Grading the Biggest Trade Deadline Moves
Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres (CBS)
This trade deadline was eventful, though it lacked a superstar like Juan Soto getting traded. We’ve seen deadlines with several top-100 prospects moved, while a record zero were traded in 2024. There were two top-100’s moved this year, and both were traded for premium relievers. The Padres added the most talent of any team, though it was the Mariners that added the most offense to their roster. Most people around the game didn’t seem to expect a full fire sale from the Minnesota Twins, but they ended up trading more talent away than any other club in the league. The D-backs traded away three of their four core guys on expiring contracts, ultimately holding onto Zac Gallen. We are grading the top six most consequential moves of the deadline– keep in mind a trade for a rental will likely not be as big of a pendulum shift as a trade for a guy with three years of club control.
Arizona Diamondbacks traded 3B Eugenio Suárez to the Seattle Mariners for 1B Tyler Locklear, RHP Hunter Cranton and RHP Juan Burgos.
Arizona Diamondbacks
Eugenio was traded as the prized bat of this market, with his teammate Josh Naylor being put on a plane to Seattle right before Eugenio was. Suárez is having a better year than Naylor, and can play third base. Mike Hazen acquired slugger Tyler Locklear (#14 Seattle prospect), who has been one of the hottest hitters in Minor League Baseball over the past few weeks. Tyler has struggled with high velocity historically; he’s had a career high .942 OPS in Tacoma. With Naylor gone, Locklear will have a full look at first base for the first time– it's been crowded in Seattle for the last couple years. The Snakes are also acquiring some relief depth for the organization. Cranton is a college arm out of Kansas with early pro success, while Burgos (#25) has already debuted for the Mariners in the show. Juan Burgos has dominated the upper minors without much left to prove there, and he should have an immediate impact in Arizona. He’s probably not an impact arm, but his above-average command will allow him to eat innings. This return overall will depend on Locklear’s bat since he has little to no defensive value, and I’m not sold yet. The Snakes probably should have gotten a top-100 prospect back for the #1 bat on the market.
Grade: C
Tyler Locklear Dbacks Season Stats Baseball Reference
Seattle Mariners
Suárez is back in Seattle, making dreams come true. Naylor is an added bonus, and Jerry Dipoto didn’t have to part with a top-10 prospect in the org. They were able to deal from a crowded position, Tyler Locklear had nowhere to play anyway with Naylor coming to town. The Mariners traded four guys in the 13-25 range from their prospect pool, but they can now put a playoff ready lineup on the field. Geno was leading the National League in RBI at the time of the trade, with 36 homers to boot. Josh had an .807 OPS before the trade himself, which is one of the biggest win probability swings for the deadline for 2025. The only reason it’s not ranked higher is because both of these guys are rentals with expiring contracts.
Grade: A
Colorado Rockies traded 3B Ryan McMahon to New York Yankees for RHP Josh Grosz and LHP Griffin Herring.
Colorado Rockies
Dick Monfort seems to have finally resigned himself to the fact that things are not going well. The Rockies have never won the NL West, and haven’t even sniffed the playoffs in years. Ryan McMahon was their veteran infielder on an extension, one of the few permanent players on the roster. He’s a terrific third baseman, but the bat never really met expectations in Colorado. Over his nine years in Colorado, he compiled a mediocre 92 OPS+, but compiled an elite 79 defensive runs saved. Though he’s never won a Gold Glove, his reputation around the league is established as one of the best hot corner gloves around. The Yankees are assuming the full $36M owed to RyMac, something the Rockies ownership is certainly happy about. Groundball machine Griffin Herring (Yankees #17 prospect) has been converted to the rotation by the Rockies since coming out of the pen for LSU. He's got a plus slider, and had a 2.22 ERA in Hudson Valley before the trade. Time will tell if he has the command to start, but worst case he should be an effective lefty reliever in the show. Josh Grosz gives the Rockies some needed starting pitching depth in the org given their MLB staff is dismal. Dumping the roughly $36M obligation is a win, as is adding a talented young left hander. Still, trading your core guy and leader of the team is hard to chalk up as a success overall.
