By Jacob Becquey

The 2025 MLB Trade Deadline has passed, leaving chaos in its wake. With multiple blockbusters and surprise trades, this may be the best deadline in years. But how did every team fair? Here’s the tier list and explanation for every team’s trade deadline.

Tier 1: Nailed It

This tier is for the 5 best deadline teams. These front-offices nailed every need for their organization while either setting up their future or drastically raising the 2025 ceiling.

Seattle Mariners: The Mariners had 2 extraordinary moves this deadline, adding 1B Josh Naylor and 3B Eugenio Suarez to an already impressive offense. These are the exact moves the team needed, and they are scary because of them. Seattle is easily a contender in the AL now.

Houston Astros: In possibly the most shocking deadline move of the year, the Astros brought back Carlos Correa while barely giving up anything, solidifying their infield with the former 1st Overall pick at 3B. The Astros also brought in Jesus Sanchez from the Marlins and Ramon Urias from the Orioles, filling out the bench and giving plenty of depth for a Postseason run. I personally really like the chances for the Astros this year.

Oakland Athletics: The Athletics sold off Mason Miller to the Padres, which may sound like a bad move at first. However, the return for the closer was insane, netting the Athletics Leo De Vries, the #3 prospect in all of Baseball. With Miller wasting his potential on a subpar team, this move makes so much sense for the Athletics while setting them up for the future with an absolute stud at SS.

San Diego Padres: The Padres made a lot of moves this deadline, the biggest of which was grabbing Mason Miller from the Athletics. Miller, along with J.P. Sears, Ramon Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, Nestor Cortes, and Freddy Fermin round out this already strong Padres roster, setting them up for a second half run.

New York Mets: The Mets made a spectacular move by trading for Ryan Helsley, giving them 2 closer-pottential pitchers in the bullpen. The team also bolstered their bench and relievers with players like Gregory Soto, Tyler Rodgers, and Cedric Mullins. The Mets made a series of great moves and are seriously gunning for the NL East crown.

Tier 2: Great

These teams made some great moves, but lacked either the starpower or quantity of moves to push their ceiling to the max.

Philadelphia Phillies: The Phillies needed a closer like crazy after a disappointing first half from Jordan Romano, and they came out with one of the best available arms with Jhoan Duran. They also traded for Harrison Bader, giving them a great depth piece for a playoff run. The Fightin’ Phils were just a move or two away from being in the top tier, but they still had a great deadline.

New York Yankees: The Bronx Bombers covered their 2 biggest weaknesses by trading for David Bednar, Ryan McMahon, and Camilo Doval. They also bolstered their bench with Amed Rosario and Auston Slater, definitely making this team better. I would have loved to see a move for another starter, such as Edward Cabrera, but no Yankees fan should be upset with these moves.

Cincinnati Reds: This may be a hot take, but I actually really like what the Reds did. They brought in an answer at 3B with control in Ke’Bryan Hayes, who has potential to be a good everyday player. They also brought in Zack Littell for the rotation, who’s a solid arm with an ERA hovering around 3.5. There could be an argument that this was a middling deadline, but I truly enjoy the Littell trade too much to put Cincinnati in Tier 4.

Tier 3: Good for What They Had

This tier is for the sellers that truly got all they could out of their rental players. These teams are practically out of contention, so they handled the deadline pretty well for their situations.

Arizona Diamondbacks: The D-Backs sold off Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor, Merrill Kelly, Shelby Miller, Jordan Montgomery, and Randy Grichuk this deadline. While I personally would have loved to see a Zac Gallen trade, Arizona sold most of the pieces they wanted to. The prospect haul won’t blow anyone away, but in a similar manner to the 2024 Blue Jays, they set themselves up for the future with these moves.

Baltimore Orioles: The O’s sold off some rental contracts in Cedric Mullins, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramon Laureano, and Charlie Morton along with Ramon Urias. Similar to the D-Backs, the prospects won’t blow anyone away, but it was a solid sale for the birds. It must sting to see Mullins go for Orioles fans, however.

Washington Nationals: The Nats ended up selling off names like Alex Call, Michael Soroka, and Kyle Finnigan before the deadline. Despite many rumors, they ended up keeping Mackenzie Gore, a move which I certainly like. Nothing but smart moves for the future for Washington at this year’s deadline, which is a good sign, since the club seems to be only a year or two away for contention.

