Major League Baseball’s 2022 trade deadline has come and gone. The deadline is set for 6 p.m. ET on Tuesday and teams can no longer make offers to bolster rosters ahead of time. The biggest name moved early Tuesday: Juan Soto headed to the Padres in an eight-player blockbuster that also featured Josh Bell landing in San Diego.
“Props to the San Diego Padres. They’re not afraid. (Padres GM) A.J. Preller is not afraid,” Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said after the trade (video). “… We’re on a bumpy road now and we’re sure it’ll be a beautiful place to come out of.”
Other notables to change addresses at the deadline include Josh Hader (Brewers to Padres), Luis Castillo (Reds to Mariners), Frankie Montas (Athletics to Yankees), Joey Gallo (Yankees to Dodgers), Noah Syndergaard (Angels to Phillies), Harrison Bader (Cardinals to Yankees), Raisel Iglesias (Angels to Braves), and Whit Merrifield (Royals to Blue Jays).
Willson Contreras, JD Martinez, Ian Happ, and Carlos Rodón are the biggest names that remain. Here’s a recap of Tuesday’s biggest moves:
Notable 2022 MLB trade deadline deals on Tuesday
Now here are the wins and losses from the 2022 MLB trade deadline.
Winner: Padres
When you’re a good, exciting team in the postseason race and you add generational talent, you’re automatically a trade deadline winner. Read also : College football coach enters Year 2 facing a defining campaign in 2022. The Padres brought in Juan Soto (and Josh Bell) and paid a handsome price to do it, but players as good and young as Soto don’t come along very often, so if they do, you have to pounce. Look at this. This is real:
Should have photoshopped them in City Connect jerseys, Padres. Big missed opportunities there.
Anyway, a case can be made that the Padres now have the best shortstop (Fernando Tatis Jr., once healthy), the best third baseman (Manny Machado), and the best outfielder (Soto) in baseball. Oh, and they also landed Josh Hader, arguably the best closer in the business, and 20-homer man Brandon Drury. Say what you will about GM AJ Preller, but the man isn’t afraid of big moves.
Tatis and Machado’s contracts mean the Padres aren’t likely to re-sign Soto in a few years, but getting him for three postseason runs (he’s under team control until 2024) is crucial for a franchise still looking for its first World Series. championship series. Soto is trending towards being great all the time. Adding players like this makes you an easy deadline winner. The Padres are nothing if not electrifying.
Winner: Juan Soto
It’s hard to complain about leaving a last-place team in Washington for a postseason-bound team in San Diego, right? Soto gets to team up with Machado and (once healthy) Tatis Jr. on baseball’s happiest roster. Read also : Patrick Mahomes dismisses reports that the Chiefs are frustrated with Orlando Brown as a team player. The best list? No, not necessarily, but definitely the most fun. I’m sure the days leading up to the trade deadline were scary, but it’s over, and Soto is free to play baseball for a great team in a great ballpark in a great city.
Loser: Luke Voit
How angry is Luke Voit with Eric Hosmer right now? Once Hosmer used his no-trade clause to block a trade to the Nationals, as well as his contract rights, Voit was replaced in his place in the Soto/Bell trade. Just like that, Voit went from the contending Padres to a last-place Nationals team, all because another player said he didn’t want to be traded. To see also : Amazon Prime Video is partnering with AP Dhillon to release a fantastic ending to the third season of The Boys: Entertainment News. A tough break, though at least Voit will have a no-questions-asked lineup spot for the rest of the season.
Winner: The Phillies (and their remaining schedule)
Even with Soto and Bell, the Nationals ranked 27th in runs per game. Without those two, they have the worst offense in baseball for the rest of 2022. That’s great for the NL postseason contenders with a head-to-head game remaining against Washington. The NL East-leading Mets have eight games remaining with the Nationals, including two this week. The second-place Braves had just six. That can be a factor in the division race.
Here are the NL wild-card standings (entering Tuesday) with each team’s remaining games against the Soto-less and Bell-less Nationals:
The advantage of the Phillies is the disadvantage of the Cardinals and the Giants. Any team can beat the other team on any given day in this game, but if I’m fighting for a postseason spot, I know I’ll be better off if I go 11 – 11! – the remaining game against a rebuilding team that just traded its two best hitters and presumably checked out for the season.
(Also, shoutout to the Phillies for landing Brandon Marsh, David Robertson and Noah Syndergaard in wise trades. They improved their roster considerably, and appointed Odúbel Herrera and Jeurys Familia is an addition by subtraction.)
