Major League Baseball's trade deadline passed on Tuesday evening. This was already an eventful deadline entering Tuesday, and we saw more trades throughout the afternoon. Mets star Justin Verlander became the latest big name to be traded, as he is heading from the Mets back to the Astros in New York's second blockbuster in four days.
The Mets also traded veteran ace Max Scherzer to the Rangers on Saturday. Prior to Tuesday, these other notable names had been dealt: Lucas Giolito (White Sox to Angels), Lance Lynn (White Sox to Dodgers), Jordan Montgomery (Cardinals to Rangers), Jordan Hicks (Cardinals to Blue Jays) and Jeimer Candelario (Nationals to Cubs). The best player in baseball stayed put, as the Angels committed to making a playoff push with free-agent-to-be Shohei Ohtani.
Here's a look at the deadline day deals:
Here now are our takeaways from the 2023 MLB trade deadline.
No division went for it as aggressively as the AL West. OK, the Athletics continued their shameless teardown (so long, Sam Moll and Jace Peterson) and the Mariners moved on from closer Paul Sewald, but the other three AL West clubs all bought and bought big. To recap:
Arguably the four best starters traded at the deadline -- Giolito, Montgomery, Scherzer, Verlander -- all wound up in the AL West. Don't forget the Rangers added Aroldis Chapman last month, ditto the Angels with Eduardo Escobar and Mike Moustakas.
The Astros are looking to repeat as World Series champions. That's a pretty big deal. Baseball hasn't had a repeat champion since the 1998-2000 Yankees. The Angels and Rangers, meanwhile, are looking to end long postseason droughts. And, of course, the Halos are trying to prove to Ohtani they are contenders, and convince him to re-sign after the season. I'm not sure that'll happen, but they're trying. The top three teams in the division all made significant upgrades at the deadline.
Orioles GM Mike Elias is deeply protective of the impressive young core he's assembled, thanks in large measure to a run of high draft picks. Last season, that was to the club's detriment, as they wound up just missing out on a playoff spot thanks to a puzzling deadline approach. This time around, despite some signaling from Elias that the team again would hoard its chips, they addressed their leading roster need by dealing for Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty for left-handed pitcher Drew Rom, infielder César Prieto and right-handed pitcher Zack Showwalter.
Flaherty is no one's ace, but he's pitched well overall since getting past some early-season control issues. Over his last 12 starts, for instance, Flaherty has pitched to 3.45 ERA and a 3.43 FIP, and in eight of those 12 starts he's lasted at least six innings.
The current Oriole rotation is experiencing regression in some spots and generally lacks depth. Elias, no doubt, is also pleased that he could add the walk-year upgrade without giving up any of their top-15 prospects.
Good deadline work by the Mets. They came into the season with the highest payroll ever and expected to contend for a World Series title, and when things didn't go according to plan, they pivoted hard to selling. Not many owners and front offices would be that brutally honest with themselves. The Mets leveraged owner Steve Cohen's wealth and ate a ton of money -- more than $70 million, reportedly -- which netted them high-end prospects in trades for David Robertson (Marco Vargas), Scherzer (Luisangel Acuña), and Verlander (Ryan Clifford, Drew Gilbert), among others. They'll have to rebuild their rotation over the winter, but now they have much more young talent in the organization, and of course they still have Cohen's billions to spend.
The Dodgers have been among the most active teams leading up to the deadline, but even after adding Lance Lynn to the fold they were looking to add help to a rotation that's been battered by injuries and under-performance. They were close to landing one of the most coveted of deadline arms – Eduardo Rodriguez of the Tigers – but the veteran lefty invoked his no-trade clause to block the deal in order to remain closer to his family on the east coast.
At that point, the Dodgers pivoted to lefty Ryan Yarbrough of the Royals. Yarbrough started off the season in the bullpen, but eventually KC put him in the rotation. He was quite effective in that role, even after returning from the facial fractures he suffered in early May when a line drive struck him in the head. He'll help L.A. from a depth perspective, but one can argue they needed more of a front-end type, someone like Rodriguez, when it comes to making a deep playoff run.
