The trade deadline can bring a mix of emotions for general managers, players and fans. As a fan, with a team in playoff hunt, the trade deadline can be very exciting.
Winners
Toronto Blue Jays-
As of August 2, the Jays are 54-52, six games behind New York Yankees. The Blue Jays made a huge splash at the trade deadline with the acquisitions of David Price and Troy Tulowitzki. The Jays as a team have an ERA of 4.01, which is 23rd in the league. They rank 26th in the league collectively for strikeouts. David Price was much needed for a team that did not have a true ace on the staff. Price comes to Toronto with a 9-4 record, an ERA of 2.53 (10th in MLB) and 138 strikeouts (13th in MLB). The deal to get Tulowitzki for Reyes was huge, Tulo is arguably the best fielding shortstop in the game right now. Offensively Tulowitzki is also better, hitting for better average(.303 compared to Reyes at .277) , along with more home runs (13 compared to 4) and runs batted in (57 compared 35). The one factor the Jays lose is speed, with Reyes having 18 stolen bases on the season. With these two trades the Blue Jays look to be real contenders for the rest of the year, and in a year where there is no real dominant team, the Blue Jays could make a run in the playoffs (If they make it of course).
New York Mets-
The Mets rank last in the league in runs scored, hits, batting average, along with second to last in runs batted in, on base percentage and slugging percentage. So they made some deals to get some much needed offense. They acquired Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson from the Braves and Yoenis Cespedes from the Tigers. They traded away some young arms, but their minor league system is flowing in pitching prospects. With a win Sunday night against their divisional opponent, the Washington Nationals, the Mets are now tied for first in the division. These deals, will help supply a much needed offensive spark to a team who have been and are still without their best offensive player, David Wright for an indefinite amount of time. The Mets have one of the best pitching staffs in the league, and with these additions they are bound to make some noise the final third of the season.
Losers
New York Yankees-
With all the moves that the teams in the AL made, huge moves, along with two teams in their division, the Yankees made one minor trade for Dustin Ackley. Their number one man on the staff is Tanaka, but can you trust him to abstain from getting injured the last few months of the season. They rank 21st in the league in ERA with a 4.03, and they watched their division foes get arguably the best pitcher on the market to help improve their staff. Their bullpen is one of the best in the league, but their starting staff could have used some work.