Loser: Nationals fans
Soto, Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Anthony Rendon. That’s a lot of elite — like elite elite — talent out the door in such a short amount of time. It should not be like this. The Lerners, the family that owns the Nationals, the second-wealthiest owner in the sport, and could have paid what it takes to keep them all. Maybe that wouldn’t be smart (see: Stephen Strasburg), but gosh, the Nationals had a championship core and disappeared in short order.
Rebuilds are never fun. The prospects acquired in the Soto trade are all top notch and they could be the core of the Nationals’ next great team, but will they be better than the Nationals’ core not long ago? Maybe not. That’s just the way it goes with prospects. The Nationals are destined to finish with the National League’s worst record this season and it’s hard to see a way back into contention in what is the next, 3-4 years? Sad, sad day for the Washington faithful.
Winner: Yankees
The Yankees have enjoyed a nightmare season to date, but they came into the second half with some obvious needs, and they are not shy about addressing them at the trade deadline. They needed another starter, specifically a difference-maker instead of a back-end inning-eater, an outfielder to replace Joey Gallo, and inside the bullpen. In the deadline they acquired:
Yankees GM Brian Cashman managed to do that without giving up top prospects Anthony Volpe, Oswald Peraza, and Jasson Domínguez and while giving up just one part of his MLB roster (Jordan Montgomery). In fact, the Yankees traded eight prospects in their three trades and exactly one was drafted before the fourth round (lefty TJ Sikkema, a former supplemental first round pick who was part of the Benintendi trade).
The Yankees are looking to improve their roster for October — August and September aren’t a huge priority given their 70-game MLB streak — and they can do that while keeping their best prospects. That’s some nifty tradecraft.
Winner: Joey Gallo
Gallo was traded to the Dodgers for his pitching prospects, I gotta say, he sounded miserable in New York. He had a tough 12 months with the Yankees and it clearly wore on him. From a recent NJ.com interview:
Q: Are you ready for this trade deadline to be over?
Gallo: I am. We will see what happens. I’m waiting to hear. My parents are waiting. They had to come to New York and clean my apartment, get all the furniture.
Q: Do you live in Manhattan?
Q: How do you feel when Yankees fans notice you on the street? Is it rough on you away from the ballpark, too?
Gallo: I’m not out on the street.
Gallo: Yes. Actually, I don’t want to show my face here.
Gallo is now getting a fresh start with the only team in baseball that has a better record than the Yankees, so he still has a chance to win a World Series ring before leaving for free agency this offseason. No player in baseball needed a fresh start more than Gallo and he received it at the deadline.
Loser: Red Sox
The deadline is strange for the Red Sox, who sold while also buying halfheartedly. They finished strong catcher Christian Vázquez, but imported Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer in hopes of staying afloat in the wild-card race. The Padres paid most of Hosmer’s salary and the Red Sox got a prospect in the trade, but Hosmer is one of the worst hitting first basemen in baseball, and he hit too many ground balls to really benefit from Fenway Park’s hitter-friendly dimensions. Not necessarily a bad deadline for the Red Sox, but strange, and certainly not one that will land them in the “win” category.
Winner: Astros
Smart if understated deadline for first place Astros. They filled their primary needs — Vázquez at catcher, Trey Mancini at first base and DH, Will Smith at lefty reliever — without giving up anything that would be missed short-term or long-term. For a contender, the goal of the trade deadline is shoring up as many weaknesses as possible, and Houston did that. The center field situation is still not great, but the Astros are a better team today than they were 48 hours ago.
Loser: Mets
By no means was it a bad trade deadline for the Mets. They made some wise additions (Darin Ruf, Mychal Givens, Tyler Naquin, Daniel Vogelbach), but they are also on pace for the second best regular season in franchise history, and have the deepest pockets in the sport. It feels like the Mets are ready to do something more impactful (Willson Contreras?) Again, not a bad deadline for the Mets. Just not as good as it could have been.
Winner: Twins
One more starting pitcher would be nice but Jorge López, Michael Fulmer, and Tyler Mahle are a nice haul for a first place team that desperately needs rotation and bullpen help. The Twins gave up nothing they will miss in the short term for two above-average pitchers they can keep beyond this season through arbitration (López and Mahle) and a good rental (Fulmer). Nothing fancy, but a player who meaningfully improves the club’s division title hopes and postseason chances.
