By Jonah Drew

Winner: Miami Marlins

Acquisitions: Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers, Will Schomberg, Robby Snelling, Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley, Jay Beshears, Jared Serna, Agustin Ramirez, Deyvison De Los Santos, Abraham Ramirez, Andrew Pintar, Wilfredo Lara, and Garrett Forrester

Losses: Jazz Chisholm Jr, Tanner Scott, Bryan Hoeing, Huascar Brazoban, Trevor Rogers, J.T. Chargois, Bryan De La Cruz, and A.J. Puk

Peter Bendix’s first year as the Marlins GM has been tumultuous one thus far. He was heavily scrutinized for the Marlins embarrassing start to the season by the media, including myself. However, as the season has gone on the scrutiny has died down as people began to realize just how far away this team really is. Coming from the Rays FO, Bendix is no stranger to trading impact big leaguers for prospects, and he showed his expertise at this deadline. The only 2 trades I was not in love with were the Jazz trade and the Brazoban trade. Both of the players were rightfully dealt, but I would have liked to see them have get more for a player of Jazz’s caliber, even if it hasn’t been his best year. Outside of those deals, Bendix absolutely killed this deadline. I was bewildered to see what they got for their southpaws, specifically Scott and Rogers. Scott is lights out yes, but to get Robby Snelling alone is impressive but add Pauley and Mazur to the package, is just flat out crazy. I understand how absurd the organizational depth of the Baltimore Orioles is but to give away two top 100 level guys in Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers is just crazy to me. Especially when you consider that Trevor Rogers has been mediocre at best since his stellar rookie year back in 2021.

Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers

Acquisitions: Jack Flaherty, Michael Kopech, Kevin Kiermaier, Tommy Edman, Amed Rosario, and Moises Bolivar

Losses: Thayron Liranzo, Trey Sweeney, Michael Flynn, Miguel Vargas, Jeral Perez, Ryan Yarbrough, James Paxton, and Alexander Albertus

The Dodgers came into the 2024 season as the odds on World Series favorites after their lavish off-season. So much so that they had fans ready to cancel the season and just hand them the trophy. Considering we are talking about baseball, it should not be a shocker that just because they have the big names, they are not the landslide favorites, or even the best team in the NL, that would be the Phillies. Knowing they had to make moves, the Dodgers got aggressive and went out and got one of, if not the best starting pitcher on the market in Jack Flaherty. As much as I love Thayron Liranzo, with the pitching market being as absurd as it is, he is a small price to pay for Jack Flaherty. In a three team deal, the Dodgers came away with Michael Kopech and Tommy Edman. Kopech has always had eye popping stuff and who better to unlock him than the Dodgers? Tommy Edman provides some much needed versatility and reliability that will be instrumental down the stretch.

Winner: St. Louis Cardinals

Acquisitions: Erick Fedde, Tommy Pham, Shawn Armstrong

Losses: Tommy Edman and Dylan Carlson

I did not have the Cardinals turning it around after last year’s unmitigated disaster but I have to give credit where credit is due. The Cardinals have played good baseball up to this point and they find themselves firmly in the NL Wild Card race. A couple years ago, maybe losing Dylan Carlson and Tommy Edman would sound catastrophic but in 2024, I think it’s better for both parties that they have a change of scenery. As for what they brought in though, well that’s an absolute home run. Shawn Armstrong is at least a live arm that could come in handy during the dog days of summer. I am on the record being an avid Tommy Pham defender and I could not fathom him being unsigned for as long as he was but eventually the White Sox came to their senses and picked him up. In usual Tommy Pham fashion, he hit and earned himself a ticket out of the South Side. Even at his age, Pham still hits the ball hard and can provide length to an already potent Cardinal offense. As crazy as it sounds, Erick Fedde has come stateside and been one of the best pitchers in baseball. Getting him cheap, with another year of control is an absolute work of art by Cardinals GM John Mozeliak.

Loser: San Diego Padres

Acquisitions: Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, and Martin Perez

Losses: Adam Mazur, Robby Snelling, Graham Pauley, Jay Beshears, Dylan Lesko, Homer Bush, J.D. Gonzalez, and Ronaldys Jimenez

There is truly one AJ Preller, there is just nobody like him. He does deserve ample credit for being a scouting savant and constantly finding talent but it’s a shame he never actually gets to see what they become. Preller will always trade these prospects before he actually gets to see them in a Padres uniform, and this year was no different. I honestly really liked their bullpen heading into the deadline so I saw no reason for them to go selling the farm for bullpen pieces. But, what do you know, Preller went and traded for 2 of the top available pen arms. I don’t hate the idea of a “Superpen” but at the expense of selling the farm? absolutely not. Trading Robby Snelling, a prep arm who was arguably the best pitcher in MiLB last year, on top of intriguing, nearly big league ready prospects in Adam Mazur and Graham Pauley for Tanner Scott is just malpractice in my eyes. There was also no reason to part with Dylan Lesko, one of my favorite pitching prospects in baseball, on top of Homer Bush for Jason Adam. Again, Jason Adam and Tanner Scott make this an elite bullpen, but trading that much for it is exactly why AJ Preller will be out of a job in a few months.

Loser: Los Angeles Angels

Acquisitions: Ryan Zeferjahn, Matthew Lugo, Yeferson Vargas, Niko Kavadas, Samuel Aldegheri and George Klassen

Losses: Carlos Estevez and Luis Garcia

The Angels absolutely butchering the deadline is nothing new, who could forget when they sold the farm for…Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez. They had an opportunity to get a king’s ransom for Shohei Ohtani before he left in a couple months, but no, they decided to go all in just for a puncher’s chance at sneaking into the wild card. Unsurprisingly, they are currently dealing with the consequences of their decisions and will likely be dealing with them for years to come. That aside, you would think they would have learned their lesson about selling at the deadline, but no, THEY MADE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN. They had the opportunity to get an absolute haul for veterans like Tyler Anderson, Taylor Ward, Luis Rengifo, Hunter Strickland, and Jose Quijada. All they had to do was learn from their mistakes and accept being terrible for a couple of years in exchange for future success. Instead, they will continue to go through the motions and live in baseball purgatory. I am truly sorry, Angels Fans(If you even exist).

Loser: Houston Astros

Acquisitions: Caleb Ferguson and Yusei Kikuchi

Losses: Kelly Austin, Jake Bloss, Will Wagner and Joey Loperfido

Despite the fact that the Astros have actually been playing great baseball as of late, I remain completely uninspired by GM Dana Brown. He was overly aggressive last deadline and got fleeced by then Mets GM, Billy Eppler. He traded his 2 top prospects in Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford in exchange for a 40 year old Justin Verlander who has hardly pitched this season. This year though, it was even worse. Instead of it being Justin Verlander, it was half a season of Yusei Kikuchi. A historically volatile arm who has been average at best for a large portion of his MLB career. To get Kikuchi, they gave up Jake Bloss, Joey Loperfido, and Will Wagner. Bloss has been one of the best pitchers in the minor leagues and has completely skipped AAA because he was so dominant. Joey Loperfido is a top 100 prospect in baseball and will soon graduate as part of Toronto’s young core as they build toward the future. Will Wagner has quietly raked through the minor league ranks and happens to be Billy Wagner’s son. Overall, I like Houston getting aggressive but this? This is just plain old dumb.

Sources

Baseball Reference

Baseball Savant

Fangraphs

MLB.com