If there was one thing that separated this year’s trade deadline from those in recent years, it was the distinction between the contenders who were clearly going for it and those who seemed just happy to be there, making small, ancillary moves that didn’t really change their outlooks.
Of course, not every team is going to swing for the fences in trades (pun intended), but when trying to win a World Series, often there needs to be a move that increases a team’s chances of winning. Among the teams that went big, the San Diego Padres stand out. They acquired the most impact at the deadline, trading for first baseman/designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, outfielder Ramón Laureano, starter J.P. Sears and closer Mason Miller.
Like many teams at the deadline, the New York Mets decided to make their bullpen a priority. They also aimed high, trading for left-hander Gregory Soto and right-handers Tyler Rogers and Ryan Helsley.
And then there were the Philadelphia Phillies, who didn’t need as much at the deadline, given a rock-solid rotation and a lineup hitting its stride. But for years, a lockdown closer for the ninth inning always felt like the area the Phillies lacked in their efforts to win the World Series. Last week, they addressed that need in a big way, adding All-Star closer Jhoan Duran to anchor the back end of their bullpen and strengthen their case as legitimate World Series contenders.
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While those teams moved aggressively to increase their World Series chances, other teams that went into the deadline as World Series contenders stayed rather quiet, opting to bet on their existing strengths rather than paying steep trade prices.
The Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers were arguably the two best teams in the first half of this season. But both have clear weaknesses. For the Cubs, it has always been starting pitching, with no apparent in-house arm ready to start a postseason game behind Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd. The Cubs’ deadline left a lot to be desired, with their pitching additions limited to reliever Andrew Kittredge, reliever Taylor Rogers and starter Mike Soroka, who is already on the IL after pitching just two innings in his first outing with Chicago, leaving the Cubs exactly where they were before the deadline.
Meanwhile, Detroit needed a right-handed bat and more starting pitching. The Tigers added right-hander Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins to their rotation, but they did not acquire a bat.
And Detroit and Chicago weren’t the only teams in postseason position that didn’t make significant changes at the deadline. The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers were also quiet. The only moves those teams made was the Brewers adding fourth outfielder Brandon Lockridge and backup catcher Danny Jansen, while the Dodgers acquired outfielder Alex Call and sent right-hander Dustin May to the Boston Red Sox.
For all four of these teams, the lack of deadline moves can be taken as a sign that their front offices are betting on themselves and the teams they already have. One could argue that these teams already had what they need to contend down the stretch. But one could also argue that once the dust of the trade deadline settled, with other teams getting better, these squads got worse by comparison.
In Detroit, the Tigers are betting that their pitching, led by AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal, can continue to carry the team. Detroit has leaned heavily on its starting pitching over the past two years, but at this point, for the Tigers to finish as the top team in the American League, their offense is going to have to come through in a big way.
The Dodgers are going all-in on their roster getting healthy, which is hard to fault given that when they’re healthy, they’re as loaded as any team in baseball. But of course, in recent years, the Dodgers have never been fully healthy, so the idea that they’ll somehow get there this season seems like a bit of a stretch.
In the case of the Cubs, they’re betting on the offense that has carried them to this point and certain players, such as Jameson Taillon and Javier Assad, getting healthy down the stretch. That seems like a risky bet, especially with the Cubs already regretting their inactivity at the trade deadline. It’s not just that their only starting-pitching acquisition immediately got injured; that simply wasn’t the type of move that says a team is trying to win the World Series.
Yes, starting pitching is always expensive, and at this year’s deadline, it might’ve been even more expensive than usual. But for a team that needed not just a postseason-caliber starter but also additional depth, the addition of one back-end starter wasn’t going to cut it. Not to mention, Chicago is 6-9 in its past 15 games, now four games behind the Brewers in the NL Central, and its high-powered offense has gone ice-cold since the All-Star break.
The Brewers are the one team from this quartet that deserves the benefit of the doubt. Milwaukee has looked almost unbeatable for the better part of the past two months, but what’s more, they addressed some of their needs prior to the flurry of deadline activity. Quinn Priester, acquired in an April trade with Boston, has been a huge addition to their rotation, and Andrew Vaughn, acquired from the White Sox in June, has been one of the best hitters in MLB over the past three weeks.
If this season has shown us anything, it’s that the league is wide-open, and there are probably six to eight teams with a legitimate chance to win the World Series. When some teams stand pat while others act aggressively to get better, the outlook of the league and the postseason picture can change rather quickly. In a year like that, it’s imperative for the teams in contention to bolster their rosters and give themselves the best odds to win it all.
Not doing so feels like a waste of a golden opportunity.
