2022 MLB Trades

Here’s my recap of the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline.

Is it just me, being a teenager, or have I not witnessed a baseball trade deadline where so few moves happened?

There was a very small amount of blockbusters and there were not too many small deals.

Starting with the Padres, the undeniable, irrefutable, and indisputable winners of the deadline; they picked up tons of talent over the week leading up to August 2nd.

They picked up Juan Soto, who may very well be the best player in baseball in just a few years. Sure, they’ll have to pay him a lot of money and roll that into their payroll that’s already paying Fernando Tatis Jr. for half a century. But Soto is just that good. He’s not too bad of a fielder, even though that’s his worst quality. What makes him the big bucks, though, is his plate discipline. Soto will take a pitch a half inch out of the zone and not just once a game, but probably once or twice an at-bat. This pitch selection helps him hit the number of extra-base hits he does.

They also traded for Josh Hader, who’s easily a top 3 closer in baseball right now. Along with Josh Bell and Brandon Drury, both of whom will be reliable bats off the bench or in the DH position. One of the most underrated moves the Padres made, however, was shedding a player, not gaining one. Eric Hosmer, whose golden days died out when he was on the World Series-winning Royals, was just clogging up salary on their payroll and San Diego traded him to Boston. Great move.

I mean, yeah, they had to get rid of a small village to get all these players but I think it’s worth it. The Padres are already talented and just got even more upgrades. A++ for the Padres.

Next, we have is the Yankees. How much better can these boys get? Well not too much. They got rid of Joey Gallo and got Andrew Benintendi, a very reliable bat to perfectly fill in for Gallo. They did pretty much everything they wanted to except win a World Series in August. They also acquired back end-of-the-rotation starter Frankie Montas and got yet another outfielder in Harrison Bader. A- for the Yankees.

You haven’t heard the Phillies in headline news, have you? I heard they got Noah Syndergaard and I merely nodded my head at that move, considering how much more Syndergaard has in the tank. They acquired a center fielder in Brandon Marsh (I bet you’ve never heard of him. Check his stats, though) and more bullpen help. Here’s a tip, if you ever find yourself as an MLB general manager and don’t know what to do at the deadline, just get bullpen help. It’s that perfectly average move, no one will praise you yet no one will criticize you either. A- for the Phillies.

It’s unfortunate the Mets couldn’t do anything big. Steve Cohen, a very aggressive owner took over the Mets a couple of years ago and the Mets GM, Billy Eppler, is also a fairly new addition. They were very aggressive in the offseason, but during the regular season, they didn’t trade for anyone great. The Mets got Daniel Vogelbach, Darin Ruf, Tyler Naquin, and Mychal Givens, none of whom are going to have a prominent role in the club, but rather be platooned with other guys and getting a start once every four days. The Mets even had the prospects and the MLB talent to do it. They should’ve easily traded for someone above average to bolster the team. B- for the Mets.

Another blown opportunity comes from Los Angeles. The Dodgers could’ve made a super team. I’m not hoping for that, because that will take over the league, but they could’ve. They still have an insane farm system. They obviously don’t need it, so they could’ve thrown it all to a team with a star. Like the Nationals before Soto was dealt. Some might even say the Dodgers got worse by getting Joey Gallo because we know how Joey Gallo hits and where are the Dodgers going to put him. Terrible deadline from them, all they got was a little depth. C for the Dodgers.

The biggest loser of the deadline, though, is probably the Baltimore Orioles. For the Orioles, being on the losing side of something is not an uncommon occurrence; they actually encounter it quite frequently. They entered the deadline just 2.5 games back of the second Wild Card spot, and they got worse. Finally, after years of waiting, the Orioles could smell a playoff spot, and they haven’t blown it yet, but they are on a good path to doing so. Why would they trade away their best players? It’s definitely not to rebuild, we’ve heard that one before, and they’ve been in “rebuild mode” for five years. Unfortunately, it’s not that they could not have gone “all-in.” They have one of the best farm systems in the league, so it would be right for them to get all the players needed to reach that Wild Card spot. They were so close, but they were about to be so far. D- for the Orioles.

There weren’t a whole lot of moves this deadline, but the moves that were made carried a lot of weight with them.