Grade: C+
New York Yankees
The Yankees soak up McMahon’s deal over the next two plus years, and they have an excellent glove at the hot corner for the first time in years. $16M a year for a 2-3 bWAR guy is decent value with a win being worth $8-$10M. RyMac at third base allows Boone to push Jazz to second and extend the lineup. Herring is a promising young arm, and some may argue too high a prospect for a below average hitter making decent money. Yankee fans will hope the bat plays better at Yankee Stadium, as Ryan only had a .717 OPS in the hitter-friendly Coors this year. He’s got a K rate north of 30%, so he won’t likely hit above .250, but he’s capable of 20-25 homers when he’s right.
Grade: B
Ryan McMahon Yankees Contract (Spotrac)
Kansas City Royals traded C Freddy Fermin to San Diego Padres for RHP Ryan Bergert and RHP Stephen Kolek
Kansas City Royals
The Royals front office chose to cash in on their 30-year-old catcher, Freddy Fermin, in exchange for young and controllable pitching. Fermin is under team control for 3+ years and averages 3.7 bWAR per 162 games. He’s an excellent defensive catcher, though he is limited offensively without much pop. The Royals front office is likely anticipating top-catching talent Carter Jensen (#1 Royals prospect) and Blake Mitchell (#2) reaching the majors soon, and saw an opportunity to capitalize on some pitching. Stephen Kolek has a 4.18 ERA in 14 starts this year, while ranking in the 86th percentile with a 5.7% barrel rate. He generates soft contact and ground balls, but lacks swing and miss ability ((18.6% whiff rate). Ryan Bergert is only 25 years old, three years younger than Kolek, and has pitched to a 2.78 ERA in 35.2 innings despite only a 23.7% chase rate. Bergert doesn’t generate ground balls the way Stephen does, and his 22.8% K rate is exactly average. Two back-end starters under control for 5-6 years is a worthwhile pursuit, particularly given that JJ Picollo’s top two prospects are both backstops.
Grade: A-
Royals Top 5 Prospects (Baseball America)
San Diego Padres
If the Padres were on a different timeline, this trade would be a loser for AJ Preller. Manny Machado is 33 years old and Xander is 32 going on 33, while Yu Darvish is 39. They have another year or two before they’re looking at being potentially uncompetitive in the NL West, so they have to make the most of those two years. Catcher was easily the weakest position for Bob Melvin and the coaching staff; they probably couldn’t wait for Martín Maldonado to be DFA’d after the trade went through. Giving up the most desirable asset, controllable starting pitching, is always a tough pill to swallow. That said, I suspect the Padres won’t be good by the time Stephen Kolek hits the open market, so why not get a competent catcher for your playoff push? Fermin has a 94 OPS+ on top of his premier defense, which is a huge improvement over Martín Maldonado and extends the lineup. Preller improved his roster for the postseason run significantly with this deal, while also adding another core piece for 2026 and beyond.
Grade: B+
Minnesota Twins traded SS Carlos Correa and cash to the Houston Astros for LHP Matt Mikulski.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins were under water for this year, and decided to go scorched earth. They traded almost 40% of their MLB roster, and that includes their clubhouse leader, Carlos Correa. Carlos is back in Houston where he started, and the Twins were able to dump most of his salary while acquiring a minor league depth arm in Mikulski. Correa may not have hit as much this year for the Twins, but he’s put up a .784 OPS over the past four years for them. Paying $33M to get rid of your shortstop is just an odd move to me. When I initially saw they were eating $33M, I assumed Houston was sending a prospect, but turns out it was just a salary dump for a guy who hasn’t even turned 31 yet. This is one of my least favorite moves of the deadline.
Grade: D
Jeff Passan of ESPN Tweet (X)
Houston Astros
I love this move for the culture, Correa was a huge part of the dynasty run in Houston, a team the rest of the league loves to hate. Carlos still hits the ball hard, and his bat speed is 79th percentile at 74 MPH. He’ll play third base for Houston, which is the obvious move given his downward trend at short defensively and the presence of Jeremy Peña. Isaac Paredes is out for the year, and the Astros had to go get a bat for third base. A rental would have made a lot of sense, but I love the idea of acquiring who you can and figuring out the musical chairs in 2026. 3+ years of an All Star like Correa feels like a win for $71M, IF he can stay healthy. He only put up a .704 OPS in Minnesota this year, but he’s only one year removed from hitting .310 with a .905 OPS.
