August 31st has come and gone, and so has the 2020 MLB trade deadline. It was not the craziest of deadlines on a league level, the Padres made the best of it and made their presence felt on the last day of trades. Other teams, however, just left us scratching our heads. Let’s pick winners and losers out of the bunch.
Winner: San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres got Mike Clevinger from the Cleveland Indians in the early hours of the 2020 trade deadline. Clevinger has a 1-1 record in 4 starts with a 3.18 ERA, he has struck out 21 and only allowed 8 runs in 22 and 2/3 innings of work.
Cleveland got a nice return for their former ace as they got lefty Cal Quantrill, outfielder Josh Naylor, and catcher Austin Hedges in return. They also got three prospects from San Diego’s farm. In addition, the Padres received outfielder Greg Allen from the tribe. All in all, it was a solid deal for both clubs. The move will bolster San Diego’s rotation and will be very useful come the expanded postseason.
Loser: New York Mets
The Mets are in the losers’ column yet again. Monday saw them take three veterans in a bizarre set of moves. New York first went to Texas and got catcher Robinson Chirinos and Todd Frazier. They later went to the Orioles and got Miguel Castro from the Baltimore bullpen in exchange for Minor League pitcher Kevin Smith. It is not the most exciting set of trades and it only gets worse when looking at the stats.
Chirinos, 36, is not the sharpest tool in the shed. His .119/.224/.143 slashline leaves a lot to be desired. Not to mention his mere pair of RBI with just 13 games behind the plate for Texas. Frazier, who is 32, left his best days in Cincinnati. His current self has a .241/.322/.380 line. While better compared to Chirinos, it is not that big of an improvement. At this point, you got to wonder if they’d do better playing with their prospects for the remainder of the season.
Winner: Boston Red Sox
Boston shipped Kevin Pillar to Colorado during one of the worst seasons in their history. The Red Sox took their first step towards rebuilding since trading Mookie Betts. Boston sent Pillar to the Rockies in exchange for a player yet to be named and international slot money. He was an easy trade target as his .274/.325/.470 is respectable. He’s been one of the few highlights at Fenway Park thanks to his 4 homers and 13 RBI.
Colorado gets a versatile outfielder with plenty of experience. The former Blue Jay could stay put at Coors Field with a new deal at the end of the year and get some stability after going trough four teams in two seasons.
Loser: Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are by no means a bad team. They find themselves in first place in the NL East with a 21-14 record and, like the Padres, have a roster full of talent. Despite injuries, Ozzie Albies, Freddie Freeman, Dansby Swanson, and Ronald Acuna Jr. have lit the East up. Together, they make for 54 combined RBI. Offense is not the problem, pitching is. Calling their rotation subpar would be a compliment. Aside from Max Fried, no one has performed as expected. None of their starters has an ERA below 6.00. The only guy that did, Mike Soroka, is out for the season.
The 2020 MLB trade deadline was their shot at adding pieces to fill in the holes and bolster their rotation. Instead, they did nothing, nothing at all. Only time will tell how this move, or rather, lack of movement, will play out but, as for now, it’s a pretty bad one.
Winner: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies were a prime example of a good deal during the 2020 MLB trade deadline. They got David Phelps from the Brewers to help their bullpen in exchange for three low-level pitching prospects. Not the flashiest, not the biggest, but rather, just what they need to keep their playoff spot in the East.
Phelps has a 2.77 ERA and a 0.692 WHIP for the season. He has struck out 20 and allowed a pair of walks in 13 innings pitched. Furthermore, his contract is just $1.5 million, making this move an almost risk-free transaction. The 31-year-old starter turned reliever has a lot left in the tank and he could very well help the Phillies in a big way.