The 2025 trade deadline has passed. Here’s who hit it out the park — and who swung and missed.
This year’s MLB trade deadline didn’t have star players on the move — like Juan Soto in 2022 — or the volume of last year — when there were 68 trades on deadline day — but, as usual, the 6 p.m. ET cutoff went down with a flurry of activity.
We did have two shocking trades: The Astros brought back former star Carlos Correa while the Athletics traded closer Mason Miller to the Padres for Leo De Vries, one of the best prospects in the game. Former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber, still rehabbing in the minors, went from Cleveland to Toronto, while the Orioles and Diamondbacks were busy as expected. And the Twins? Well, we’ll get to them.
Who came out on top as the biggest winners of the deadline? And who were the biggest losers, leaving much to be desired? Let’s dig in.
The Mariners acquired the two best hitters to move at the deadline in Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor in two separate trades with the Arizona Diamondbacks — and remarkably didn’t have to give up any of their top 10 prospects to do so. That’s some crackerjack dealing from president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto, who has always been an aggressive trader but has also been limited through the years by a stingy ownership group that has capped the Mariners’ payroll. Given the approval to add some dollars, Dipoto has now constructed one of the best lineups in the majors with the top home run duo in Cal Raleigh and Suarez.
The Mariners have just one playoff appearance since 2001, having missed the postseason by one win each of the past two seasons after making it in 2022, so there certainly was an urgency to go big in a season where the American League is so wide open. They’re still battling for a wild-card spot and trying to chase down the Houston Astros in the AL West, so October is no guarantee, and they’ll need to get more consistency from a rotation that was among the best in the majors in 2024 but ranks 14th in the majors in ERA this season (and 23rd on the road).
The only knock on Seattle’s deadline: Dipoto had said he wanted to add an impact reliever, and while he did get lefty Caleb Ferguson from the Pittsburgh Pirates, getting a high-leverage setup guy for Andres Munoz would have capped an even better trade deadline.
Philadelphia Phillies
With an aging roster and three starting pitchers who are crushing it right now in Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez and Ranger Suarez, the Phillies are absolutely in full-throttle win-now mode and getting Jhoan Duran addresses their biggest Achilles heel. Jordan Romano and his 6.81 ERA leads the team with eight saves. They’ll get Jose Alvarado back from his PED suspension but he’s ineligible for the postseason. Phillies fans don’t need to be reminded of the 2023 NLCS (when Craig Kimbrel lost two games) or last year’s NLDS (when Jeff Hoffman lost twice).
In Duran, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski acquires not only an immediate upgrade for his closer but also a long-term solution, since Duran is under team control through 2027. It cost the Phillies their No. 4 and 5 prospects in catcher Eduardo Tait and pitcher Mick Abel, but Tait is still just 18 years old and years away from the majors while Abel scuffled a bit in six starts with the Phillies. With the need to improve their high-leverage relief, this was a deal the Phillies had to make. In a second trade with the Minnesota Twins, Dombrowski also added useful outfielder Harrison Bader, who provides a needed right-handed bat and could end up as the regular in center field if he keeps hitting like he did with Minnesota.
New York Mets
The Mets bullpen had been struggling for two months — at least, aside from Edwin Diaz, who has been lights out of late. So president of baseball operations David Stearns used the deadline to remake it, turning it into what, at least on paper, now looks like one of the best in the game. Tyler Rogers is unconventional with his underhand delivery and men’s league velocity, but he gets batters to pound that sinker into the ground and he’s been one of the top relievers this season with a 1.80 ERA. Ryan Helsley and Gregory Soto provide a power arsenal from the right and left sides, respectively.
With Diaz, Reed Garrett, Ryne Stanek and Brooks Raley already on the roster, this pen is now loaded. October baseball is a different game than the regular season: There are more days off, which makes it even easier to go heavy on the bullpen. We’ve seen the Atlanta Braves in 2021, the Houston Astros in 2022 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024 win the World Series on the backs of their bullpens. The deals cost the Mets two of their top-10 prospects in infielder Jesus Baez (No. 5) and outfielder Drew Gilbert (No. 7), plus pitcher Blade Tidwell, who was No. 10 on Baseball America’s list. Dombrowski and Stearns have shown why they’re regarded as two of the top executives in the game — they’re not afraid to make a bold move, acting a day before the deadline to ensure they got the top relievers available.
To cap it off, the Mets added center fielder Cedric Mullins, who gives them more offense than Tyrone Taylor but less defense.
