Analysis: Winners and Losers of the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline

MLB 2025 Trade Deadline: A Look at the Most Notable Moves

Despite the absence of major transfers, the closing of Major League Baseball (MLB) transfers in 2025 more than compensated in volume. From the first agreement on July 24 to the last on July 31, teams made 63 trades, involving 179 players. One team got rid of 10 players from its main squad, while another brought in seven new faces. Each team made at least one move, which reiterates an undeniable truth: nobody handles a transfer deadline like baseball. In honor of this, we present a unique awards ceremony, highlighting the most interesting elements of the end of 2025, starting with the most atypical winner.

Best Negotiator Award: The Oakland Athletics

Although many key players moved to contending teams, the A’s victory required a type of trade that is rarely seen. Before the deadline, Leo De Vries, the promising 18-year-old shortstop for the San Diego Padres, seemed untouchable. However, Padres’ president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, showed a willingness to trade him for the A’s closer, Mason Miller, and the Guardians’ left fielder, Steven Kwan. The A’s took advantage, including Miller and the left-handed JP Sears, to obtain De Vries and a trio of right-handed pitching prospects: Braden Nett, Henry Baez, and Eduarniel Nunez.

De Vries, ranked as the third-best baseball prospect, has proven his worth in the High-A category and is expected to reach the Major Leagues before the age of 21. He would join a promising lineup, alongside players like Nick Kurtz, Brent Rooker, Jacob Wilson, Lawrence Butler, Shea Langeliers, Tyler Soderstrom, and Denzel Clarke.

“I am very upset that I didn’t get De Vries,” said an evaluator.

Evaluator

This type of deal is uncommon, as trades involving the top five prospects happen very rarely.

“Who Needs Those Young People?” Award: San Diego Parents

De Vries and other Padres prospects weren’t the only ones to be transferred. In deals that provided Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, Freddy Fermin, Nestor Cortes, and Will Wagner, San Diego traded 10 more rookie-eligible players. Preller, apparently, is willing to sacrifice the future for the present. Although the A’s rating at the close matches their nickname, that doesn’t condemn the Padres to a bad rating. On the contrary, there are situations that justify risky decisions, and San Diego is an example of this. Michael King, Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez, and Luis Arraez are headed to free agency. Manny Machado isn’t getting any younger. The Padres’ window is now. In their 56-year history, they’ve reached two World Series and haven’t won any. The Padres now have the best bullpen in baseball, and O’Hearn, Laureano, and Fermin complete a lineup with Machado, Arraez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, Jake Cronenworth, and Xander Bogaerts. There is no weak point in their order or bullpen, and if King recovers, Nick Pivetta keeps pitching and Cease or Yu Darvish find themselves, they will be as dangerous as anyone in the National League in October. San Diego could end up as the number 6 seed, but so were the Texas Rangers in 2023, and that didn’t stop them from getting their franchise’s first ring.

Joël Robuchon Award for Absolutely Cooking: The Seattle Mariners

The Mariners deserve credit. They got the best bat at the trade deadline, Eugenio Suárez, covered a need at first base with Josh Naylor, reinforced their bullpen with lefty Caleb Ferguson, and did so without sacrificing Colt Emerson, Jonny Farmelo, Ryan Sloan, Jurrangelo Cijntje, Michael Arroyo, Lazaro Montes, Harry Ford, or Felnin Celesten, all high-caliber prospects. The renewed Mariners won three of four against the Rangers, with whom they entered their series tied, over the weekend. Seattle is almost completely healthy, and with Bryce Miller excelling in his rehab assignment with a fastball touching 98 mph and Victor Robles potentially returning in September, the Mariners are two call-ups away from having the most terrifying team they’ve had since their resurgence began in 2021. There’s no way the Diamondbacks got ripped off for Suárez and Naylor. Arizona needed pitchers and got quality arms in both deals, and Tyler Locklear should be the team’s first baseman for the next half-decade. But this trade deadline was about an organization that has drafted as well as any other in the 2020s, shedding its relative conservatism to make a run in a year where there are no favorites. That’s worthy of some Robuchon potatoes.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Award for the Frustrated Fanbase: Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox

