen has been a significant boost to their rotation before his recent hamstring injury.
The Royals also benefited from acquiring outfielder Tommy Pham off waivers from the Cardinals after St. Louis fell out of playoff contention.
Another team that made bold moves at the Trade Deadline is the San Diego Padres under general manager A.J. Preller. While it may take years to fully assess these trades’ repercussions due to depleting their prospect pool for win-now talent, they have certainly amplified their chances of making it to the playoffs this season.
The Padres focused on bolstering their bullpen by adding Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing from the Marlins and Jason Adam from the Rays. These pitchers have performed well since joining San Diego’s roster.
Their best move might be acquiring starter Martín Pérez from Pittsburgh Pirates as he has been impressive in his seven starts for San Diego with a 2-0 record and 2.84 ERA.
The Los Angeles Dodgers invested heavily in their team during last winter but still managed to make impactful moves at the Trade Deadline as well.
They acquired starting pitcher Jack Flaherty from Detroit Tigers in exchange for two prospects.
Flaherty has continued his strong season by going 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA through seven starts.
Additionally,
the Dodgers landed Michael Kopech (White Sox)and Tommy Edman (Cardinals)in another three-team deal.
Kopech has excelled since joining Los Angeles’ bullpen,
posting an impressive 1
00 ERA,
0
67 WHIP,
four saves,
and seven holds in just 18 appearances.
Moving onto Arizona Diamondbacks who addressed one of its biggest needs – bullpen help – by trading for lefty A.J Puk
from Miami Marlins.
Puk’s transition back into relief pitching proved successful as he dominated hitters with an outstanding
0
47 ERA,
six holds,
and
31 strikeouts against only two walks in
19 innings.
Baltimore Orioles also deserve recognition for making impactful trades despite having an uninspiring second half overall.
They acquired Zach Eflin from Tampa Bay Rays who provided stability in rotation posting
5-2 record
with
a stellar
2
22 ERA through his first seven starts.
Philadelphia Phillies president Dave Dombrowski prioritized strengthening his team’s bullpen ahead of October playoffs by trading for Angels closer Carlos Estévez who delivered solid performances so far including five saves.
Houston Astros GM Dana Brown faced criticism when he traded away prospects Jake Bloss Will Wagner Joey Loperfido along with cash considerations to Toronto Blue Jays struggling rental starter Yusei Kikuchi but Kikuchi turned things around after joining Houston Astros posting impressive numbers including being undefeated across eight games started.
These are just some examples of how teams have improved themselves through strategic trades leading up to or during this year’s Trade Deadline.
