Winners and Losers of the MLB Trade Deadline

We’ve got our trades in at the trade deadline, with teams making moves to bolster their squads. Which teams made a splash and which teams came up short?

• Winner: Houston Astros: Once again, the Astros make a splashy move in the rotation, adding Zach Greinke from the Diamondbacks. Imagine having to face a rotation of Greinke, Justin Verlander, and Gerrit Cole in the postseason. Yikes. There’s a good reason why I picked the Astros to win it all in the preseason and this is it. This starting pitching can’t be beat and their lineup added Martin Maldonado, who is a nice defensive catcher.
• Winner: NL East Teams: The Braves added a cheap alternative to Edwin Diaz in Shane Greene and added  Mark Melancon to boost their bullpen. The Washington Nationals added bullpen arms as well to address their beleaguered unit. The Phillies added an arm in Dan Straily and added Jay Bruce early on. The Marlins boosted their farm system. Even the Mets showed some restraint in trading Noah Syndergaard for an unfair price (they still traded for Marcus Stroman, which didn’t make any sense other than the possibility of contending next year). The NL East looks pretty good in the trade deadline with the exception of the Mets.
• Loser: Big Market Teams: The Dodgers, Yankees, and Red Sox made very few big moves during the period. The most active team of the three was the Dodgers, who added Jedd Gyorko and other scraps. Boston has the most splash worthy move by adding Andrew Cashner. Considering that these teams are vying for a World Series title, it is interesting to see these teams o forward without any major additions.
• Loser: New York Mets: They acquired Marcus Stroman when they were out of contention and almost gave Noah Syndergaard away in the process. The Mets deserve all the shame in the world.
• Loser: Any Sliver of Normalcy: Stroman going to the Mets. Trevor Bauer heading to Cincinnati. This trade deadline has been anything but ordinary.