Tier 4: Could’ve Been Better

These teams did not have bad deadlines, however they may seem a little lacking and/or disappointing for fans.

Chicago Cubs: The Cubs certainly got better this deadline,. althopugh not in the way many thought. Chicago ended up picking up Willie Castro as a utility piece along with some bullpen pieces in Michael Soroka and Andrew Kitteridge. These moves certainly improve the team, but the lack of a starter or a big name really prevents the Cubs from a great deadline. This team should be just fine, however.

Texas Rangers: The Rangers’ biggest splash this deadline was Meril Kelly, a good starter having a great season. This gives the Rangers one of the nastiest rotations in baseball with DeGrom, Mahle, Eovaldi, and Kelly headlining. Texas also added some bullpen pieces, namely Danny Coulombe and Phil Maton. These are great moves, but the Rangers didn’t really need pitching as much as offense, a department which they really struggled with early on. Despite that, the Rangers still added some great players and should be able to go on a wildcard run this season.

Tampa Bay Rays: The Rays made some very Rays moves this deadline, both trading away and bringing in talent. They got rid of Jose Caballero and Zack Littell while adding Griffin Jax and Adrian Houser. Jax feels like the biggest piece for this team, giving them some nasty pitching for down the stretch. A very middling, yet sneaky good deadline for the Rays once again.

Toronto Blue Jays: The Jays feel like the poster-boys of this tier. They made some good moves, trading for Seranthony Dominguez, Louis Varland, and Ty France, while making a very risky move for Shane Bieber. If Bieber pitches like he has the past few years, the Jays have a No. 1 starter for the Postseason. If he doesn’t, this move may become infamous for Toronto. While these moves certainly improve the team, it doesn’t feel like enough for how hot the Jays were in the first half. With the Yankees having a great deadline, the AL East race should become very close.

Detroit Tigers: The Tigers had a rather lackluster deadline, with their biggest moves being Chris Paddack and RP Kyle Finnigan. The Tigers increased their depth with players like Paul Sewald, Charlie Morton, and Rafael Montero, but they lacked a truly great move this deadline. The only reason they aren’t a tier lower is that the team has been so good that they can afford to not go ‘all-in’, but it would’ve been a great time to grab an answer at 3B.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates were expected to be one of the biggest sellers at the deadline, but they failed to sell off big names like Mitch Keller, Tommy Pham, and Dennis Santana. Still, they got some good business done, trading off David Bednar, Adam Frazier, Caleb Ferguson, Bailey Falter, Taylor Rodgers, and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Pittsburgh failing to get a deal done for Keller feels like a failure, as they need all the prospects they can for the rebuild (since they refuse to go all-in with Paul Skenes), but the amount of trades saved from from a bad deadline.

Los Angeles Dodgers: The Dodgers fell pretty silent this deadline, only really grabbing Alex Call and RP Brock Stuart while dumping Dustin May to the Red Sox. The Dodgers didn’t have a terrible deadline and certainly didn’t need to trade their prospects for a team that’s already so good, but just a few more moves and perhaps going for a SP would have helped.

Tier 5: Mid

These teams has some disappointing deadlines, either via bad moves or a lack thereof.

Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers felt very similar to Toronto coming into this deadline; They had a good record but could have benefited by going all-in on some talent. Instead, the Brew Crew stayed quiet, grabbing some bullpen help with Shelby Miller and Jordan Montgomery while also acquiring some catching depth in Danny Jansen. Milwaukee needs all the help it can get in a division race against the star-studded Cubs, but it feels like this Front Office failed to provide the backup.

Kansas City Royals: The Royals were soft buyers at this year’s deadline, nabbing OF help with Mike Yastrzemski and Randal Grichuk. KC needed some outfielders, but it feels like a bad idea to buy when the team has been below .500 for some time now. The moves are ok overall, but the fact that they happened honestly confuses me when they could have sold off some talent for help next season.

Cleveland Guardians: The Guardians sold off their injured ace in Shane Bieber while nabbing a solid prospect in return. That was mostly it for Cleveland, however possibly the best move was not trading away Steven Kwan, leaving them room to compete next year. The soft sell was a success, but it just doesn’t feel like it changes this team’s rapidly declining future.