Losers: Guardians
Did Cleveland forget to set a trade deadline reminder on his phone? Other than changing parts with the Twins (Sandy León for Ian Hamilton), the Guardians did nothing on the day of the deadline. The same guardian is one — one! – game out in the AL Central and ranked 15th in runs scored per game and 14th in runs allowed per game? Can’t someone find GM Mike Chernoff’s desk that will move the needle and improve their postseason odds a little bit? I don’t really understand.
Loser: Orioles fans
The Orioles went 16-9 in July and it was their best, most exciting month in more than half a decade. The team is on the rise and they are playing hard, and heading into deadline day, they are only 2 1/2 games behind the third and final American League wild card spot. Maybe buying aggressively would have been a bad idea. But sell? Selling???
With his team playing its best baseball in years, GM Mike Elias threw in the towel. This is what Elias told reporters, including MLB.com, after trading away homegrown favorite story and feel-great Trey Mancini. All-Star closer Jorge López was later traded away as well:
“I think the .500 record that we’ve had, the wins the last few months that we’ve had, the momentum that we’ve had, has made this a much more difficult decision and a more complicated Trade Deadline than it was, or any of the past. ” Elias added. “But ultimately, I have to tether my decision to the outlook and the probability of this year. We have a shot at the Wild Card now, but it is unlikely that we will win the Wild Card. All different ways of looking at it. And the moves we make that can strengthen our chances for next season and the season after and beyond are something we have to consider, despite the incredible progress our players have made this year.”
To be clear, “strengthening our chances for next season” involves trading for a pitching prospect coming off Tommy John surgery (Seth Johnson), two Single-A prospects (Chayce McDermott and Cade Povich), and two rookie ball prospects (Juan Rojas). and Juan Nunez). One player in the Mancini and Lopez trade, 28-year-old rookie reliever Yennier Cano, has a chance to help the 2023 Orioles in a meaningful way. Elias punted 2022 to (maybe) help 2024 Orioles.
The third wild card spot is supposed to increase the competition (or so we’re told) and here’s an Orioles team that’s getting away from its best players at a time when every win added to the roster is precious. Not everything in this game is an asset that needs to be managed and utilized to the maximum at all times. That’s baseball, not an actuarial table. There are humans involved, and instead of further encouraging the good vibes, the O’s front office replaced them.
“I mean, it’s just, it’s sloppy,” Ryan Mountcastle told MLB.com after the Mancini trade. “… It’s going to be tough without him. And I know a lot of us are very upset.”
Maybe it all works out and the 2022 Orioles will win without Mancini and López, and the 2023 Orioles without López. I still feel for Orioles fans. The team is good and happy for the first time in a long time, and instead of trying to take a step forward, the front office is taking a step back. The short-term future of the franchise, which is looking for the first time in years, is again sacrificed on the altar of increased margins. There’s a fine line between being cold and calculating, and disenfranchising your fans.
(At least) one more buzzer-beater
Contreras, Ródon, Happ, more staying put
Several notable names are reportedly being retained, including Carlos Ródon and Joc Pederson of the Giants, Willson Contreras and Ian Happ of the Cubs and Pablo López of the Marlins.
Merrifield on the move
Longtime Royal Whit Merrifield is headed to the Blue Jays, per Jon Heyman. Merrifield was ineligible to play in Toronto last month due to his vaccination status, so that seems to be something to work on.
Yankees-Cardinals stunner
Right before the deadline buzzer, the Yankees and Cardinals linked up for a surprising move.
Phillies get Syndergaard
And former No. 1 pick Mickey Moniak headed to the Angels in the deal.
Phillies close to getting Thor
Right-hander and former Mets star Noah Syndergaard could return to the NL East. The Phillies are close to acquiring Thor, who has spent this season with the Angels.
Twins add Fulmer
The Twins have acquired Michael Fulmer from the Tigers, according to Jon Heyman. Here’s what I wrote about him a few weeks ago: “Fulmer has adopted a min-max philosophy with his arsenal at that point: minimizing almost every other offering while maximizing his slider. There’s no indication he’ll stop.”
One more move for the Yankees?
The Yankees are interested in Marlins righty Pablo López, who is one of the top starters left on the market.
Where will Thor land?
It looks like Noah Syndergaard has two teams fighting to trade him. The Angels righty is coveted by the Blue Jays (who drafted him) and the Phillies (who are in the same division as his old team, the Mets).
Dodgers ship out Lamb
The Dodgers, who acquired lefty-hitting Joey Gallo today, moved on from Jake Lamb. Lamb is being traded to the Mariners.
