2022 MLB Trade Deadline: Winners and losers from this year's deadline madness
After the action took a little while to get going, the floodgates burst and the transactions have been coming in one after another after another ever since.
Some of baseball's biggest names are now switching uniforms including Juan Soto, Trey Mancini, Tyler Mahle, Luis Castillo, Josh Hader, Whit Merrifield, Noah Syndergaard, Raisel Iglesias, Brandon Drury, David Peralta, Michael Fulmer, Harrison Bader, Jorge López, José Quintana, Christian Vázquez and Frankie Montas.
Lost in the shuffle was the absolutely gigantic contract extension the Braves signed Austin Riley to as well as utilityman Jonathan Villar finding a new home in Seattle.
While a slew of big names were on the move at this year's deadline, there were also some players who surprisingly stayed put when it was widely expected that they would indeed be on the move. This includes Willson Contreras, David Bednar, Carlos Rodón, Ian Happ, Madison Bumgarner, Jordan Lyles, J.D. Martinez, Nate Eovaldi, Michael A. Taylor, Scott Barlow and Pablo López to name a few.
As one of the crazier deadlines in recent memory comes to a close, it's time to take a (very) early look at some of the winners and losers once all is said and done.
MLB trade deadline winners
San Diego Padres
I mean, duh. The San Diego Padres pulled off what could be classified as the No. 1 best trade deadline by a single club in MLB history.
Not only did the Padres land Juan Soto, one of the greatest talents of this generation, but they also managed to land Josh Bell, Josh Hader and Brandon Drury, all while unloading Luke Voit and Eric Hosmer's contracts along the way.
Now of course, the Padres lost a ton of prospect talent in these deals, but as they say, any team acquiring a superstar-level player of Soto's stature automatically wins the deal, which in this case is 100% accurate.
Soto and Bell will immediately slot into right field and first base for the Friars while Drury is likely to function as an oft-used super utilityman as he has for the Reds throughout his 2022 breakout campaign.
In Hader, the Padres managed to bring aboard the best closer in baseball without giving up any huge prospect capital. This deal ended up being crucial for the club as the prospects it held on to in the Hader trade ended up being flipped to Washington D.C. for Soto and Bell.
New York Yankees
New York Yankees fans are absolutely allowed to say that their team would fit better in the losers category than the winners. The Bronx Bombers had their sights set on nearly every big name available, including Juan Soto, Trey Mancini, Brandon Drury, Luis Castillo and David Peralta, but came away with none of them.
Instead, the Yanks filled nearly every single hole they had on their active roster by making some quietly solid moves. Not only did Brian Cashman and Co. manage to unload Joey Gallo, but he essentially replaced him with Andrew Benintendi in the outfield.
Additionally, Frankie Montas, one of the best available starting pitchers, was brought aboard to join an already stacked rotation. Lou Trivino joined Montas in the deal from Oakland while the Yankees also brought aboard a quietly dominant reliever from the Cubs in submariner Scott Effross.
The significance of these bigger deals New York made is highlighted by the fact that top position player prospects Oswald Peraza and Anthony Volpe were not lost along the way. Any deal involving Soto would've certainly cost the Yankees one or even both of the players, so ultimately the Yankees might've done well by choosing to hang on to the pair of young studs in the making.
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies entered deadline season with a few goals in mind: starting pitching help, bullpen help and center field help. Here we are after all is said and done and the Phills landed Noah Syndergaard, center fielder Brandon Marsh from the Angels and closer David Robertson from the Cubs.
The addition of Syndergaard shores up a rotation that's endured both injures and subpar performances for the Phillies this year. 'Thor' is playing on a one-year 'prove it' contract that he signed with the Angels back in this past offseason. In 15 starts for LAA, Syndergaard is 5-8 with a 3.83 ERA and 3.95 FIP. His strikeout numbers are down from his previous marks (7.2 SO/9 rate against 9.2 back in 2019) but he has been effective in limiting the longball and walks this season.
Marsh represents an immediate upgrade in the outfield over the combination of Roman Quinn (who is now a member of the Rays) and Odúbel Herrera (who was designated for assignment in favor of Marsh). The 24-year-old outfielder comes with a ton of team control as he isn't set to hit free agency until 2028, has considerable speed on the basepaths and in the outfield, and is a very slick fielder.
