Padres, Mariners Among Winners at Baseball's Trade Deadline, Yankees Among Losers

by Julian Spivey
​Many worried that the excitement of the Major League Baseball trade deadline might be a thing of the past when the league instituted two more wild card teams per league a few years ago, leading to more teams remaining in the playoff hunt later in the season and thus unwilling to part with talent by the end of July.

It had been a valid concern over the last few seasons with less-than-interesting deadline deals, but this year, the MLB trade deadline was wild with playoff teams adding players left and right in hopes of filling significant gaps for the stretch run.

Here are the winners and losers of the 2025 MLB trade deadline:

​Winners:

Relief Pitchers
If you were a closer on a bad team, it was your lucky day, as numerous closers on non-playoff teams now find themselves with a chance at playoff glory – some still as closers, and others now as setup men for more dominant closers. The best of the relief arms that were dealt at the deadline was Mason Miller, who went from the Sacramento Athletics to the San Diego Padres for that team’s best prospect (and the No. 3 prospect in baseball overall) in 18-year-old shortstop Leodalis De Vries. Miller’s fastball averages 101.1 mph. The Padres already had one of the best closers in the game in All-Star Robert Suarez, who leads the league with 30 saves, so Miller may wind up in more of a set-up role for San Diego. The Phillies got their closer in Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins, who were seemingly closing up shop at the deadline, dealing most of their best players, filling a significant gap on one of the game’s best teams, which has had a struggling bullpen this season. The Yankees acquired Pittsburgh Pirates closer David Bednar, in hopes he can continue a solid season, and sure up a pen that has seen its closer, Devin Williams, struggle this season after coming over from Milwaukee during the offseason. The New York Mets acquired St. Louis Cardinals closer Ryan Helsley to add to their strong bullpen and help set-up closer Edwin Diaz. Helsley was one of the best closers in baseball in 2024, but has dealt with periods of inconsistency in 2025. The Tigers acquired the Washington Nationals closer Kyle Finnegan in hopes of helping sure up their bullpen. Finnegan, an All-Star in 2024, had 20 saves this season for the Nats.

San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres proved that they are all-in on trying to win this season with a flurry of deals at the deadline, which included giving up the team’s top prospect in shortstop Leodalis De Vries for hard-throwing bullpen arm Mason Miller. The Padres, currently three games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West Division, are the No. 3 N.L. Wild Card team, also added All-Star hitter Ryan O’Hearn and extra outfield help Ramon Laureano from the Baltimore Orioles. In addition, they added catching help in Freddy Fermin from the Kansas City Royals. No team gave up more of their potential future to win this season than the Padres, but I love to see a team going all-in.

Seattle Mariners
The biggest bat on the market before the trade deadline was Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suarez, whose 36 home runs are fifth in the league. The Seattle Mariners have been familiar with Suarez in the past, as he played for the team from 2022-2023, and adding him to a lineup that already features MLB’s leading home run hitter in catcher Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodriguez makes that one a scary lineup. The earlier addition of first baseman Josh Naylor from Arizona had already made the M’s better at first base, too. The Mariners are currently the No. 3 Wild Card team in the American League, only one game ahead of their A.L. West Division rival, the Texas Rangers, and find themselves 4.5 games behind the Houston Astros for the division lead.

Losers:

New York Yankees
The New York Yankees have seen a hot start on the season turn to crap over the last couple of months, going from leading the American League East Division by more than five games to now trailing the Toronto Blue Jays by 3.5 and having the hotter Boston Red Sox on their tail. The Yankees are currently the top A.L. Wild Card team, but their fan base and those within the game are wondering if they’ll be able to hold on. The Yanks made some deals at the deadline, most notably adding David Bednar from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Camilo Doval from the San Francisco Giants to help out the bullpen, but they probably needed rotation help more than anything. They added speed and versatility with the acquisition of utility player Jose Caballero from division rival Tampa Bay Rays, but nothing that scares the competition. All in all, the Yankees added seven players to their big league squad at the deadline (Bednar, Doval, Caballero, Ryan McMahon, Austin Slater, Amed Rosario and Jake Bird), but nothing that seems like it could alter its season, which is something a franchise like the Yankees should be capable of doing.

Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are in pretty good shape to make the playoffs. They are in a tight fight with the Milwaukee Brewers for the National League Central Division crown but are probably at least a Wild Card lock. They added some nice pieces to help the team out with utility guy Willi Castro and bullpen help in Taylor Rogers and Andrew Kittredge, but what they needed was another rotation option, and I’m sorry, but Michael Soroka shouldn’t have been the best they could do.

Atlanta Braves
Sometimes a team can disappoint at the trade deadline by not throwing up their hands, saying “Uncle” and being aggressive in starting to get better for the future. The Atlanta Braves have been baseball’s most disappointing team this year, due to a rash of injuries and a sheer lack of effort. They have no chance at making the playoffs with two months to go, so it seemed like trading off some of the players whose contracts are coming up could be beneficial, even if those players like closer Raisel Iglesias, one of the game’s best closers last season and potentially its worst this season, had played themselves out of getting much in return. They also could’ve gotten something for designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, another All-Star last season who has disappointed in 2025, instead of letting him hit free agency for nothing in the offseason. I think the Braves should’ve even been aggressive in trying to find a piece in return for catcher Sean Murphy, since rookie Drake Baldwin has shown he can be the catcher of the future for the team. The fact that general manager Alex Anthopoulos decided to stand pat and do nothing may not have any impact on this season, but could hinder next year’s team.