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Every contender tries to find the missing piece — or pieces — at the trade deadline. Sometimes, that's exactly what happens.
Three of the past 10 World Series MVPs — Jorge Soler, Steve Pearce, and Ben Zobrist — were midseason acquisitions. In the past 15 years, deals for Justin Verlander, Hunter Pence, Jake Peavy, Aroldis Chapman, and Jordan Montgomery were among those that helped propel teams to a championship.
Then, there are the moves that didn't result in a championship but were still well worth risk, from the Mets' trade for Yoenis Cespedes in 2015 to the Brewers' deal for CC Sabathia in 2008.
The second half of the season is already well underway, but the final push begins in earnest on Friday, when familiar faces around the league suit up in new uniforms with the same goal in mind: play deep into October and finish the season with a win.
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Here are the winners and losers from the action leading up to the 2025 MLB trade deadline.
MORE: Recap all of the trade deadline action
MLB trade deadline winners
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners aren't even guaranteed to be a postseason team, but you have to give them credit for making their best effort. After Jerry DiPoto ruffled feathers with his comments stating Seattle's year-to-year goal was to win "54 percent" of games, he looks like he's aiming higher than 54 percent by trading for both Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez. Sometimes, even the best plans fall short, but it's hard to make the case that a lineup with Suarez, Naylor, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodriguez, and Randy Arozarena isn't fit for the postseason.
DiPoto was able to land Naylor and Suarez without surrendering any true blue-chip prospects. Tyler Locklear was the biggest name moved in the midst of a terrific year at Triple-A, but he is older and playing in an offensive-friendly environment. Suarez and Naylor are both rentals, but the Mariners did well to trade only one position-playing prospect between the two deals.
New York Mets
The Mets are embodying what it means to be "all in" with their aggressiveness at the deadline. Sure, the haul they gave up for Tyler Rogers was a bit hard to swallow considering Rogers is only a rental addition, but New York avoided dealing an elite prospect and bolstered its bullpen with Rogers, Ryan Helsley, and even Gregory Soto.
The Mets' path to getting out of a loaded National League would have been extremely difficult with the bullpen they had a few days ago — just ask Huascar Brazoban — but Edwin Diaz, Helsley, and Rogers give the team a lethal back end that can better handle the tough lineups of the Cubs, Dodgers, and Phillies and put New York in a realistic position to win a championship. Getting Cedric Mullins while he's hot and inserting him into a postseason race at a position of major need was another nice coup for David Stearns.
Athletics
In a vacuum, the A's trading Mason Miller sounds like a bad idea. Why dump a controllable closer with elite stuff? With what the Padres offered, however, it's hard to call the deal to move Miller and Sears to San Diego anything but a win. The A's received a premier prospect in 18-year-old Leo De Vries and have proven they know how to develop talented bats like his. Braden Nett and Henry Baez both have the potential to be legitimate MLB starters within a year or two, though Nett has the profile to become a reliever if control issues limit him.
Miller can be an elite closer, but a reliever is still a reliever. What De Vries, Nett, and Baez can give the A's in 2026 and beyond should exceed what Miller could give them, just by the nature of his role.
MORE: Baseball world pays tribute to Ryne Sandberg
MLB trade deadline losers
Detroit Tigers
The Tigers spent much of the first half with the best record in the American League and are effectively guaranteed to win the AL Central even after a difficult July. Why not make more of an effort at the deadline? Detroit passed on the top relievers available, instead bringing in a struggling Kyle Finnegan, injured Paul Sewald, and minor-leaguer Codi Heuer.
Tarik Skubal also received little help in the rotation outside of an inconsistent Chris Paddack despite a lack of starting pitching being the team's primary weakness in the postseason a year ago.
Los Angeles Angels
The Angels had a quiet deadline, but it was easily one of the most confusing. The organization decided to start buying with a deal for Nationals relievers Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia, but, at 53-56 and four games out of a crowded wild-card race, they stopped there.
The Angels could have traded Taylor Ward with more than a year of control remaining or moved closer Kenley Jansen, or they could have gone all in and made meaningful upgrades to their roster, which clearly hasn't been good enough to compete with the AL's best. Instead, they largely stood pat, seemingly committed to pursuing a postseason berth without the right pieces to get there.
Milwaukee Brewers
Is it surprising that the Brewers had a quiet deadline outside of trading for backup catcher Danny Jansen? No. Is it disappointing? Yes. Brewers players who have overachieved expectations and put Milwaukee right at the top of the National League against all odds deserved some kind of meaningful upgrade, whether in the form of a bat or just some additional bullpen help, knowing how fragile the rotation is between injury histories and Jacob Misiorowski's innings limits.
With the Phillies, Mets and Padres going out of their way to add wherever they could, the Brewers failed to keep pace.
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