Grade: A-
Minnesota Twins traded RHP Jhoan Duran to the Philadelphia Phillies for C Eduardo Tait and RHP Mick Abel.
Minnesota Twins
The Twins started their fire sale by trading Jhoan Durán and acquiring one of the two top-100 prospects traded at this year’s deadline. Eduardo Tait (#50 in MLB) hasn’t turned 19 yet, and he’s already playing High-A ball. He’s a talented young catcher with a strong arm and a ton of pop in the bat. Tait is a great addition to a farm system already featuring three top-50 prospects. Mick Abel can likely help the big league club this year, though he did struggle in his six starts with the Phillies. Abel was Philly’s first round pick back in 2020, and has potential to be an SP3 despite some issues with command. Minnesota needed to make the most of trading away their star closer, and the return could have been better with 2+ years of service left for Duran before he hits the market. Tait is still so far away at 18 years old, this trade’s report card in the near future will depend on whether or not Abel can limit the walks and command the zone.
Grade: B
Philadelphia Phillies
Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies have been chasing that World Series ring when he was brought over, and the success has been elusive. The Phillies pen ranks 24th in the MLB with a 4.52 ERA, the worst of any postseason contender. Their biggest need was a high leverage reliever, preferably a closer, and they got the best guy on the market. Jhoan Durán has the best splitter in the league, and his 2.45 ERA since 2021 is 5th in the MLB for relievers (min. 200 inn). Though Tait has a higher ceiling, Abel feels like a loss in a sense because he can help in the near future. Similar to the Padres window, the Phillies have an aging core of Zack Wheeler, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, etc. The front office didn’t have to trade away either Aidan Miller or Andrew Painter, so this deal is a win in my book.
Grade: B+
Top MLB Relievers Since 2021 (Fangraphs)
Athletics traded RHP Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears to San Diego Padres for RHP Henry Baez, RHP Eduarniel Núñez, SS Leo De Vries and RHP Braden Nett.
Athletics
The A’s took a page out of Billy Beane’s book and traded a premium reliever to a team in need of reinforcements for their postseason run. The return is substantial, Leodalis De Vries (#5 in MLB) is the highest-ranked prospect to be traded at the deadline since the Cubs traded Eloy Jiménez in July, 2017. De Vries is only 18 years old, but looks like a five tool shortstop. He’s a switch hitter with a 60 hit tool, and has potential to be in the big leagues by 2027. Braden Nett (#7 Padres prospect) has a + fastball, but needs to throw more strikes to carve out a SP4 or SP5 role on an MLB roster. Eduarniel Nunez (#14) is already being deployed in the A’s bullpen, he’s 25 years old with triple digit velocity and a nice power slider. If he can improve his command, he has the chance to be a high leverage reliever. Lastly, Henry Baez (#16) has a nice split change and has upside as a back of the rotation guy who throws strikes. That is quite a haul, though they are trading away 4+ years of Mason Miller and 3+ years of JP Sears. My guess is the Padres were the aggressor in pursuing Mason Miller, in a successful bid to build the best bullpen in the league. I don’t love the A’s selling their pitching when their lineup has shown promise this year, but this is too good of a return to pass up.
Grade: A
San Diego Padres
The trade deadline might seem zero sum, but sometimes there are trades that make sense for both sides. This is one of those, though parting with the golden boy in your organization is never an easy decision. Trading a top-five prospect in the game is exceedingly rare, especially when the headliner on the other side is a reliever. Mason Miller has bonkers stuff and a career 13.2 K/9, though his 3.76 ERA for the A’s this year didn’t exactly jump off the page. His xERA is 2.85 and his 38.7% K rate this season is in the 100th percentile. He’s only 26 years old, an elite reliever, and under control through the 2029 season. His teammate, JP Sears, comes with much less fanfare as an SP4 type guy. JP is solid though, with a 4.03 xERA and an excellent 6.1% BB rate. The Padres needed to get Sears to be able to deal Kolek in the Fermin trade, and they’ll have the left hander through the 2028 season. Good move to improve your roster for the next three years, even if you did overpay a bit.
Grade: B+
Mason Miller Metrics Profile 2025 (Baseball Savant)