Padres not done yet
Drury is a career utility guy who has played like an All-Star this season, thriving in a full-time role. He hit .274/.335/.52 (128 OPS+) with 22 doubles, two triples, 20 homers, 59 RBI, 62 runs and 2.3 WAR. He set career highs across the board.
He played mostly third base this season, but Machado has it on lockdown in San Diego. He was able to handle second base with Jake Cronenworth moving to shortstop until Fernando Tatis, Jr. He could get some outfield at-bats from Jurickson Profar (LF) or Trent Grisham (CF). Maybe he’ll split time at DH with Wil Myers? He can also spell Machado or Cronenworth when an off day is needed.
Contreras, Happ in Cubs lineup
Willson Conteras and Ian Happ are still on the Cubs’ roster, and in their Tuesday lineup. They can both be scratched from the order and traded before 6 p.m. ET, however.
Phillies get Marsh, Robertson
The Phillies currently sit in the third and final NL wild card spot and they made two trades Tuesday afternoon, with more likely. First, they traded catcher prospect Logan O’Hoppe to the Angels for outfielder Brandon Marsh, then they sent pitching prospect Ben Brown to the Cubs for veteran reliever David Robertson.
Marsh hasn’t gotten much MLB playing time over the course of a full season, though he was a consensus top-50 prospect as recently as last spring, and he’s an outstanding defensive center fielder. The Phillies have one of the worst defenses in the game — Marsh has to cover a TON of ground between Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos — and Marsh is a huge upgrade there.
Robertson signed a two-year deal with the Phillies in January 2019 and threw just 6 2/3 innings during the life of the contract due to injuries. He had a tremendous year and is the kind of versatile bat-missing reliever you find in most contender bullpens. Robertson can close, set up, middle innings pitching, you name it. The Phillies got a bit bitter on Tuesday with two small moves.
Soto trade is official
Eric Hosmer can’t throw things right now. The Padres and Nationals have announced an eight-player Juan Soto trade.
NL East movement
The Phillies, in addition to getting Brandon Marsh, also got Cubs reliever David Robertson at the deadline. Robertson previously spent some time (mostly injured) with the franchise.
The Mets, meanwhile, are adding to their depth with Darin Ruf in a trade with the Giants. JD Davis is part of the return to San Francisco.
Mahle does head to Minnesota
The Twins picked up Tyler Mahle, one of the top starters available at the deadline. He joins Jorge López as Minnesota’s deadline pickups.
Phillies get their center fielder
The Phillies have traded prospect catcher Logan O’Happe to the Angels for outfielder Brandon Marsh, according to Jim Bowden of CBS Sports HQ. Center field has been a problem for the Phillies for a bit, so it looks like Marsh will be gunning to hold the job any day, especially given up a prospect of O’Happe’s caliber in the deal.
Marsh is only 24 years old and was a second round pick in 2016 out of high school. He is a top-40 prospect heading into 2021. In 163 MLB games so far, he is hitting .239/.299/.354 (82 OPS+) with 21 doubles, five triples, 10 homers, 56 RBI, 61 runs, 14 steals . language and 1.1 WAR. He showed flashes of great upside, so the Phillies are looking to get rid of that.
Mahle to Twins?
Tyler Mahle is 27 years old and under team control through next season, so this is not a rental. He is 5-7 with a 4.40 ERA (104 ERA+), 3.60 FIP, 1.25 WHIP and 114 strikeouts in 104 1/3 innings this season. He was 13-6 with a 3.75 ERA and 210 strikeouts in 180 innings last season.
He will provide rotation stability for the Twins along with Sonny Gray and Joe Ryan.
Syndergaard, Blue Jays reunion?
One can recall that Noah Syndergaard was drafted by the Blue Jays and then became a top prospect in their organization before going to the Mets in the RA Dickey trade. He didn’t debut until he was with the Mets, but it would still be an interesting move in terms of his career path.
Syndergaard has been good, but not great, this season in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Iglesias will be intriguing. He was one of the best relievers in baseball last season, but has struggled this year. We know how volatile relievers can be. It’s entirely possible he’ll give them a late-inning knockout punch in partnership with Jordan Romano.
The Phillies have been connected to Syndergaard and Carlos Rodón here in the last hour or so. They will be slotting a new starter behind Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler in a formidable playoff rotation, if they make it.
