The 2022 Deadline was one to remember as we saw one of the biggest trades in MLB history in the Juan Soto trade. But besides the Soto move, the league saw some other major swaps, so let’s look at the teams that came home happy, and the ones who did not.
Winner: New York Yankees
The Yankees have the best record in baseball, and after a fantastic deadline, it looks like it will stay that way. The Yankees added a great starter in Frankie Montas, bullpen depth in Scott Effross and Lou Trivino, and a pair of solid outfielders in Andrew Benintendi and Harrison Bader. The Yankees have an extremely complete team, and will be heavy favorites to come out of the American League.
Loser: Los Angeles Angels
Where to start…The Angels have 2 of the best players in baseball, and instead of trying to either rebuild or retool for next season, they sold. Losing Iglesias and Syndergaard made sense, but they got little in return. Trading away young outfielder Brandon Marsh makes no sense for them, and the Angels franchise as a whole seems lost.
Winner: San Diego Padres
This is an obvious one. The Padres added Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Josh Hader, and Brandon Drury, and flipped a bad contract in Eric Hosmer for a solid pitching prospect in Jay Groome. Although they gave up a very large haul for Soto, they added Bell to the contract without giving up what they probably should have. An overall amazing deadline for AJ Preller and the Friars.
Loser: Chicago White Sox
The White Sox added Jake Diekman at the deadline. A team that has the potential to be a postseason team in 2022 and is only 3 Games Back for the division lead needed to make some moves. Instead they did nothing but add a 35 year old, who’s has 7.0 BB/9 this season. The White Sox took a major L at the deadline.
Winner: Minnesota Twins
The Twins had a very underrated deadline, which went under the radar to all the big moves. They added a quality arm in Tyler Naquin to the rotation, along with two very good relievers in Jorge Lopez and Michael Fulmer to aid an inconsistent bullpen. In a tight division race in 2022, adding 3 great arms make it a lot easier for the Twins to hold their lead.
Loser: Washington Nationals
The Nationals dealt both Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres in a deal where they didn’t receive the package they should’ve for the pair of stars. They add 5 very solid MLB/Minor League prospects, but for a team that has little promise, they didn’t add enough for the two stars. Not a terrible deadline, but time will tell how this ages.
Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies made some amazing moves at the deadline to try and break their 11-year postseason drought. Noah Syndergaard is a very solid arm who will slot in behind Nola and Wheeler to add some consistency to the Phillies rotation. David Roberson will help the Phillies pen in big situations, and Brandon Marsh will add to the atrocious outfield defense. A great deadline for the Phils.
How did your team do at the deadline?
Do any of the moves change the postseason outlook?
Let us know in the comments!!
Responses
Great post! Agree with all of it, and in particular, that the White Sox failed to be bold during a season that counts.