The acquisition of Robertson could prove to be a huge one for the Phillies, who have desperately needed help in their bullpen. 'D-Rob' is playing on a cheap, one-year deal and posted 14 saves for the Cubs in 36 appearances before the deal. He has a 2.23 ERA and has struck out 51 batters in 40 innings on the year. This will be the second go-round for Robertson in a Phillies uniform, as he spent a brief amount of time with the club back in 2019.
MLB trade deadline losers
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers came into this year's deadline with higher expectations than most. The roster had some clear immediate holes to fill on the trade front and none of them were filled.
Instead, otherworldly closer Josh Hader was sent to the Padres in exchange for two major-league pitchers, a left-handed starting pitching prospect and a speedy outfield prospect. While that trade didn't necessarily represent an utter failure on the Brewers' behalf, the fact that this was one of the only moves made is what makes the deadline a loss for Milwaukee.
This is without mentioning the minor trade the club made with the Texas Rangers that sent reliever Matt Bush from Arlington to Milwaukee. Bush has been a solid reliever for the Rangers but is 36 years old and cost the Brewers a low-end utilityman (Mark Mathias) and a solid left-handed pitching prospect (Antoine Kelly). That deal looks like a loss for the Crew at first glance, as does the deal Milwaukee made with the Giants that saw Trevor Rosenthal go from SF to MIL in exchange for highly-touted outfield prospect Tristan Peters.
Perhaps most frustrating for Brewers fans is the fact that each of Ian Happ, Josh Bell, Trey Mancini, J.D. Martinez, Brandon Drury, Joey Gallo and José Quintana were all on the team's radar heading into the deadline with none of them coming over to Milwaukee.
Chicago Cubs
How in the world did the trade deadline pass with both Ian Happ and Willson Contreras sticking with the Cubs? The short answer: I have absolutely no idea.
While the Cubbies did trade away Chris Martin, David Robertson and Mychal Givens, two of the three aging relievers netted much of a return. The only return of any value was utilityman Zach McKinstry, who is a very solid player who never got much of a chance with the Dodgers before the trade.
In Contreras and Happ, the rumored suitors were certainly there. Contreras had drawn considerable interest from the Mets, Astros, Giants, Yankees and Rays, among others, but the club could not seem to find the deal they wanted for him. Contreras is a free agent at season's end and Chicago is not likely to bring him back once he reaches free agency.
Instead, the Cubs are banking on the pick they'll land by losing him to free agency warranting more of a return than a potential trade would have.
Happ is another player that had a ton of potential suitors. The Phillies, Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Brewers and Blue Jays all were reportedly keeping an eye on him as the deadline neared. The switch-hitting outfielder has looked great for the Cubs this season, making his first-career All-Star Game along the way, which should've made his value skyrocket.
Instead, Happ will remain on the Cubs, at least for now. His value is sky-high right now as he has another year of team control attached to him as well. Perhaps the Cubs will revisit trade talks in the offseason.
New York Mets
Outside of the city of Milwaukee, I have a hard time believing any fanbase is more disappointed with their club than the Mets' fans.
Owner Steve Cohen vowed to do whatever he possibly could to have a very active deadline, only to make four minor moves, landing Daniel Vogelbach, Mychal Givens, Darin Ruf and Tyler Naquin along the way.
The Mets have plenty of spots on their roster in need of an upgrade, including catcher, left field and the bullpen, where Givens is an upgrade over some of the current names but not enough to push the Mets into contention.
Vogelbach has been a trusty bat for the club since his acquisition, going 6-for-18 (good for a .333 batting average) in seven games. He will likely be a solid platoon partner with Ruf at first base and designated hitter down the line.
Naquin is 1-for-9 to start his Mets career and has largely struggled this season with both the Reds and Mets after a very strong showing in 2021 for Cincinnati. He has the potential to be a starting outfielder when he's on, but this year has been a disaster for him. For now, he will remain a bench bat/fourth outfielder.
At different points, the Mets were in on all of Juan Soto, Trey Mancini, Willson Contreras, Ian Happ, Nelson Cruz, Michael Fulmer, Josh Bell and Andrew Benintendi. For a team that has consistently shown a willingness to aggressively spend and upgrade the team by any means necessary, it's hard to believe that they ended up with just Vogelbach, Naquin, Givens and Ruf.