It’s that time of the baseball year, MLB Trade SZN; Keep up with the latest deals in our MLB Trade Deadline tracker.
While the All-Star Break is technically the midway point of the baseball season, the second half of the year doesn’t really get started until the MLB Trade Deadline passes.
This year we had to wait a little longer for it to pass, as the winter lockout caused a delayed start to the year and pushed a few things back. But it’s a mere 48 hours that have been tacked on, and with that extra time comes some extra wiggle room for teams hoping to make a change that ends up mattering.
How it ends up mattering is where roads diverge.
Some teams, like the Yankees and Padres, are trying to make moves that hopefully result in a World Series. That’s the Fool’s Gold of every deadline buyer, as the rules are the same as they are in Highlander — There can only be one World Series winner.
That means the rest of the teams trying to make moves will do so in vain, although no one will know that until the dust of the season settles in November.
The flip side of that coin is the teams supplying the demand of World Series hopefuls. Teams like the Cubs and A’s are proverbially dumping fuel as their seasons crash and burn, hoping to turn their trade chips into winning lottery tickets in the form of young prospects who can help them win down the line.
It’s always chaos at the trade deadline, and it signals both the true beginning of the season’s second half and the start of the final push towards the postseason.
Note: All MLB trades after July 20th will be tracked here. Any deals previous to that date are not included and generally aren’t considered to be a part of the trade deadline frenzy.
MLB Trade Deadline Tracker (Updated August 1, 2022)
St. Louis Cardinals trade for Jose Quintana
Cardinals Get
P – Jose Quintana
Pirates Get
P – Malcom Nuñez
P – Johan Oviedo
Cardinals Grade: A
Pirates Grade: C+
Reds sent Tommy Pham to Boston
Red Sox Get
OF – Tommy Pham
Reds Get
INF/OF – Emmanuel Valdez
OF – Wilyer Abreu
Reds Grade: C
Red Sox Grade: C+
More trade details on Tommy Pham:
Boston turns to Southside to replace Christian Vázquez
Red Sox Get
C – Reese McGuire
White Sox Get
P – Jake Diekman
Red Sox Grade: C+
White Sox Grade: B+
The Red Sox kicked off a trio of trades by sending Christian Vázaquez to the Astros
Astros Get
C – Christian Vázquez
Red Sox Get
Minor Leaguer TBNL
Minor Leaguer TBNL
Astros Grade: B
Red Sox Grade: C- (Grade based on trading a starter for pennies after he called out the GM)
More trade details on Red Sox dealing Christian Vázquez:
New York Yankees give up a haul to A’s for Frankie Montas, Lou Trivino
Yankees Get
P – Frankie Montas
P – Lou Trivino
Athletics Get
P – JP Sears
P – Ken Waldichuk
P – Luis Medina
2B – Cooper Bowman
Yankees Grade: A-
A’s Grade: B+
More trade details on Yankees acquiring Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino:
Houston Astros land Trey Mancini from three-team trade
Astros Get
1B/DH – Trey Mancini (from BAL)
P – Jayden Murray (from TB)
Orioles Get
P – Seth Johnson (from TB)
P – Chayce McDermott (from HOU)
Get Rays
OF – Jose Siri (from HOU)
Astros Grade: B
Orioles Grade: C+
Rays Grade: C+
More trade details on Astros acquiring Trey Mancini:
Brewers send Josh Hader to Padres, get back massive haul
Padres Get
P – Josh Hader
Brewers Get
P – Taylor Rogers
P – Robert Gasser
P – Dinelson Lamet
OF – Esteury Ruiz
Padres Grade: B
Brewers Grade: B
More trade details on the Josh Hader to Padres deal
Cubs make another move, but it’s not a Willson Conteras trade
Yankees Get
P – Scott Effross
Cubs Get
P – Hayden Wesneski
Yankees Grade: B-
Cubs Grade B+
More trade details on the Yankees-Cubs swap:
Seattle Mariners jump-start pitching market with massive Luis Castillo deal
Mariners Get
P – Luis Castillo
Reds Get
SS – Noelvi Marte
P – Levi Stoudt
SS – Edwin Arroyo
P – Andrew Moore
Mariners Grade: A
Reds Grade: B
More trade details on Mariners acquiring Luis Castillo:
Despite vaccine drama, New York Yankees trade for Andrew Benintendi
Yankees Get
OF Andrew Benintendi
Royals Get
P – TJ Sikkema
P – Beck Way
P – Chandler Champlain
Yankees Grade: B-
Royal Grade: B
More trade details on Yankees trading for Andrew Benintendi:
One of the big sticking points with any Benintendi trade was his vaccine status, of which he was unvaccinated as of the Royals last trip to Toronto. Being that the Yankees and Blue Jays are in the same division, the line of thinking was that New York was out on a deal due to Benintendi’s vaccine status.
It appears that’s no longer an issue.
New York Mets acquired slugger Dan Vogelbach in the first big trade before the deadline
Mets Get
DH – Dan Vogelbach
Pirates Get
Cash considerations
Mets Grade: A+ (Mostly for value sent back, as this is essentially a midseason free agency signing)
Pirates Grade😀
More trade details on the Daniel Vogelbach deal:
What time is the MLB trade deadline?
This year’s MLB trade deadline is a little different than in the past. Trade will still work the same way and there will be a frenzy in the 11th hour, per usual, but it will all be happening a little later on the calendar.
Typically July 31st has served as the trade deadline in baseball. The last day of July acts as both the final chance for teams to make potentially World Series-winning changes to their rosters while also serving as the beginning of the home stretch towards the postseason.
Per the MLB’s official glossary:
Prior to the new CBA, the Trade Deadline almost always fell on July 31 at 4 pm ET. Prior to 2019, July 31 was referred to as the non-waiver trade deadline, and players could be traded after that date if they first cleared revocable trade waivers.
Pay very close attention to the emphasis put on ‘prior to the new CBA’ because things have since changed.
This year the MLB trade deadline will fall on August 2nd, with a brand new timestamp for when trades are no longer allowed. Rather than the 4 pm ET deadline, teams will have until 6 pm ET to agree to deals and send them to the league office for approval.