The Cubs and Red Sox began the offseason looking for the same archetype: a high-level starting pitcher with multiple years of club control. Both came away with that need unsatisfied. Boston was close. The Red Sox were willing to part with several high-level prospects to get right-hander Joe Ryan from the Minnesota Twins. But that wasn’t expressed until the trade deadline was approaching, and the Twins were so immersed in other negotiations to dismantle their roster that the prospect of moving Ryan had lost its appeal. The Cubs got Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals the day before the trade deadline, but the trade demands for Ryan, Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore, and right-handers Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera from the Miami Marlins were too high for Chicago’s liking. The balance most front offices try to strike isn’t easy. They want to win this year, but they also want to win in the future. What’s most telling is that these are two organizations with enormous expectations, and limitations. When the Red Sox traded Yoan Moncada in 2016, they were consistently a team with a top-five payroll. Stockpiling young, affordable players wasn’t nearly the imperative it is now, when for the last three seasons Boston has begun Opening Day with a payroll outside the top 10. When the Cubs made the Aroldis Chapman deal in 2016 and the Jose Quintana deal the following season, they were consistently a team with a top-six payroll. Over the last five years, their Opening Day payrolls have ranked 12th, 14th, 11th, 9th, and 12th, respectively.

Could their front office have ignored those realities and gone all-in? Of course. And none of their fans would have cared. For now. But if they lost in October this year and one of the prospects they moved exploded, not only would the deals be seen as failures, but, as they would have been made against the advice of the analytical models, they would be the “you should have known” type.

Leading a team is not easy. Leading a team that has cut payroll seemingly without good reason is a particular challenge. The fact that there is no true World Series favorite this year makes fan frustration especially justified, but it’s also a reminder that no decision is made in a vacuum. Context with the Red Sox and Cubs matters.

Pulpo Malabarista Award: The Minnesota Twins

The Twins are for sale. What had a meaning when entering the trade deadline —the franchise has been on the market since last October— acquired a completely different one in the last 48 hours of the trade season, when Minnesota traded 10 Major League players and completely altered its trajectory. The bloodbath was astonishing in its scope. The Twins traded their highest-paid player, shortstop Carlos Correa, to Houston. They moved their closer, Jhoan Duran, to Philadelphia, who then acquired center fielder Harrison Bader from Minnesota. They sent right-hander Chris Paddack to Detroit, unloaded their bullpen of Brock Stewart (Los Angeles Dodgers), Danny Coulombe (Texas), and Louis Varland (Toronto Blue Jays, along with first baseman Ty France). Super-utilityman Willi Castro went to the Cubs. And finally, and most surprisingly, relief ace Griffin Jax landed in Tampa Bay. So, players who were earning around $65 million this year were gone in an instant, replaced by a mix of Major League players (right-hander Taj Bradley and outfielders James Outman and Alan Roden), high-level prospects (catcher Eduardo Tait, right-hander Mick Abel, left-hander Kendry Rojas), and lottery tickets. Days later, the industry remains stunned by the magnitude of the emptying. It’s not clear how much of this is attributable to the team’s book-clearing for sale. But what shouldn’t be missed is that the Twins are still in a reasonable position to compete in the future. Joe Ryan and Pablo López are an excellent 1-2 at the top of the rotation. The daily lineup, with Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Matt Wallner, and Ryan Jeffers, will soon be complemented by top prospects like Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodríguez, Luke Keaschall, and Kaelen Culpepper. They have excellent starting pitcher depth. And suddenly they have a lot of flexibility in the payroll for the winter. Will the new owner use it? That’s the key, of course. A liquidation sale is for demolition. A new commitment of resources is a strategy that most teams don’t have the courage to undertake. The course the Twins chart won’t be clear until next spring.

