Winners, Losers From MLB Trade Deadline
The 2016 Non-Waiver Trade Deadline passed and it was an eventful one with big name players being shipped all over Major League Baseball.
The Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs may have the best record in the American and National League, but that didn't keep them from making big moves before the deadline.
Teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins made moves to build a better team for a playoff race.
While some teams made trades to improve their roster for the here and now, others like the Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees were able to bring in a number of prospects to build for the future.
Here are some of the winners and losers from the 2016 Trade Deadline.
Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers had three big holes in its roster going into the deadline: right field, rotation depth, and bullpen arms. Each one of those problem areas was dealt with through trades with the Athletics and Toronto Blue Jays.
Los Angeles made the first big move on Monday when they dealt three pitching prospects to the A's for Josh Reddick and Rich Hill.
As long as Reddick stays healthy, the Dodgers acquired a guy who can play right field every day, and play the position at a gold glove level. He also gives the team some flexibility to detach themselves from Yasiel Puig, who the team sent down to minors after the deadline.
Rich Hill is 9-3 on the season with 2.25 ERA. He will help bolster a starting rotation which has seen a lot of injuries to guys like Clayton Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Brett Anderson.
The Dodgers also made an under the radar move by acquiring long reliever Jesse Chavez from the Blue Jays. He is a reliable right-handed pitcher in the bullpen who can also make a spot start if needed.
Loser: Houston Astros
Last season, the Astros made some big moves acquiring Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers from the Milwaukee Brewers, which helped the team make the playoffs.
This trade deadline was much different for the Astros. They didn't do much to improve the team, while the Rangers, who are 5.5 games ahead of Houston, traded for Carlos Beltran and Jonathan Lucroy.
The team the Astros are chasing got much better, while they stayed pat.
However, the Astros organization is loaded with young talent; bringing up a guy like Alex Bregman could be Houston's version of a mid-season acquisition.
Winner: Oakland Athletics
Oakland traded away yet another fan favorite, but unlike some of the other trades (i.e. Josh Donaldson or Yoenis Cespedes), this trade actually makes logical sense.
Both Josh Reddick and Rich Hill are eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Instead of keeping both of those players for the rest of this season and not getting anything in return, the team traded both players to the Dodgers for some high end prospects.
The Athletics were able to get the Dodgers' 5th, 8th and 13th ranked prospects. Grant Holmes, Frankie Montas and Jharel Cotton are all right handed pitchers and should make it to the big league club within the next few seasons.
Oakland loves to pile up on pitching prospects, and that's exactly what they did before Monday's Trade Deadline.
Winner/Loser: San Francisco Giants
That's right, the Giants are both winners and losers after the trade deadline.
The Giants were able to trade for a couple left-handed arms which will help the team immensely. They acquired starting pitcher Matt Moore from the Tampa Bay Rays and reliever Will Smith from the Brewers.
Both acquisitions are great. Moore will help the Giants in the back end of the rotation, while Smith will help a bullpen which has struggled all season long.
So why are they losers if they brought in two very good arms?
San Francisco gave up Matt Duffy in the trade with Tampa. The 25-year-old third baseman has been one of the more consistent bats and fielders on the Giants' roster over the last two seasons.
By trading Duffy for Moore, the Giants are strengthening its rotation, but the lineup takes a hit. The Giants brought in all-star shortstop Eduardo Nunez a few days prior which will help with the loss of Duffy.
