Winners and losers of the 2021 MLB trade deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The 2021 MLB trade deadline has passed, and what a deadline it was.
A number of All-Star players will don new uniforms for at least the next couple of months. A few World Series contenders loaded up on talent while others stood pat, which could come back to haunt them in their pursuit of a championship.
Tomase: Sox inexplicably sit out trade deadline and they might pay for it
So, which clubs dominated the deadline? Who will regret their moves — or lack thereof — come October?
Let’s take a look at the winners and losers:
The rich get richer.
The already-loaded Dodgers made the biggest splash of the deadline, acquiring veteran ace Max Scherzer and All-Star shortstop Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals. They also snagged southpaw Danny Duffy from the Kansas City Royals. These could be the moves that catapult L.A. over the San Francisco Giants in the National League West and lead them to a second straight World Series title.
Adam Frazier and Daniel Hudson are nice additions, but neither are the starting pitcher that the Padres needed. San Diego reportedly was in the mix for Jose Berrios but was beat out by the Toronto Blue Jays. Their failure to bring in a quality starter could be costly as they hope to keep pace with the Dodgers and Giants in the NL West.
WINNER: New York Yankees
The Yankees needed left-handed bats and they got two of the biggest ones on the trade market in Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo. They didn’t have to give up any of their top-10 prospects to make the deals happen, either.
Will those moves be enough to propel the Yankees to the top of the American League East? Probably not. But a wild card spot is very much a possibility, and anything can happen from there.
Kyle Schwarber brings a left-handed slugger to the Red Sox lineup but he’s a questionable fit in Boston. The All-Star outfielder has only one game of experience at first base, which is where the Red Sox really needed to upgrade. The outfield already is in solid shape with Kiké Hernandez, Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe. Schwarber also is currently on the injured list with a severe hamstring strain and isn’t expected to return until mid-August.
Other than Schwarber, the Red Sox’ didn’t do much to move the needle. They acquired righty reliever Hansel Robles from the Minnesota Twins and traded Michael Chavis to the Pittsburgh Pirates for left-handed reliever Austin Davis. Both have ERAs near or above 5.00 this season.
The Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays each made major upgrades over the last week. Schwarber could turn out to be an important piece for Boston, but the lack of a starting pitcher or a true first baseman puts the Red Sox in the “loser” column for now.
The White Sox now have one of the scariest bullpens in baseball after acquiring Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel in separate deals with their crosstown rivals, the Chicago Cubs. Tepera and Kimbrel join a ‘pen that already included Michael Kopech and All-Star closer Liam Hendriks. On top of that, Chicago filled a need by adding second baseman Cesar Hernandez in a deal with the Cleveland Indians.
The Kimbrel deal was costly — the White Sox parted ways with Nick Madrigal and right-hander Codi Heuer — but these are the moves you have to make when you’re going for it. Chicago already was a World Series contender, now they may be the clear AL favorite.
LOSER: Seattle Mariners
The Mariners made the questionable decision to help out a division rival by sending closer Kendall Graveman — their best reliever — to the Houston Astros. Seattle players were NOT pleased.
To replace Graveman, Jerry Dipoto and the Mariners front office acquired Diego Castillo from the Tampa Bay Rays. Altogether, a bizarre series of events for the M’s.
WINNER: Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays addressed their need for pitching by trading for Minnesota Twins ace Jose Berrios and Washington Nationals closer Brad Hand. The division likely is out of reach, but an improved pitching staff to help out one of the best lineups in the league could go a long way toward helping Toronto sneak into the postseason.
LOSER: Trevor Story and the Colorado Rockies
The Rockies slept through the entire deadline. They were expected to part ways with star shortstop Trevor Story as well as pitchers Jon Gray and German Marquez. None of them were moved.
Colorado is expected to extend qualifying offers to Story and Gray. Bizarre decision-making, to say the least.
WINNER: Oakland Athletics
Trading young southpaw Jesus Luzardo to Miami is a risky move, but it’s worth it to acquire a stud outfielder like Starling Marte. Also heading to Oakland are Yan Gomes and Josh Harrison from the Nationals. The A’s currently hold the second AL wild card spot and are 5 1/2 games behind the NL West-leading Astros, so these are the moves that needed to be made.
LOSER: Cincinnati Reds
The Reds added some bullpen help with Justin Wilson, Luis Cessa and Mychal Givens. They needed a shortstop, though, and they failed to address that need. It’ll be an uphill battle for the Reds to catch up with the Milwaukee Brewers (seven-game lead in NL Central) or overtake one of the NL West juggernauts for a wild card spot.
WINNER: San Francisco Giants
The Giants were a big loser on our list until they pulled off a late trade for Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant. While the Dodgers may have done enough to overtake San Francisco in the tight division race, the addition of Bryant shows the Giants won’t go down without a fight. This is a huge addition for a team that never expected to be in this position back in April.
LOSER: Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals fans
The Cubs and Nationals did what they had to do. They tore it all down, trading their biggest stars to begin building toward a bright future.
Chicago parted ways with Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Craig Kimbrel, Trevor Williams and Ryan Tepera. Washington said goodbye to Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, Daniel Hudson, Kyle Schwarber, Jon Lester, Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes.
It’s a sad day for Cubs and Nationals fans, no doubt. But both teams received massive hauls of prospects in their blockbuster deals. A couple of years from now, we could be looking at these two clubs as winners of the 2021 deadline.