MONDAY, JULY 31- All around Major League Baseball, a lot of wheeling and dealing took place. This was known as the 2017 MLB Trade Deadline. This process involved contending teams, currently in the postseason hunt, searching for an upgrade at weak positions. The organizations’ general managers call up the GM’s of non-contending clubs and seek out a trade to acquire the best starting pitcher, relief pitcher, or position player (infielder, outfielder, catcher) the team has, in exchange for the top minor-league prospects the contending team has. However, each transaction the organizations propose and conduct must be agreed upon and made by the 4 pm deadline.

After the deadline came and went, Major League Baseball experts, reporters, and analysts discussed the winners and the losers of each trade. Some of the biggest trades involved the New York Yankees and the Oakland Athletics, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Texas Rangers, and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Both the Yankees and the Dodgers were looking for another veteran to add to their starting pitching rotation. New York sent three minor league prospects to Oakland in exchange for their top starter, or ace, Sonny Gray. Gray made his New York debut Thursday night in Cleveland, Ohio, against the Indians. He did not get the result he wanted, charged with four runs (two earned), in a 5-1 loss to Cleveland. Meanwhile, Los Angeles traded for the leader of the Texas Rangers’ starting rotation, Japanese right-handed pitcher Yu Darvish, and addressed the bullpen by adding Pittsburgh left-handed reliever Tony Watson. Darvish and Watson, unlike Gray, won in their team debut, at Citi Field against the New York Mets.

The key point to remember about the MLB trade deadline is that not all trades work out for the benefit of each team. These are short-term solutions, not long-term solutions. The Yankees and Dodgers are going all-in this year. Will these gambles pay off come October? Just wait and see.