Royals getting bites on Keller
Right-handed starter Brad Keller is 27 years old and under team control through next season. He was 5-11 with a 4.18 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 73 strikeouts in 107 2/3 innings. He has actually been great through five starts this season, but has pitched to a 5.17 ERA in his last 14 outings. Of course, if we’re going to do things arbitrarily, he has a 3.20 ERA in his last seven starts, four of which were wins for the Royals. The point is, it wouldn’t be horrible to add Keller as a rotation depth, but he shouldn’t be counted on as a frontline starter or even a mid-level option.
Mets, Cubs still talking Contreras
Rumors have connected the Mets to Cubs All-Star catcher Willson Contreras for weeks. Here’s another one as the deadline quickly approaches.
Contreras hit .252/.365/.453 (129 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 14 homers, 38 RBI, 51 runs and 2.9 WAR this season. He is one of the best offensive catchers in baseball, although he is very streaky. There are plenty of questions about his framing numbers behind the plate, but his arm is as strong as anyone’s. The Mets can also use him some at DH and Contreras has experience in left field as well.
Hosmer to the Red Sox after all this?
It’s been quite a day for Eric Hosmer during the Juan Soto sweepstakes. He reportedly exercised his no-trade clause to avoid going to the Nationals. And now this:
The Red Sox have struggled to find a first baseman for the past few years, so it’s a natural fit, at least defensively.
Gallo to Dodgers?
A deal that would send Joey Gallo to the Dodgers is possible, reports Ken Rosenthal. He was acquired by the Yankees last deadline and things just did not work out there at all for either party. In 140 games for the Yankees, Gallo has hit .159/.291/.368 (85 OPS+) with 194 strikeouts in 421 at-bats. He has hit 25 home runs, but only driven home 46 runs. His calling card is home runs and he only has 12 this season. It would be best for both parties to move on.
Does a shift to the other coast get Gallo back on track? He had two 40-homer seasons under his belt and had a 138 OPS+ when he was traded last season.
Rodón deal is possible
The Giants are “still talking to teams about” left-handed starting pitcher Carlos Rodón, reports Susan Slusser. If he is traded, there is a possibility that Rodón is the best starting pitcher moved this season. Through 21 starts with the Giants, he is 9-6 with a 3.00 ERA (135 ERA+), 2.29 FIP, 1.07 WHIP and 158 strikeouts against 39 walks in 123 innings. Note that the difference is huge in ERA and FIP, as the Giants are one of the worst defensive teams in baseball this season (they rank 28th in defensive efficiency). A move to a better defensive team would greatly benefit Rodón, who has been coming off a couple of bad shows where things snowballed. He has only allowed more than two runs in five starts.
A complicating factor could be Rodón’s contract. He is signed for $22.5 million for next season, but he has an opt-out clause that has been triggered by him topping 110 innings. The stipulation was included in his deal because of his extensive injury history. Any team that acquires him will have to decide if the risk is worth it, either he could be gone after the season or he will suffer a serious injury and stick with the Bills for next year. Talk about threading the needle, right?
Soto appears happy
This wasn’t quite the first look at Juan Soto in a Padres uniform, but he posted about the trade on his Instagram page on Tuesday. More specifically, Soto screenshotted a post from NBA player Victor Oladipo and put it on his Instagram story. If that doesn’t become an official trade in 2022, I don’t know what does.
Blue Jays adding relief depth
The Blue Jays are close to a deal for right-handed reliever Zach Pop, reports Sportsnet. Craig Mish added that Anthony Bass was also in the deal.
Bass, 34, is with the Blue Jays in 2020 and has really been the closer, recording seven saves. In 45 outings this season, he has a 1.41 ERA, 2.06 FIP, 0.94 WHIP and 45 strikeouts against 10 walks in 44 2/3 innings. It seems likely that he will be a high-leverage guy in the late innings to set up closer Jordan Romano and the likes of Adam Cimber, Yimi García and Tim Mayza.
Pop is 6-foot-4 and 25 years old. In 18 outings this season, he has a 3.60 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 14 strikeouts against two walks in 20 innings. He is a groundball pitcher and has stranded 12 of the 13 runners he inherited. He will slot as a middle relief arm.
Hosmer staying in SD
Eric Hosmer has used his no-trade clause to block a trade to the Nationals. Clearly, the Soto/Bél trade is still going on. It just takes a different form and doesn’t include Hosmer.
The Padres have been trying to unload Hosmer and his contract (three years with $39 million remaining) for years. Finding a taker in the next 4.5 hours will be difficult, if not impossible, especially since the best prospects are headed to Washington. It’s harder to bribe a team to take on Hosmer’s contract. Most likely outcome: Hosmer stays with the Padres and they have to pay the luxury tax this year.