The NL Central-leading Reds added lefty reliever Sam Moll and that's all. The AL Central-leading Twins flipped Jorge López for Dylan Floro and called it a deadline. The Braves, owners of MLB's best record, improved their depth with a few role players (Brad Hand, Pierce Johnson, Nicky Lopez), and nothing more. Even the Dodgers (Enrique Hernández, Joe Kelly, Lance Lynn, Amed Rosario, Ryan Yarbrough) went quantity over quality.
Other than the Rangers, every first place team had a low-key deadline. The Orioles did the bare minimum by adding a competent starter (Jack Flaherty) and the other clubs didn't do much else. Most of the deadline activity involved postseason bubble teams. All those clubs fighting for wild-card spots sought ways to add those extra 2-3 wins that could get them over the hump and into October. All things considered, the non-Rangers first place teams had low-impact deadlines.
It's always a little unusual when two teams in direct competition hook up for a trade at the deadline. On Tuesday, the Brewers and Diamondbacks swapped relievers: Andrew Chafin for Peter Strzelecki. A sensible trade for both teams, to be sure. It's only unusual once you take a gander at the NL wild-card standings entering play Tuesday:
1. Giants: 58-49 (+1 GB)
2. Phillies: 57-49 (+0.5 GB)
t-3. Brewers: 57-50
t-3. Diamondbacks: 57-50
t-3. Marlins: 57-50
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6. Cubs: 53-53 (3.5 GB)
The Brewers and D-backs are tied for the third wild-card spot with the Marlins. There's room in the postseason for both clubs, no doubt, and they're both certainly in their respective division races as well. It's just not often you see two teams battling for the postseason making a trade with each other. Props to the front offices for not being afraid.
(Alas and alack, the Brewers and D-backs have already completed their season series, with Milwaukee taking four of six. We won't have a chance for a W: Chafin, L: Strzelecki game, or vice versa. Unless, of course, the Brewers and D'Backs meet in October.)
According to Baseball America's midseason rankings, four of the top 100 prospects in baseball were traded at the deadline, as were several others just outside the top 100. That may not seem like much, but it is a big number this time of year. With so many teams in the postseason race -- a feature of the 12-team postseason field, in MLB's eyes -- there were significantly more buyers than sellers, so the teams that did sell were able to get outsized returns. It was a very good year to sell. And, if you were a buyer, congrats, you improved your team for the second half and the postseason. That's what you're supposed to do at the deadline.
The trade deadline is complete. Deals have stopped trickling in after the 6 p.m. ET deadline and we won't see any more trades until the offseason. As usual, there was a flurry of deals in the final hours. Did you miss anything? We have every deal from the last two weeks in our trade tracker.
Another buzzer-beater here: the Padres have added to their bullpen, getting reliever Scott Barlow from the Royals.
The Dodgers have swung a deal for Royals lefty Ryan Yarbrough, Mark Feinsand tweets. While the 31-year-old is not the high-profile pitching addition the Dodgers sought, he's looked strong since KC moved him into the rotation earlier this season.
The Red Sox were mostly quiet at the deadline, but made a move right at the deadline, reportedly getting Luis Urias from Milwaukee.
The Marlins have added former All-Star first baseman Josh Bell, according to Craig Mish. Bell is a switch hitter who was an All-Star in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger last season, but he's hitting just .233/.318/.383 this season. Perhaps a change of scenery will do some good.
Reliever Domonic Leone was dealt to the Angels from the Mets, according to The Athletic.
But it's not exactly consequential:
Middleton, 29, has pitched to a 3.96 ERA and 2.94 K/BB ratio in 39 relief appearances this season. For his career, he's put up an ERA+ of 108 across parts of seven MLB seasons.
The Phillies are close to acquiring utility man Rodolfo Castro from the Pirates, according to Jayson Stark. Lefty Bailey Falter would head back to the Pirates.
The White Sox have traded reliever Keynan Middleton to the Yankees, per Jeff Passan.
The Dodgers are looking at Red Sox starter James Paxton, but there's also apparently a chance they could talk Eduardo Rodríguez into changing his mind after all, reports Ken Rosenthal. Rodríguez vetoed an agreed-upon deal to the Dodgers a little bit ago.
That's what Andy Martino reports, anyway. Pham, 35, has put up strong numbers this season, as he's slashed .268/.348/.472 (126 OPS+) with 10 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 79 games for New York. In exchange, the Mets are said to be getting 17-year-old shortstop prospect Jeremy Rodriguez.
