6 winners of the Trade Deadline

That, friends, was a wild Trade Deadline.

They always turn out that way, don’t they? We all spend the last few days leading up to it wondering if this is the year where nothing much big is going to happen, and then the time arrives and we’re all, “A.J. Preller traded WHO?” and “Carlos Correa is going WHERE?”

The Deadline is, forever, the best.

Now that the dust has settled, the question becomes: Who are the big winners of this year’s trade season? Obviously, we won’t know for sure until actual games are played, with the true answer not coming until late October or perhaps even years down the line.

But since when has “not knowing for sure” ever stopped anyone from rampant speculation? Here are six teams that sure look like immediate winners.

Mariners

There was so much demand for Eugenio Suárez that this very website was ranking his possible suitors; it turns out that everybody can use a guy on pace for 54 homers. So it was a little bit surprising that the Mariners didn’t have to give up more than they did for the third baseman -- a former Mariner, no less -- that they so clearly needed. The centerpiece was 24-year-old first baseman/DH Tyler Locklear, Seattle’s No. 9 prospect who struggled in 16 big league games last year and has spent all of 2025 back at Triple-A.

The Mariners now have a lineup that goes J.P. Crawford, Julio Rodríguez, Cal Raleigh, Randy Arozarena, Josh Naylor and Suárez. Add that to their already vaunted rotation and … this looks like a playoff team, and maybe even an AL West champ.

Astros

Though these guys didn’t sit idly by either. After Isaac Paredes became the latest notable Astro to go down with an injury -- in his case, one that could quite possibly be season-ending -- they had to do something at third base. (Alex Bregman doesn’t play there anymore, don’t you know). Of all their available options, they ended up swerving in a way no one saw coming just a few days ago: Bringing back Correa.

We’ll see how the move ends up aging in the last three guaranteed years of Correa’s contract, though it certainly helps that the Twins are reportedly picking up a significant chunk of his salary. But when you think of some of the other options on the table (including Nolan Arenado, who the Astros have to be very happy rejected an offseason trade to them right now), Correa might be the perfect fit at third base … if he can stay healthy of course.

Add to that the acquisitions of infielder Ramón Urías and outfielder Jesús Sánchez, the impending return of Jeremy Peña from injury, and the hopefully-at-some-point return of Yordan Alvarez, and the Astros don’t look particularly eager to let go of their stranglehold on the AL West anytime soon. One thing they definitely know, better than anyone: If you’re looking for a walk-off postseason hit, there’s no one you’ll want at the plate more than Correa.

Phillies

As expected, bullpen arms were sent all over the place, in all directions, at the Deadline. But none of them are better than Jhoan Duran, who has been outstanding his whole career but particularly magnificent this season. He’s 6-4 with a 2.01 ERA and 16 saves this year, with a four-seam fastball that averages 100.2 mph. He’s also going to be under contract with the Phillies at least through the 2027 season, which means the Phillies didn’t just solve a big chunk of their bullpen woes this year, but also for the next couple of years.

They had to give up a couple of promising prospects to do it, but the Phillies, perhaps more than any other team in baseball, need to win a World Series as soon as possible. Giving away prospects to get a guy like Duran is a no-brainer. And Harrison Bader, as a right-handed hitter who can play strong defense in center field, is a nice fit as well.

Mets

The Mets, for all their talent and all that payroll, had clear holes: The bullpen, center field, the back of the rotation. They didn’t help out the rotation much, but they took care of the other two quite nicely. The highlight move is trading for Cedric Mullins, who is going to look strange in a uniform that doesn’t have an orange bird on it, but otherwise should fit in snugly in Queens, doing just about everything well enough (if nothing spectacularly anymore) at a position of obvious need. He also is a free agent at the end of the year, which eliminates any real long-term risk. (And they’re going to love him there. Who doesn’t love Cedric Mullins?)

And the arms they’re throwing at the bullpen problem, Ryan Helsley (who has looked like his old self the last couple of weeks), Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto, are all ideal for late-inning work. The Mets didn’t swing too huge, but then again, they didn’t necessarily need to. They needed to tweak. They tweaked, to these eyes, quite well.

Padres

The Padres gave up a lot at this Deadline. A lot. And if you’re the sort of person who breaks down every trade by WAR produced over the next decade, well, yeah, you’re probably going to think Preller was insanely rash to trade away one of the three best prospects in baseball for Mason Miller and JP Sears. But what’s the fun in that? Preller, bless his heart, is doing what all fans want their team’s leaders to do: To go out and get guys who are going to help them win a World Series while they have the opportunity to do so.

With Miller, Sears, Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Freddy Fermin, Will Wagner and, hey sure, Nestor Cortes, Preller went out and tried to do what the city of San Diego wants so badly from their lone Big Four sport professional team: Win them a championship.

This is the Trade Deadline. This is not a time to be prudent! Preller makes the Deadline fun. He has never made it more fun than he did this year.

Athletics

Every time the Deadline approaches, teams, and the reporters who cover them, try to warn fans: Don’t expect any huge prospects hauls. It’s just so rare, the way front offices are now, to see a Top 50 or even Top 100 prospect shipped out -- there are just too many moving parts and too much long-term risk.

Well, about that … The A’s just got MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 prospect. In all of baseball! The A’s took advantage of Preller’s aggressiveness in the most glorious way, bringing in shortstop Leo De Vries, an 18-year-old switch-hitter with talent oozing out his ears. It hurts to lose Miller, but he is a relief pitcher. De Vries, who may be closer to the Majors than you think, lines up perfectly for a team that has young hitters everywhere. This lineup may be downright terrifying in a couple of years.