San Francisco Giants: After the Devers trade, it looked like the Giants were bonafide buyers for this year’s deadline. Instead, they sold off a few relievers and depth with Mike Yastrzemski, Tyler Rodgers, and Camilo Doval. The Giants becoming sellers after a serious cold streak feels like a nightmare scenario for the fanbase, and to make it worse, none of the moves were that amazing. The Giants need to find a direction next year.

Miami Marlins: The Marlins didn’t sell off a ton of pieces, only really moving Jesus Sanchez and Nick Fortes. Not trading Sandy Alcantara is understandable due to his value being so low, but not trading Edward Cabrera is perplexing. This team is clearly going nowhere in the next few years, so why not trade a pitcher at his peak value when several teams are pining for him? The lack of this move alone makes Miami’s deadline disappointing in my eyes.

St Louis Cardinals: The Cardinals are another team that just feels directionless. They sold off Ryan Helsley for some decent prospects along with Eric Fedde, Phil Maton, and Steven Matz, but failed to receive any big hauls for star players. The Cards need to decide if they’re rebuilding or competing next year because this purgatory feels inescapable at the moment.

Colorado Rockies: With the Rockies having a historically bad season, it would make sense if they wanted to sell everyone. While they did sell some good pieces like Jake Bird and Ryan McMahon, they didn’t receive the type of prospect hauls that they need for this eternal rebuild. The Rockies were basically unable to have a good deadline, but somehow it still felt dissapointing.

Chicago White Sox: Like the Rockies, it felt necessary for the White Sox to sell everyone. Instead, they only really sold off Austin Slater and Adrian Houser for cheap, failing to deal Luis Robert Jr. for what feels to be the 10th time in a row. The ChiSox feel stuck in their rebuild and fail to make any moves to improve, but hopefully they’ll become competitive again within the decade.

Tier 6: ???

These teams had the worst deadlines of the bunch, making confusing moves and/or not selling off the pieces like they should have.

Boston Red Sox: After a hot streak, it felt like the Red Sox were gonna go in and compete for the AL East this season. Instead, they traded for Dustin May and Steven Matz. These feel like lateral moves for Boston, who still struggle with pitching even after getting a struggling May. The Red Sox should have absolutely done more than this, especially after the controversies with the Devers trade.

Atlanta Braves: The Braves refused to sell off any major pieces like Chris Sale, Raisel Iglesias, or Marcel Ozuna, instead opting to trade for Eric Fedde and some bullpen depth pieces. The Braves feel even more stuck than the White Sox at this point, refusing to salvage the season while also doing nothing to save it. It feels like a bad time to be an Atlanta fan.

Los Angeles Angels: The Angels had the worst deadline of any MLB Team, refusing to make any trades aside from 2 middle relievers in Luis Garcia and Andrew Chafin. The Angels are nowhere near competing in the next few years, yet they consistently fail to make any move to improve their terrible farm system. Mike Trout, Yusei Kikuchi, and Kenley Jansen feel like good pieces for trades, yet LA will continue to hold them for no apparent reason. This is easily the worst deadline of the bunch.

Tier 7: The Minnesota Twins

While not the worst deadline by any means, this team had such a wild ride that it doesn’t fit into the tier list.

Minnesota Twins: The Twins traded away almost their entire bullpen (Jhoan Duran, Danny Coulombe, Griffin Jax, and more), their 4th starter in Chris Paddack, their franchise SS in Carlos Correa (for basically nothing), their Super-Utility man Willie Castro, and their LF Harrison Bader. The Twins were absolutely gutted at the deadline and were the most aggressive sellers of the day. This leaves Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, and Joe Ryan on a team with almost no depth and no bullpen, essentially pulling the team out of contention. With the Twins farm system being so good, it wouldn’t be shocking if this team comes back to contention within 3-5 years, but right now, it looks very bleak for the Twins. They got good prospects, but this was a crazy move to pull at the deadline. The Twins are trapped in a purgatory of their own creation.

This deadline was absolutely crazy and well worth the wait, with multiple blockbuster moves and several shockers around the league. MLB Baseball just got a lot more interesting.