The Orioles are close to trading for Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, reports Ken Rosenthal.
The deadline is 10 minutes away, but the White Sox could still move Dylan Cease. He'd fetch a big return.
Mark Feinsand reports that the veteran catcher is headed to Texas. Hedges, who turns 31 later this month, is accomplished pitch-framer behind the plate and otherwise a standout defender. He is also, however, one of the worst hitters in the entire league. The Rangers, though, needed depth at catcher. According to Jonathan Mayo, the Pirates will get international cap space in return.
Max Scherzer, now a member of the Rangers, had some comments that will certainly make waves about his now-former team. Scherzer opened up about conversations he had with Mets brass before he was dealt over the weekend, saying the club is looking forward to 2025 or 2026 and views 2024 as a rebuilding year.
"I talked to Billy," Scherzer told The Athletic. "I was like, 'OK, are we reloading for 2024?' He goes, 'No, we're not. Basically our vision now is for 2025-2026, '25 at the earliest, more like '26. We're going to be making trades around that.'
"I was like, 'So the team is not going to be pursuing free agents this offseason or assemble a team that can compete for a World Series next year?' He said, 'No, we're not going to be signing the upper-echelon guys. We're going to be on the smaller deals within free agency. '24 is now looking to be more of a kind of transitory year.'"
The Rays are trying to thread a needle by trading outfielder Manuel Margot and getting back a "bat-first outfielder," according to Joel Sherman. He reports that one of the teams in contact with the Rays on Margot is the Yankees. Margot is hitting .254/.306/.364 (88 OPS+) in 258 plate appearances this season.
The Dodgers were set to land the Detroit lefty, but a no-trade clause got in the way:
Such clauses are usually negotiable when it comes to trades, but the Dodgers may have been unable to persuade him.
The Marlins and White Sox have agreed on a deal that sends Jake Burger to Miami, reports Craig Mish.
Burger, 27, was the White Sox's first-round pick out of Missouri State in 2017. He's played some third base with a little second and first, but he's mostly a DH. There's plenty of pop in that bat, too. He's hit 25 homers in 294 at-bats this season while slashing .214/.279/.527 (a 115 slugging-heavy OPS).
The Cubs have designated Trey Mancini for assignment while activating newly-acquired slugger Jeimer Candelario. Mancini is still owed $7 million next season by the Cubs, so he could be picked up on the cheap by a team looking for a lottery ticket here after the deadline. Mancini hit 35 homers in 2019 and was still moderately productive with the Orioles through last trade deadline. He was bad for the Astros after being traded last year and is hitting .234/.299/.336 (72 OPS+) this season. He's 31 years old.
The Brewers have added lefty reliever Andrew Chafin in a trade with the Diamondbacks, according to The Athletic. Chafin, a rental, has a 4.19 ERA in 34 1/3 innings this season, though his 32.7% strikeout rate is a career high. The trade comes days after the Brewers lost fellow veteran lefty Justin Wilson to an injury. He got hurt warming up for his first appearance back from Tommy John surgery. Interestingly enough, the Brewers and D-Backs are currently tied for the third wild-card spot with the Marlins. Not often two direct competitors swing a trade at the deadline.
Starting pitchers Eduardo Rodíguez (Tigers) and Jack Flaherty (Cardinals) have "strong markets," per Jon Morosi, with just about two hours until the trade deadline. Morosi names the Dodgers, Braves, Reds, Orioles, Marlins and Diamondbacks as teams looking for starting pitching help. Obviously, mileage varies on which player would fit where, so feel free to connect dots on your own here for the time being.
The Phillies bolstered their rotation with Michael Lorenzen. The team is also searching for a right-handed hitting corner outfielder. A handful of players fit the bill (Teoscar Hernández, Tyler O'Neill, Adam Duvall), and Joel Sherman has linked the Phillies to Mets outfielder Tommy Pham.
For those interested in roster movement:
The Phillies are closing in on a deal that would land them starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen from the Tigers, reports Jon Morosi. The Phillies already have a five-man rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suárez, Taijuan Walker and Christopher Sánchez, but depth is good and they could be concerned with the viability of Sánchez sticking. He could also be a long reliever.
Not surprising, really, given his long-term worth to the team:
