What Happened During the MLB Trade Deadline?

Another trade deadline has come and gone, and this year was nothing short of eventful. Since the expansion of the playoffs in 2022, more teams decide to go for it and trade for players than ever before.

However, with a strong sellers market this season, teams were wary of trading their top prospects for talent that would hit free agency after this season. While there weren’t as many trades this year, the quality of the trades was higher than in years past. Here are some of the biggest moves of this year’s MLB Trade Deadline. 

Randy Arozarena

In my blog last week, I discussed how I thought the Tampa Bay Rays would trade Randy Arozarena to the Los Angeles Dodgers. On July 25, Arozarena was traded to the Seattle Mariners for prospects Aidan Smith and Brody Hopkins. Seattle is currently in a division race with the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros, and acquiring Arozarena will help bolster their outfield–especially since star outfielder Julio Rodriguez is currently on the injured list. 

While Arozarena hasn’t had the best stats this season, he is still an upgrade for the Mariners. The team only has a .216 batting average so far this season, and in July they scored the second-fewest runs in all of baseball. If Arozarena can improve his stats slightly, this is a great trade to propel the Mariners to the top of the AL West. 

Courtesy of Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today Sports

Tanner Scott

Miami Marlins reliever Tanner Scott was one of the biggest names on the market and got the best return. While most of the contending teams were in on Scott, the San Diego Padres ultimately had the best deal to acquire the all-star pitcher. Scott and another reliever, Bryan Hoeing, were traded to the Padres for prospects Robby Snelling, Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley, and Jay Beshears. 

While executives knew Scott would draw in some big-name prospects, the deal with the Padres was unprecedented. The Marlins were able to receive three prospects that were in the top ten of the Padres system. Scott will join an already stacked bullpen in San Diego as the team competes for a Wild Card spot. 

Courtesy of MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) on X

Isaac Paredes

Rays infielder Isaac Paredes was involved in one of the most shocking trades of the deadline by far. While there were rumors about contenders like the New York Yankees and Astros being interested in Paredes, the Chicago Cubs ended up with the infielder. Despite being ten games back in their division and six and a half games out of the Wild Card race, the Cubs traded established infielder Christopher Morel and prospects Ty Johnson and Hunter Bigge to the Rays for Paredes. 

This move came after several front office executives expressed their doubt about the team this year and wished to look ahead to the future. In a whirlwind deadline decision, the Cubs decided to trade away a fan-favorite for another infielder who can produce more while choosing to keep players on expiring contracts. While Paredes might help the team win more games this season, it is doubtful that he will contribute enough to put them in a Wild Card spot. 

Courtesy of Jeff Dean / AP

Jack Flaherty 

Since it was unlikely that Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet would be dealt at the deadline, Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty was one of the biggest names in starting pitching available. While many contending teams were in on Flaherty, the Los Angeles Dodgers traded for him in exchange for prospects Trey Sweeney and Thayron Liranzo. 

Flaherty will join an already stacked Dodgers starting rotation and will give the team a chance to claim their division title over the sizzling Padres. 

Courtesy of Nick Cammett / AP

Jazz Chisholm Jr.

While many fans of the New York Yankees were hoping for a more explosive trade deadline for their team, the addition of Jazz Chisholm Jr. might be more than enough to help the team reclaim their division lead. Weeks ahead of the deadline, rumors were surfacing that the Yankees had interest in Chisholm Jr., but they saw some concerns with how his personality might fit into the clubhouse. Despite that, he was traded to the Yankees from the Marlins for prospects Agustin Ramirez, Jared Serna, and Abrahan Ramirez. 

Since he landed with the Yankees, Chisholm Jr. has hit four home runs and has a 1.400 OPS. He has fit right in with the clubhouse, and contributed to the Yankees five game win streak. While Chisholm Jr. might not fix the pitching issues that the Yankees have, he can certainly contribute as many runs as possible to help the team win. 

Courtesy of New York Yankees (@yankees) on Instagram

Biggest Names Stay Put

While the trade deadline was entertaining, some of the biggest names that could have been traded ended up staying on their respective teams. Garrett Crochet, one of the best pitchers in the American League, was not traded by the Chicago White Sox despite the team having the worst record in this league. The White Sox also chose not to trade Luis Robert and will search for teams in the offseason willing to pay a high price for these players. 

Tarik Skubal, another of the best pitchers in the AL, was not traded by the Tigers. While there was not a lot of buzz surrounding Skubal, there was still a chance that a team could put together a package that would be worthwhile for the Tigers before the deadline. 

While there was speculation that the Rays would sell, especially after trading Paredes, they decided to keep some of their star players. Despite Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe having strong interest, the Rays will instead wait until the offseason to get a better return. 

Courtesy of Kim Klement / USA Today Sports

Edited by Emma Habel