Under Maintenance

We deeply apologize for interrupting your reading but Vendetta is currently undergoing some important maintenance! You may experience some layout shifts, slow loading times and dififculties in navigating.

Sports Media

2022 MLB Trade Deadline: Winners and Losers

2022 MLB Trade Deadline Padres

(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

2022 MLB Trade Deadline, Padres
The Padres were the unquestionable winner of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline. (Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

2022 MLB Trade Deadline: Winners and Losers

The 2022 MLB Trade Deadline has officially passed, and was one of the more hectic deadlines in recent memory — highlighted by the Padres trading for Juan Soto (which I’ll get into below). Now that everything’s simmered, let’s get into some (not all) of my top winners and losers of the deadline.

Winners:

San Diego Padres

Well, duh! The Padres acquired 23-year-old superstar Juan Soto — a generational talent in every sense of the word — and, arguably, the top first baseman left on the market in Josh Bell. All in the same deal! Yes, it did require a huge prospect haul, but it’s also a trade you make 17 out of 10 times and three more times on days that end in -day. Oh, and they also acquired Josh Hader in a high-reward acquisition while also adding utility man Brandon Drury. The Padres had a franchise-altering deadline that’ll presumably put them in World Series contention for years to come.

Juan Soto

You get to spend the next decade-plus in San Diego? With all their fun nature, beaches, piña coladas, and gorgeous sightseeing, capped-off by their outstanding climate — that’s a win. And he gets to play baseball with Fernando Tatis and Manny Machado with more protection around him? That’s also a win. And the Padres, as a team, will be racking up plenty of wins as well. Wins, wins and even more wins!

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners attacked early and swiftly — adding 1B/DH Carlos Santana and Reds ace Luis Castillo. They’re still not going to win the AL West, but they made themselves a threat to secure a top wild card spot. Put them in a short series, and they will absolutely be a threat.

Houston Astros

Speaking of the AL West, the Astros addressed plenty of needs of their own. I’m not very high on the move to acquire Will Smith, but they did need a left-handed arm in the bullpen. They also nabbed Christian Vazquez, a good two-way catcher, and Trey Mancini. Fun fact: Mancini would have 21 home runs instead of 11, assuming he played all of his games in Minute Maid Park instead of Camden Yards, per Baseball Savant. That makes for a high-upside acquisition, even though I was hoping Mancini would be an Oriole-lifer.

New York Yankees (and Clarke Schmidt?)

The Yankees checked every box they needed ahead of the deadline: They acquired an outfielder to replace Joey Gallo (who they traded to the Dodgers), they traded for a frontline starter in Frankie Montas, and they acquired multiple bullpen arms in Lou Trivino and Scott Effross. But, they also traded away Jordan Montgomery in a head-scratching deal to the St. Louis Cardinals (more on that later). They must really like Clarke Schmidt, who they just sent down.

Eric Hosmer

Going from getting traded to the worst team in baseball to Boston is quite the trade-off! It’s a win for the Red Sox, too, who finally get a capable first baseman over Franchy Cordero and Bobby Dalbec. The rest of their deadline was odd, though.

Losers:

The rest of the NL West

Sure, the Dodgers are still probably the better team today. It’s way closer. But the last thing I’d like to be is a rival NL West team who have Soto, Machado and Tatis for the next several years. Regardless of how good the Giants, Dodgers, Rockies, or D-Backs are for the next several years, that doesn’t sound like a joyous time at all.

Chicago Cubs

Two of the biggest named bats entering this year’s deadline were Ian Happ and Willson Contreras. Contreras made his third All-Star team this year and would be a make an immediate upgrade for most teams at the catcher or DH spot. Neither got moved, which is confusing given the return both could’ve received. Now Chicago will have to offer Contreras, a free agent this offseason, the qualifying offer so they don’t lose him for nothing. Happ won’t be a free agent until after the 2023 season, so they can still deal him in the offseason, should they find an offer they like.

Colorado Rockies, Chicago White Sox

Neither the Rockies nor White Sox made a trade. While they didn’t technically get worse, they get dinged because trades are fun! It’s more understandable from the former, and way less from the latter.

Milwaukee Brewers

Devin Williams’ reaction to the Hader trade says it all. I understand it long-term, but I’m not a big fan of it in the short-term, and it seems like some players in that clubhouse clearly aren’t super pleased by it either. Taylor Rogers isn’t a bad reliever, nor was their prospect-haul in return bad. But, Hader ignited the back of their bullpen alongside Williams. To add insult to injury, they didn’t add an impact bat.

New York Mets

The Mets made smaller moves for Tyler Naquin, Phillip Diehl, Daniel Vogelbach, Darin Ruf and Mychal Givens. But the big trade for, say, Contreras and J.D. Martinez, wasn’t there. A lot of build up, some decent results — but will it be enough? The only need that they didn’t address was at catcher, which Contreras could’ve filled, so maybe I’m being a bit too picky. Either way, Jacob deGrom returned Tuesday and tossed five one-run innings with six strikeoutss, so none of these words really matter anyways.

Also the New York Yankees (partially)

Let’s end on the Montgomery trade, because this one was a doozy. They acquired Harrison Bader, who hasn’t played since June (plantar fasciitis) and will still be out and walking in a boot for “several weeks”, according to MLB.com Yankees reporter Bryan Hoch. Again, they (probably) believe in Schmidt and might not have seen Montgomery in a playoff rotation. But until Schmidt’s up, the Yankees will have to continue relying on Domingo German, who’s been very shaky this year, every fifth day. Their team is unquestionably better than it was a week ago. Though the value discrepancy of trading a reliable starting pitcher for an outfielder who, at best, is likely a defensive replacement/pinch runner (when healthy, barring an injury to someone else) is massive. Montas is now viewed as an upgrade over Montgomery, but now the same problem for depth in the rotation persists yet again after dealing him.

SUBSCRIBE to the Vendetta YouTube Channel!

SHOP for Vendetta Merch!

SUPPORT Vendetta on Patreon!

<!-- Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->
<div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-154"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Popular Past Stories

<!-- Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->
<div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-136"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->
<!-- Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->
<div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-135"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->

recommended stories

Tyron Smith

Jets Ink Tyron Smith In Free Agency

Jets Ink Tyron Smith In Free Agency The Jets have totally overhauled this offensive line and Aaron Rodgers is probably…

Read More
UFC Vegas 88 Preview Bets

UFC Vegas 88 Preview and Predictions

UFC Vegas 88 Preview and Predictions A run of underwhelming UFC fight night events begins with UFC Vegas 88. The…

Read More
Golden Knights

Golden Knights Land Tomáš Hertl… But What Now?

Golden Knights Land Tomáš Hertl… But What Now? The repeat is on? Kelly McCrimmon and the Vegas Golden Knights put…

Read More
Juwan Howard

Juwan Howard Out As Michigan Basketball Head Coach

Juwan Howard Out As Michigan Basketball Head Coach The University of Michigan is parting ways with head basketball coach Juwan…

Read More
<!-- Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->
<div id="ezoic-pub-ad-placeholder-134"> </div>
<!-- End Ezoic - Single Blog Page - Middle - mid_content -->