MLB Trade Deadline Winners And Losers

Oh the trade deadline. Happens every July 31st. Its the time of the season when teams start to break down rosters if the season hasn't gone right and when others try and build up their clubs for the strong playoff push. Yes moves can still be made via the waver wire over the remainder of the season, but the trading post has come and gone. For the most part, there weren't any major names that were moved on deadline day, but there were a few that altered the fortune of franchises for the rest of this season, and potentially beyond. So here now are a look at some of the winners and losers from the trading deadline in Major League Baseball.

Winners:
Los Angeles Dodgers
This should really come as no surprise to anybody that the Dodgers were the bigtime winners from the deadline. It actually started before the deadline when they brought in Manny Machado at the All Star Break. They closed it out with another big splash by adding Brian Dozier from the Twins to play second base. Putting the two of them together makes a pretty hard hitting middle of the infield. Throw in the hitting they already have with Max Muncy, Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellenger, Matt Kemp, and others, you got a loaded lineup in LA. Plus they added John Axford to add some relief and depth to the bullpen. Los Angeles had a taste of glory come oh so close last year. They were one win away from winning a world title. Now by adding three big pieces in Machado, Dozier and Axford may help get them over the hump. Its been thirty years for the Dodgers since their last World Series title. They're trying to get back to the series this year and finish the job, the guys that they added by the deadline will help them do that.

Losers:
Toronto Blue Jays
A lot of prospects were brought in for the Jays in a bit of a sell off. Getting rid of Marcel Osuna could be a good thing, because it gets rid of a headache and a possible further PR nightmare. The thing that sticks out is the JA Happ trade. It turned out to be a good deal for the Yankees, but not so much for the Jays. Billy McKinney is a fourth outfielder and I get that they needed positional help with getting Brandon Drury, but by adding him, its kind of holding back a little the career paths of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., both of whom are expected to have solid careers north of the boarder. Toronto needs to keep its youth movement playing, because the window on winning a title looks like its come to a close. Making these trades won't, at least early on, be of much help to the future of the club.

Winners:
New York Yankees
Lots of moves made by the boys from the Bronx and all to benefit a team that came within one win of making it to the World Series a season ago. They didn't have to give up too much in the form of developing talent, with Tyler Austin being the biggest prospect that was sent away. The biggest need that the Bombers had going into the deadline was pitching, and they went out and addressed it. Zach Britten adds more depth to the Pen, while Lance Lynn and JA Happ add a huge element of depth to the starting rotation, which has been a problem for the Yanks this year. With how bad Sonny Gray has struggled all year, and with the struggles of Severino the last few starts, getting Lynn and Happ could prove to be huge to help steady the rotation. They still have an outside shot at winning the division and adding this kind of talent will allow them to try and keep pace and maybe make up ground.

Losers:
Houston Astros
There wasn't much of a pressing need in Houston. They added a little depth in the pen by adding Roberto Osuna from the Jays and Ryan Pressly From the Twins. But acquiring Osuna is going to cause a bit of a headache and a PR nightmare, possibly. Osuna will soon finish serving a 75-game domestic-violence suspension. It’s not a good look for Houston to so covet a player connected to domestic-violence issues. We explained what it did for Toronto earlier. It's not going to downright bomb out the Astros, as the defending world champions are still in a great place not only in the AL West but the American League as a whole.

Winners:
Milwaukee Brewers
It sucked that they had to lose Jonathan Villar, but the Brewers still made noise at the deadline with the deals they made. Jokim Soria coming in will add much needed depth to bolster that pen, which was already one of the strongest in the NL going into the deadline. They added more weapons to an already loaded, but now an overcrowded offense. Jonathan Schoop was brought in to play second, which means Travis Shaw will get moved to short, putting Orlando Arcia on the bench. Oh yeah, Mike Moustakas was brought in to play third and add even more depth to the middle of the lineup. Maybe adding Moustakas will be of greater benefit to Jesus Agular in the lineup, giving him and Christian Yelich even that much more protection in the heart of the order. Look for the Brewers to be making even more noise with the Cubs in the race for the top of the Central.

Losers:
Colorado Rockies
The Dodgers got better at the deadline. Arizona got a little better at the deadline. Colorado kind of missed the mark at the deadline. All they did was go out and get Seunghwan Oh to help the pen. It will help but not as much as they would like. Considering that the team spent over $100 million on trying to bolster the pen over the winter, that's a stretch. Catcher and first base were both positions that the team needed to try and improve but they weren't able to do it.

Winners:
Philadelphia Phillies
They pulled off a couple of quick deals right under the gun on deadline day, adding Wilson Ramos and Asdrubal Cabrera. Once Ramos comes off the DL, he got a shot to remind the rest of the league why he's one of the best offensive catchers in the game, which is something the Phillies have been lacking for a while now. Cabrera was having a solid year with the Mets and will try and keep that production up with the Phillies. This won't end up hurting the Phillies long term because they didn't give up any young prospects and they won't hamper young players down the road, because both Ramos and Cabrera are free agents at the end of the year. So by adding two rental players will help them make a push for a division title, something they haven't done since 2011.

Losers:
Washington Nationals
There were rumblings going into the deadline in D.C. Big rumblings. You know it a big story when Bryce Harper was being put possibly on the block. Thankfully for the club, the Nationals traded nothing but a complementary bullpen piece, and they acquired nothing much in exchange. There was a lot of high expectations in Washington this year, and with the way the team has performed this year, its been a disappointment in the nations capital this year. I get that the Nats didn't want to give up too many pieces for rental players, but I just feel like something had to be done for a team that could lose its best player in the offseason and are trying to win a title. Washington has been one of those teams that seems to be right there but can't seem to get it done. This year, they could miss the playoffs altogether. And by not doing anything at the deadline could be a glaring statement for the year.