For the second time in four years, A.J. Preller turned the San Diego Padres into the biggest stars of baseball’s trade deadline.
In 2022, the San Diego general manager snagged slugger Juan Soto, sending James Wood, MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and three others to Washington in an eight-player blockbuster.
Then on Thursday, the aggressive Preller pulled off a slightly less seismic version of that deal, trading top prospect Leo De Vries to the Athletics and bringing back closer Mason Miller.
Prospects that highly touted are rarely dealt anymore. De Vries, a shortstop, is ranked No. 3 overall by MLB Pipeline. Last year at the deadline, none of Baseball America’s top 100 prospects were traded.
By the time this year’s deadline passed, Preller had traded 14 players and acquired eight. Left-handers JP Sears and Nestor Cortes, first baseman Ryan O’Hearn and outfielder Ramón Laureano were among those the Padres landed in addition to Miller, an All-Star last season who is under team control through 2029.
Here’s a division-by-division look at this year’s deadline:
AL East
TORONTO leads the division by 3 1/2 games, but the Blue Jays have dropped four of five. They took a gamble, albeit one with some upside, in acquiring 2020 AL Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber, who has made several rehab starts as he works toward a return from Tommy John surgery. The second-place YANKEES added All-Star relievers David Bednar and Camilo Doval to their bullpen and acquired some more power in third baseman Ryan McMahon. BOSTON’s deadline was less inspiring, unless oft-injured right-hander Dustin May can get hot down the stretch.
BALTIMORE has shown it can build a strong farm system of position players, but poor pitching has the Orioles in last place this year. They did add some interesting minor league arms over the past week while selling off more than a half-dozen players. TAMPA BAY is 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot and added reliever Griffin Jax and starting pitcher Adrian Houser, but the Rays also traded away a dependable starter in Zack Littell. Just assume the unorthodox Rays know what they’re doing and move on.
AL Central
KANSAS CITY is a half-game behind CLEVELAND in the standings, and both have about a 13% chance of making the postseason according to FanGraphs. But they went in opposite directions at the deadline. The Royals largely stayed the course, making some under-the-radar additions like outfielder Mike Yastrzemski and left-hander Bailey Falter, while the Guardians — who are three games out of a playoff spot — dealt away Bieber and reliever Paul Sewald. Of course, that’s nothing compared to the way MINNESOTA tore apart its roster, trading Jax, infielder Carlos Correa, reliever Jhoan Durán and more than a half-dozen others.
DETROIT didn’t have a terribly sexy deadline but added starters Charlie Morton and Chris Paddack along with a few bullpen arms. The WHITE SOX held onto outfielder Luis Robert Jr. He has club options for the next two years, so perhaps we haven’t heard the last about his potential trade value.
AL West
SEATTLE threw down the gauntlet Wednesday night by acquiring slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez. Then HOUSTON answered Thursday by bringing Correa back to the team that drafted him. The difference between these two moves is that Correa is under contract through at least 2028, while Suárez can become a free agent this offseason. But the Mariners can worry about that later.
TEXAS, which is five games behind the first-place Astros but just a game behind Seattle for the final wild card, added Merrill Kelly to its rotation. He may have been the best starting pitcher dealt — but pitching hasn’t been the problem for the Rangers this year.
The ANGELS are the worst team in the American League that didn’t make a clear move toward selling. And they didn’t do anything likely to move the needle much as they try to make up ground. The ATHLETICS are finally making news for reasons other than their nomadic existence. Add De Vries to an organization that already has two of the game’s top rookies in the majors, and the future looks a little brighter.
