The picture of the MLB trade deadline is finally coming into focus.
Shohei Ohtani is staying and the Angels are buying, the Mets are selling, and other teams on the bubble are biding their time to decide how aggressive they want to be.
The biggest shoes to drop belong to the Cardinals and the Padres. The Cardinals have two of the best corner infielders in baseball (who have no-trade clauses) in the midst of an utterly disastrous season, and the Padres have two pitchers who would be highly sought-after in Blake Snell and Josh Hader.
For some teams, the deadline is an investment — an opportunity to acquire building blocks and fill out the farm system. For others, it’s a chance to gear up for a World Series in 2023. Some of these players may be free agents at the end of the year, but a chance to compete this season is worth it, particularly with the expanded MLB playoffs in just their second year.
With that in mind, the real grade of every trade made ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline is “INC”. But that isn’t fun, and other factors must be taken into consideration to determine arbitrary “winners and losers.”
MORE: Tracking all of the deals and rumors ahead of MLB trade deadline
Here are The Sporting News’ live trade grades of every deal made at the deadline, dating back to Aroldis Chapman’s move to the Rangers in an early move.
MLB trade grades 2023: Live analysis on every deadline deal
Diamondbacks land an infielder for a lottery ticket
Diamondbacks get: INF Jace Peterson
Athletics get: RHP Chad Patrick
Grades: Diamondbacks C | Athletics C
After trading Josh Rojas to the Mariners in the Paul Sewald deal, the Diamondbacks landed some middle infield depth in Jace Peterson. Hardly an everyday player, Peterson was one of the Athletic’s few tradeable pieces on a relatively short two-year deal, but he should be able to spot fill for Arizona. The Athletics get a lottery ticket in pitcher Chad Patrick, who wan’t top 30 for the Diamondbacks. All in all, pretty mundane trade across the board.
Royals get a controllable bat for a bullpen arm
Cubs get: RHP Jose Cuas
Royals get: OF Nelson Velazquez
Grades: Cubs C+ | Royals B
The Royals definitely come off a bit better in this move than they did in their trade with the Braves. Jose Cuas is a long bullpen arm who has a goofy release point that can be effective against righties. He might do well in that Chicago pen, but Velazquez is a thumper who has a lot of control left for Kansas City. This is a reasonable trade for both sides as the Cubs look for high-leverage help and the Royals look for some kind of roster building blocks.
Reds add a bullpen arm while Athletics get a prospect
Reds get: LHP Sam Moll, int’l cap space
Athletics get: RHP Joe Boyle
Grades: Reds B | Athletics C
This move might be more about the cap space for the Reds than the players involved. Moll is a perfectly fine addition to the Cincinnati bullpen, whereas the Athletics get a fringe top 30 prospect in return. This is a half-hearted buy for the Reds, who might not be done yet, but don’t expect Moll to be the difference in the NL Central race. Very little to say about this type of deal.
Mariners continue to offload, this time to Giants
Giants get: OF A.J. Pollock, UTIL Mark Mathias
Mariners get: Player to be named later, cash
Grades: Giants B- | Mariners C-
This deal is a big old “why not?” The Mariners thought they had a glut in the outfield heading into this season with the additions of Teoscar Hernandez and A.J. Pollock, but Pollock has been relegated to a sometimes-DH and the Mariners never found a spot for him. Generally when offloading a player who was obviously a rental anyways teams are looking for a little more, but this was the best the Mariners were going to do. The Giants get a bat with a lot of potential power but little practical slugging this year to join another former Mariner in Mitch Haniger. It’s a rather conservative move for a team looking to keep pace with the Dodgers, but a fair one.
