The MLB trade deadline has come and gone. Some teams bolstered their roster in a major way, while others stood pat. The deadline was scheduled for Tuesday at 6 PM EST, and the day did not disappoint. Notably, we saw Juan Soto get traded to the San Diego Padres along with Josh Bell from the Washington Nationals. And some may believe the Nationals were losers at the deadline. However, they received an impressive haul of young prospects.
So who were the biggest losers from the 2022 MLB trade deadline? We are going to mainly focus on contenders who dropped the ball… teams that could have upgraded but did not. However, this won't be limited to good teams. If a seller made some questionable decisions, they very well could end up on this list.
Without further ado, let's get right into it.
5 biggest losers from the 2022 MLB trade deadline
I actually don't hate the Mets trade deadline results. They received some sturdy veterans players like Darin Ruf and Tyler Naquin. Plus, Jacob deGrom returned from injury which is one of the best acquisitions they could have hoped for.
But in the end, many expected the Mets to make a big move ahead of the 2022 MLB trade deadline. And they failed to do that. Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies bolstered their rosters. On paper, the Mets have a roster that is going to compete. But after last year's second half downfall, I would have liked to see them make at least one big trade. At the very least, a high-profile deal would have energized the team and fanbase.
I don't understand the Rockies' plan. Let's recap what they have done over the past few years.
They kicked off what seemed to be a complete rebuild by trading Nolan Arenado last year ahead of the season. But ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, they opted to keep Trevor Story and Jon Gray only to let them walk in free agency. Sure, compensatory draft picks are nice, but Colorado could have received a number of good prospects in a trade.
Then, they brought in Kris Bryant on a long-term deal prior to this year. Kris Bryant is a quality player, but the signing did not make sense for a team rebuilding.
And that brings us to this season's deadline. Closer Daniel Bard is in the midst of a resurgent season. The right-hander has pitched extremely well and would have been a valuable trade piece given the lack of options on the reliever trade market. The Rockies were in prime position to capitalize on his value. So what do they do? Naturally, Colorado decided to extend his contract and not trade him.
This is a ball club that is nowhere near competing with the Dodgers and Padres. They appear to be content middling in mediocrity.
This is not surprising. The Guardians tend to operate in their own manner. But after an offseason that saw them bring in zero notable names, you would have thought they would do something ahead of the trade deadline. The Guardians have one of the best farm systems in baseball and could have acquired somebody like Willson Contreras or Sean Murphy.
Instead, the Guardians made one low-profile trade. In fact, their biggest move was sending struggling power hitter Franmil Reyes to the minor leagues.
Cleveland admittedly wanted to stay the course and let their prospects continue to develop. But this was a team that entered Tuesday just one game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central. The Twins made a plethora of impressive moves while Cleveland did almost nothing.
The Cubs were able to trade reliever David Robertson. But for a team in a rebuild, that isn't enough.
Chicago was expected to trade Willson Contreras and Ian Happ ahead of the 2022 MLB trade deadline. But they were still members of the team following the 6 PM deadline.
For Cubs fans, this may feel like a win. But both players would have brought back much-needed prospects. And after dealing away Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez last year, trading Contreras and Happ seemed like the logical course of action. It also would have sped up their rebuilding process.
But they failed to move either player which will negatively affect the team in the long run. Could they extend Willson Contreras? Maybe. But if he leaves in free agency, it will make their inability to trade him even worse.
Are the Red Sox trying to compete? Are they going to rebuild?
I honestly have no idea. They traded Christian Vasquez and Jake Diekman but kept JD Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi. Then, they made the absolutely puzzling move of acquiring Eric Hosmer to bail out the Padres. They also added Tommy Pham from the Cincinnati Reds.
Pham is set to hit free agency this offseason while Hosmer has a massive contract. The Padres are prepared to eat some of Hosmer's contract, but this trade is surprising nonetheless.
The fact that the Red Sox may lose Xander Bogaerts after this season only makes the Red Sox deadline more questionable. They realistically may be stuck with Eric Hosmer for the next few years while Bogaerts signs elsewhere.
Perhaps Boston has a master plan in the works. And maybe everything will workout. But I couldn't even begin to tell you what it is.
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