“You Can Always Come Home” Award: Houston Astros Acquire Carlos Correa

When it was first reported that the Astros were interested in reacquiring Correa, a fundamental axis of Houston’s run to seven consecutive American League Championship Series, the news registered as a shock. Correa’s journey — the free agent market collapses, short-term signing with the Twins, opting out, having deals with San Francisco and the New York Mets fall through, returning to Minnesota — seemed to have come to an end.

Particularly when the Astros insisted that the Twins pay more than $50 million of the $104 million owed to Correa until the end of 2028 and that they include a reliever like Jax. Minnesota was not against trading Correa; it was against the stupidity. The deal seemed dead entering the last 24 hours before the trade deadline.

He was defibrillated when the Astros moved away from the request for additional players and increased their share of covering Correa’s salary to $71 million. The deal was finalized about two hours before the trade deadline, which helped Houston overcome the season-ending right hamstring tear of third baseman Isaac Paredes, and to strengthen themselves while their two closest competitors, the Mariners and the Rangers (who acquired right-hander Merrill Kelly and right-handed reliever Phil Maton along with Coulombe), saw the American League West Division crown within reach. To pave the way for the agreement, Correa waived his no-trade clause. He never left Houston, maintaining a home there, and when the Astros return from their current nine-game road trip on August 11, the ovation will be deafening. For all the foundational players who have left the Astros, the sight of Correa and Jose Altuve sharing an infield will evoke memories that Houstonians will never forget.

Best Deal Is the One You Don’t Make: Cleveland Guardians Retain Steven Kwan

Despite all the conversations Cleveland had with other teams about left fielder Kwan, and there were many, the Guardians ended up not moving the two-time All-Star despite a series of solid offers. Perhaps no MLB team navigates veteran player trade negotiations with the discipline and conviction of the Guardians. They established their trade demands for Kwan, and no one met them. So they kept him. And that’s a good thing for a city like Cleveland, which has never gotten used to its team’s propensity to extract value from contracted players before they reach free agency. There’s a specific type of pride in Cleveland, which has suffered without a championship more than any other baseball team, and the prospect of kicking the can down the road once more invoked painful memories of the departures of CC Sabathia, Francisco Lindor, Cliff Lee, and many others. Between José Ramírez and Kwan, the Guardians have two of the most consistent players in the game. Building a lineup around them, and also creating a proper rotation, is the trick with a thin roster. A deal for Kwan could materialize again during the winter, which tends to be when position players get a higher return than at the trade deadline. Could free agent runner-up Kyle Tucker see Kwan, a lesser player, but still very good, as a reasonable backup plan? Sure. It’s all part of the Guardians’ life, which is reflectively shuffled as if they were trapped in an endless game of three-card monte. For now, they abstained. And perhaps they can use the next three months to craft the kind of contract extension offer that will convince Kwan to remain in a Guardians uniform for a long time.

One Big Play Can Change Everything Award: The Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies wanted —needed— a relief solution for the late innings after last year reminded them of the need for bullpen stability. As good as their relievers were last year during the regular season, the bullpen spectacularly failed during their divisional series loss against the Mets. Compound that with closer Jordan Romano’s issues, the loss of José Alvarado for next October due to a previous suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and the fragility of their other relievers, and there was no team that needed a player more than the Phillies needed a fireman. Jhoan Duran enters. The fit was perfect. It cost the Phillies Tait and Abel, a prospect haul they were willing to part with because it didn’t include Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller, or Justin Crawford, their top three. And it gave them a lockdown closer with arguably the best pure stuff in baseball. His “splinker” and his curveball are his two best pitches, which says a lot considering Duran throws his fastball up to 103 mph and has hit triple digits 161 times this season. Beyond Duran, the Phillies can turn to Orion Kerkering and Matt Strahm and hope they fare better this October than last. David Robertson will arrive soon to bolster the group. Tanner Banks has been good. They are not the Padres. They are not the Brewers. But with the best starting rotation in the National League, they don’t need to be. Philadelphia’s relievers simply need to be good enough, and after the addition of Duran, they are.