Cubs get the best position player available while Nationals get prospects
Cubs get: 3B Jeimer Candelario
Nationals get: LHP D.J. Herz, SS Kevin Made
Grades: Cubs A | Nationals A
Who doesn’t love a trade where everyone gets a little better? The Cubs have pushed their chips in to attempt a playoff run and not only are holding onto two players everyone thought would be available in Marcus Stroman and Cody Bellinger, but they’re also trading for the best position player on the market. The Nationals, meanwhile, offload a player they signed at the beginning of the year for two top 30 prospects, a coup for a player they signed for $5 million. All-in-all, it’s just a good old fashioned mutually beneficial swap.
Mets sale continues with Mark Canha to Brewers
Brewers get: OF Mark Canha
Mets get: RHP Justin Jarvis
Grades: Mets B | Brewers B-
The Mets are sellers at this deadline, that much was already abundantly clear. They offloaded outfielder Mark Canha to the Brewers for fringe top-30 pitching prospect Justin Jarvis. In addition, the Mets will pay the rest of Canha’s salary this season. Getting anything for Canha is a bit of a minor miracle, but this move isn’t charity for either side. It gets the Brewers a league-average hitter by OPS+ and it adds another body to the Mets farm system, an emphasis for them.
Diamondbacks trade with the Mariners for a closer
Diamondbacks get: RHP Paul Sewald
Mariners get: 3B Josh Rojas, OF Dominic Canzone, INF Ryan Bliss
Grades: Diamondbacks A- | Mariners C
Turns out Paul Sewald shouldn’t have left Arizona Sunday. There’s a bit of hubris in this deal for the Mariners, who have long adopted the mentality that a “closer” isn’t a title that belongs to one player. Seattle loves its bullpen, and so flipping Sewald for a strong return is just good business for Jerry Dipoto. However, while the Diamondbacks get a legitimate closer, the Mariners are getting some utility guys and a top 30 prospect who has already seen the bigs in Canzone. Second base has been a disaster for Seattle this season, so the vision might to see if Rojas can bring some continuity there. Rojas has mostly been at third this season, however, so this doesn’t seem like it’s addressing a ton of need.
Rays add another arm as the Guardians half-sell
Rays get: RHP Aaron Civale
Guardians get: 1B Kyle Manzardo
Grades: Rays C+ | Guardians B
The Rays pulled a classic Rays move in their acquisition of Aaron Civale. Civale is under team control through 2025 and has trended in a less-than-great direction this season. The Rays are clearly hoping they can curb that. Manzardo is a top-five prospect for the Rays, per MLB Pipeline, so as one-for-one this makes some sense as a move. However, as the Rays continue to struggle this year, Civale doesn’t necessarily have the makings of an answer.
Braves pick up another infielder
Braves get: INF Nicky Lopez
Royals get: LHP Taylor Hearn
Grades: Braves A | Royals F
Teams have got to stop trading with Alex Anthopoulos. At a trade deadline where other sellers are getting extremely friendly exchange rates, the Royals got a 28-year-old reliever whom the Braves had picked up just days before. Lopez isn’t going to bring a thunderstick to the plate for the Braves, but if you’re the Royals, you would have liked to get a little more for one of your few options with value.
Angels continue to fill out their roster
Angels get: 1B C.J. Cron, OF Randal Grichuk
Rockies get: RHP Jake Madden, LHP Mason Albright
Grades: Angels B- | Rockies B+
The Rockies are actually selling, and the Angels are actually buying. What results is, frankly, weird trades like this. The Angels traded for Cron and Grichuk to add some bats after already adding pitching, but again, the price was rather steep. Madden and Albright are a pair of top-30 prospects the Rockies were able to get for rentals, so it’s a bit of a coup for them. But when the market is this seller-friendly and the Angels are as desperate to make the playoffs as they are, this is what happens.
