Winners, losers and one mystery from MLB trade deadline
The San Diego Padres are the most exciting team in baseball, and they just became a whole lot better. They added an ace in Mike Clevinger in a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Indians that makes them stronger now and in the future. They also added catchers Austin Nola and Jason Castro, first baseman/DH Mitch Moreland and a handful of others.
It's clear the second-place Padres are all-in right now, but they also held on to their top three prospects at the deadline, too. That's a win-win for San Diego.
The injury bug once again has taken one giants bite(s) out of the New York Yankees. The Yanks have seen star after star go down to injury, and currently sit second in the AL East.
But the Toronto Blue Jays are on their heels and were busy at the deadline, making multiple moves, including starting pitchers Taijuan Walker, Robbie Ray and Ross Stripling. New York badly needs help in the rotation and didn't get any before the deadline this year. There's no doubt they will be dangerous if they make the playoffs, but the Yankees really could have used another arm ... or three.
The Miami Marlins both bought and sold Monday before the deadline. They added outfielder Starling Marte from the Arizona Diamondbacks, but also traded infielder Jonathan Villar to the Blue Jays.
Miami is the most surprising team this season, right in the thick of the playoff race. The focus still should be the future, however, and the Marlins addressed that in Marte and trading Villar. Marte, who's hitting .311 this season, is under contract through next season. In their Villar deal, the Marlins received Griffin Conine, who was a second-round draft pick last year and hit 22 home runs in High-A. Derek Jeter's Marlins are starting to look like a competent franchise.
Lance Lynn and Joey Gallo are staying put for the next month to play in the Texas Rangers' nine-figure warehouse. Lynn and Gallo were two of the hottest names on trade market, but the Rangers' wishlist reportedly was too much.
The Rangers entered Monday tied for the least amount of wins in the AL with only 12. Nobody likes to lose, but Lynn and Gallo will have to wear it on the chin for the rest of the regular season.
Unlike Lynn and Gallo, Minor was moved by the Rangers. And he went from worst to first.
The A's acquired Minor for two prospects, adding a veteran with experience in the rotation and out of the bullpen. Minor has a 5.60 ERA, but is coming off his best start of the year after holding the Los Angeles Dodgers scoreless over six innings. Oakland also added infielder Tommy La Stella from the Los Angeles Angels. Both players are solid and will help, but it would have been nice to see the A's swing for the fences a little more.
Sometimes the best move is no move at all. The Giants are not losers for mostly staying put at the deadline. Let's make that clear. Plus, they did add Anthony Banda, who recently was DFA'd by the Tampa Bay Rays, an hour and a half after the deadline passed.
This is a team that is good enough to compete for a playoff spot this season, and is set up really well for the future with top prospects on the way. They aren't losers and they aren't winners. But making a run at the postseason this year got a lot harder. The NL is up for grabs, and most teams in the hunt, aside from the Giants, added to their roster.
There's no reason to freak out. Just know a lot of other NL teams got better on Monday.