October Award Is For Relief Pitchers: The New York Mets and Yankees

Around 59% of the innings this year have been thrown by starting pitchers. In recent seasons, that percentage has decreased noticeably in the playoffs. Relievers account for around 50% of the innings pitched in the playoffs. And teams in this offseason acted as if they understood the need for bullpen help. No one added more relief help than the New York teams. The Mets gave up a lot to add Ryan Helsley and Tyler Rogers to a bullpen that already included Edwin Díaz, Brooks Raley, and Reed Garrett, and as much as it cost in prospects, they didn’t have to move any of their three first-class starting pitchers (Jonah Tong, Nolan McLean, and Brandon Sproat) or their position standouts (Jett Williams and Carson Benge). The Yankees not only acquired relief arms in former Pirates closer David Bednar, Giants closer Camilo Doval, and Rockies setup man Jake Bird, but they control them for several years. As horrible as Bednar, Doval, and Bird’s debuts with the Yankees were —the sweep at the hands of Miami over the weekend was the nadir of New York’s season—, they will ultimately improve the bullpen.

Is it good enough to get them through the American League? The team that has spent most of the season at the top of the standings, Detroit, put a lot of thought into bullpen depth to acquire four relief arms at the trade deadline. The Astros, currently at the top of the West, have the second-best bullpen ERA in the American League, behind the Red Sox, who overtook the Yankees in the standings over the weekend. And the Blue Jays’ relief corps has the second-highest strikeout rate of any bullpen in the Major Leagues. The Mets and Yankees simply did what they had to do to compete.

Less Is More Award: St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals’ president of baseball operations, John Mozeliak, could have gone out and floated any number of desirable players, from Brendan Donovan to Ivan Herrera and Lars Nootbaar, and found a market worth pursuing. Instead, Mozeliak kept things simple, and it was the right thing to do. He will leave his position at the end of the season, yielding to Chaim Bloom, former Red Sox baseball director, and by only unloading Helsley, Maton, and Steven Matz — all imminent free agents — Mozeliak did not overreach and made deals that should be the purview of his replacement. Other executives might have let ego get in the way when trying to put a final stamp on a franchise they have run for more than a decade. Mozeliak, instead, recognized that this is Bloom’s team going forward, and figuring out how to pilot a group that is good but not good enough is no longer Mozeliak’s responsibility. There is an urgency for change with the Cardinals; it’s just not the kind of urgency that needed to be satisfied by an outgoing executive. Despite all the disappointment the Cardinals have provided in the last three seasons — attendance has decreased in that time from over 40,000 per game to less than 29,000 —, they have plenty of room to expand their roster, a future star about to reach the Major Leagues in JJ Wetherholt, and a wide range of options for this winter. In a division as competitive as the National League Central will be for the next half-decade, they’re going to need everything they can get.

Award A for Effort: The Kansas City Royals

Know yourself. It’s perhaps the most important characteristic for any front office. Know the quality of your Major League team, know your staff, know your strengths, know your weaknesses, know your purpose. A cursory look at the Royals might have left outsiders wondering what business a sub-.500 team had adding at the trade deadline. And yet, it was the perfect example of the Royals understanding themselves. Even with ace Cole Ragans out of action and All-Star lefty Kris Bubic out for the season, both with left shoulder injuries, the Royals know their market. They know Kansas City suffered through too many non-competitive seasons to spend the last two months of this season reliving those memories. They know they want to build a new stadium, and the first effort to do so led voters to reject a proposal that would have helped build one. They know they only have so many years of Bobby Witt Jr. before he can opt out of his contract. They know, more than