Rangers make another rotation move
Rangers get: LHP Jordan Montgomery, RHP Chris Stratton
Cardinals get: LHP John King, RHP Tekoah Roby, INF Thomas Saggese
Grades: Rangers A | Cardinals B+
This is the kind of mutually beneficial deal it’s clear we can expect from Chris Young. He’s pushing his chips in. This is the second straight deadline Montgomery has been moved. He’s a reliable left-handed arm who fills out the Rangers rotation. John Mozeliak and the Cardinals aren’t used to being in the position of sellers, but this move makes sense for them too. Roby and Saggese are solid adds to the Cardinals farm system, while King could be back in the majors if the Cardinals need another arm.
Max Scherzer waives his no-trade to go to Texas
Rangers get: RHP Max Scherzer
Mets get: INF Luisangel Acuña, cash
Grades: Rangers B+ | Mets B
This is an ambitious move for the Rangers, but to only give up a middle infield prospect who would have found himself stuck behind Marcus Semien and Corey Seager anyways and get Scherzer to opt into 2024 is a good choice. Nathan Eovaldi went to the IL and Scherzer, despite what hasn’t been a good season in New York, could do well with a change of scenery. Acuña will be a boon for the Mets minor league system, which Steve Cohen has expressed interest in filling out. This is a good start, even if it isn’t the traditionally massive haul.
Blue Jays get flamethrower after Jordan Romano injury
Blue Jays get: RHP Jordan Hicks
Cardinals get: RHP Sem Robberse, RHP Adam Kloffenstein
Grades: Blue Jays B+ | Cardinals C+
Hicks seemed broken in the beginning of the season, but over the past two months the right-handed flamethrower has been lights out. He’s been thrust into the closing role with Ryan Helsley out, and while it’s been a bumpy ride, with Jordan Romano on the IL, the Blue Jays got one of the strongest arms on the market. In return, they ship off a pair of back-of-rotation arms who could debut for the Cardinals as early as next season.
Astros fire sale continues
Astros get: RHP Kendall Graveman
White Sox get: C Korey Lee
Grades: Astros C+ | White Sox A-
Adding another top-30 prospect and former first-round pick in Lee is a big return for Graveman. The White Sox’s fifth dealer dealt was the veteran reliever, who heads to an Astros team that is caught up in a race in the AL West. Graveman is another piece in what’s been a crazy busy deadline for Rick Hahn and the Southside Sox, but Lee is a solid get.
White Sox deal two more pitchers to other Los Angeles team
Dodgers get: RHP Lance Lynn and RHP Joe Kelly
White Sox get: OF Trayce Thompson, RHP Jordan Leasure and RHP Nick Nastrini
Grades: Dodgers A+ | White Sox B-
Dodger grades have to be taken with a grain of salt, because we’re often looking at pitchers in the context of going to … the Dodgers. In this move, however, the Dodgers add a starter and a reliever for a pair of 20s pitchers who have shown control issues and an outfielder in Thompson who has not hit well. Lynn and Kelly, like the rest of the White Sox staff, have slightly inflated ERAs. The Dodgers are hoping to normalize it within their oft-injured pitching staff.
Mets trade outstanding reliever within the NL East
Marlins get: RHP David Robertson
Mets get: INF Marco Vargas and C Ronald Hernández
Grades: Marlins A- | Mets B
The Mets didn’t want to be here, but this is where they are. Deadline sellers, they traded their best reliever David Robertson for a pair of rookie ballers who aren’t yet in their 20s. This is a hard pivot for New York, which didn’t think Robertson was going to be a deadline piece, but it’s the second year in a row the reliever has been moved at the deadline in the midst of a nice season. The return isn’t bad, but it’s clearly an investment.
Brewers replace Rowdy Tellez in NL Central swap
Brewers get: 1B Carlos Santana
Pirates get: SS Jhonny Severino
Grades: Brewers C+ | Pirates B
This trade is kind of the Brewers taking the Pirates’ bait. Santana had played well for the Mariners last season and the Pirates signed him to a one-year deal hoping to flip him at the deadline, and with Rowdy Tellez injured, Santana was the best option for the Brewers to replace him. Even when Tellez comes back, Santana should be able to stay on defense. Severino is a bit of a lottery ticket, but he’s a promising international signing and a somewhat risky player for the Brewers to part with. He’s more than what the Pirates were likely hoping for when they signed Santana.
