How moves at 2022 MLB trade deadline shaped four remaining playoff teams

The MLB trade deadline is among the highlights in the baseball calendar. The days leading up to it are filled with rumours and hot stove vapours that prove intoxicating to many fans.

This year’s trade deadline was Aug. 2 and, as expected, the expanded playoff format led to increased action by a flurry of contending teams. It’s tough to evaluate the corresponding moves in the moment, though. In many cases, an acquired player’s true impact isn’t felt for several months.

With the two League Championship Series underway, we figured now would be a good time to take a glance at the rear-view mirror and reconsider the approach of each of the four remaining MLB clubs to see how their work has panned out.

Players acquired:
Juan Soto – OF
Josh Bell – 1B 
Josh Hader – RP 
Brandon Drury – UTIL 
Cam Gallagher – C 
Jay Groome – RP 

Any conversation about the 2022 trade deadline must begin with the Padres and their prospect-slinging GM A.J. Preller. If he had landed only Juan Soto, this deadline haul would already have been labelled a grand success. The outfielder is a generational talent and arguably the most valuable baseball player to have ever been traded.

Yet, Preller went several steps further. Never mind that his club trailed the Dodgers by 11.5 games on Aug. 2. The GM approached the deadline with a focus on acquiring elite players who could transform his club on the fly. 

Hader is among the very best relievers in baseball, while Bell and Drury significantly deepened the lineup. The hope following the deadline deals was that San Diego’s revamped offence would become a Voltron-type beast, led by Soto, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr. The latter was working his way back from a broken wrist that had kept him out for all of 2022 and, just as he was about to return, MLB announced it had suspended Tatis Jr. 80 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. 

That tore a hole in Preller’s plans. Soto and Hader struggled down the stretch and the Padres as a whole didn’t take off in the way that many hoped. However, in October, the Padres disposed of the 101-win Mets in the wild-card series and then bested the 111-win Dodgers in the division series. Soto is the focal point of the lineup and has had some key hits during the post-season, as expected. Meanwhile, Hader has been masterful, allowing just one hit and striking out 10 across 5.1 post-season innings.

Players acquired: 
Noah Syndergaard – SP
Brandon Marsh – OF 
David Robertson – RP
Edmundo Sosa – INF 

The Phillies were not in the same class as the Braves and Mets in the NL East, so their relatively modest deadline moves seemed appropriate. The club hadn’t played its way into deserving a monster splash, but at the same time, it was in the wild-card hunt and reinforcements would help. 

For instance, the acquisition of Syndergaard fit perfectly. He’s no longer an ace yet is still a serviceable starter who could slide into the middle of the Phillies rotation. Same goes for Robertson, who has logged plenty of high-leverage post-season innings during his career. 

With the benefit of hindsight, though, Marsh looks like he might have been the key deadline pickup by Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies' president of baseball operations. A former top prospect who was in his second season with the Los Angeles Angels, Marsh arrived in Philadelphia with the reputation of being a strong defender who hadn’t quite realized his offensive potential. Something clicked with his new organization, though, and Marsh took off. 

He slashed .288/.319/.455 with a 116 OPS-plus in 41 regular-season games with the Phillies and added a key, three-run homer in Game 4 of the division series against the Braves. Marsh is under club control through the 2027 season, meaning the Phillies might even have acquired their centre-fielder of the future at this year’s deadline. 

Players acquired:
Christian Vazquez – C 
Trey Mancini – 1B 
Will Smith – RP 
Jayden Murray – RP 

The Astros have been a loaded, juggernaut of a ball club for pretty much the entire season. The pitching staff is immensely deep and the lineup is long and dangerous. The team finished with a 106-56 record and, along the way, seemed as complete as could be. 

So, there really was no need for a big splash in August. Instead, GM James Click opted to improve around the edges. 

Vazquez is an experienced backstop with a World Series ring already in his collection. He entered a tandem with incumbent Martin Maldonado, while Trey Mancini further lengthened the lineup. Smith, a left-handed reliever, had pitched some big innings in his career, most notably during Atlanta's World Series run last season. 

Sure, it would have been wonderful if the Astros adopted the “best-getting-better” strategy and landed a big name. However, on paper, you could have taken a look at their roster in August and legitimately wondered if there was even room for one. 

Players acquired: 
Harrison Bader – OF 
Andrew Benintendi – OF
Frankie Montas – SP 
Lou Trivino – RP
Scott Effross – RP 

The Yankees’ moves ahead of the trade deadline were balanced, precise and designed to systematically shore up specific needs — in particular, pitching, defence and lineup versatility.

The struggles of Aaron Hicks and Joey Gallo made acquiring outfielders a priority and led to trades for the defensively gifted Bader and the left-handed hitting Benintendi. Various injuries to the bullpen placed an emphasis on acquiring relievers and Trivino and Effross were meant to fill that gap. Montas was arguably the headliner at the deadline, with the hope being that he could assume the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind Gerrit Cole. 

The collection of moves drew praise across baseball, especially considering the Yankees were atop the AL East by 11 games on the day of the trade deadline. General manager Brian Cashman showed that the organization was clearly going for it. 

Baseball can be a funny sport, though. The club responded to its deadline haul by producing a horrible 10-18 record in August that erased some of the cushion the team had built up. And while some of the new players had their moments down the stretch, it’s fair to say nobody stole the spotlight. As well, Benintendi, Montas and Effross all spent time on the injured list. 

The narrative has changed so far in the playoffs, though, thanks to Bader, who’s authoring himself into Yankees lore with his unexpected power. The centre-fielder is the first Yankee to homer four times in his first six playoff games with the club, giving New York a surprising new power source in the process.