Angels push their chips in for Shohei Ohtani
Angels get: RHP Lucas Giolito, RHP Reynaldo Lopez
White Sox get: LHP Ky Bush, C Edgar Quero
Grades: Angels B | White Sox A-
The Angels have selected a path. They’re trying to make the playoffs this year in an attempt to woo Ohtani to stay. That means ambitious moves have to be made. The start of that path has included the additions of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox to shore up their staff. The price to acquire them was steep, however. Quero and Bush both immediately became top 10 players in the Sox system, and with Giolito and Lopez hitting free agency after this season, them being a moved was a matter of when not if anyways.
MORE: Everything to know about Shohei Ohtani’s free agency this offseason
Dodgers trade an aging pitcher for another shortstop
Dodgers get: SS Amed Rosario
Guardians get: RHP Noah Syndergaard
Grades: Dodgers B- | Guardians C-
Noah Syndergaard really wanted to stage a comeback with the Dodgers, but it just wasn’t meant to be. His velocity has stayed down and he caps out around six innings. As the Dodgers reshuffle their pitcher situation, they trade Syndergaard away and help to clear the Guardians’ logjam in the middle infield. Rosario’s glove may be a net negative, but he can still be a viable bat for the Dodgers, and getting any return for Syndergaard is a win.
Twins deal pitcher acquired at last year’s deadline
Marlins get: RHP Jorge Lopez
Twins get: RHP Dylan Floro
Grades: Twins D | Marlins C+
This is a difficult look for the Twins. Minnesota traded for Lopez at last year’s deadline and gave up a lot to get him, including a breakout player in Yennier Cano. Trading him just a year later in a straight-up reliever swap looks like an inauspicious move in Minnesota, a team that has struggled to build its roster out.
Blue Jays and Mariners exchange a reliever for a prospect
Blue Jays get: SS Mason McCoy
Mariners get: RHP Trent Thornton
Grades: Blue Jays B- | Mariners C+
Another quiet type of trade, the Blue Jays and Mariners are two teams familiar with each other. After acquiring Genesis Cabrera, the Jays DFA’d Thornton. The Mariners picked up a hard-throwing righty in Thornton and, although he isn’t their normal bullpen type, he should fit in Seattle. McCoy is a prospect out of Tacoma who was sent to Buffalo by the Jays upon his acquisition. He has decent power among middle infielders, though he can struggle with contact.
Dodgers reunite with World Series utilityman
Dodgers get: UTIL Enrique Hernandez
Red Sox get: RHP Nick Robertson, RHP Justin Hagenman
Grades: Dodgers C+ | Red Sox C
This is a trade that doesn’t need a ton of fanfare. It’s a depth add for the Dodgers and a signing that didn’t work out for the Red Sox. A team vying for a playoff spot like the Red Sox doesn’t generally want to part with veterans, but it was clear this match wasn’t going anywhere fast despite a solid 2021 season for Hernandez.
Rangers acquire Aroldis Chapman to bolster the bullpen
Rangers get: RHP Aroldis Chapman
Royals get: OF Roni Cabrera, LHP Cole Ragans
Grades: Royals C+ | Rangers B+
Chapman curbed the washed allegations with the Royals this season following his bizarre exit from the Yankees, posting an ERA of under 3.00 up to the point he was traded at the end of June. The Rangers didn’t get the flamethrowing lefty to be a closer, but he does bolster the back end of the bullpen for them. For a team looking to make a run, that is significant. For the Royals’ part, they might have sold a bit early on Chapman thinking they were selling high. Neither Ragans nor Cabrera were top-30 in the Rangers’ system, but the Royals need to fill out their farm system by any means necessary. This is a starting point.
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