Join Curt Bishop on the Exit Velo Podcast as he breaks down every team’s trade deadline acquisitions and gives them a grade based on what/who they acquired and how each move could help or hurt them going forward.
Hello baseball fans and welcome back to another episode of the Exit Velo Podcast. I’m your host, Curt Bishop and today we’re going to continue grading each team’s trade deadline moves and we’re kicking off our NL portion of the segment. We’re doing the NL East today and we’ll follow tomorrow and Monday with the Central and the West, so let’s get right to it!
New York Mets
Starting on top with the Mets. They picked up Javier Baez from the Cubs along with Trevor Williams. They did have to give up one of their top prospects in Pete-Crow Armstrong, but for now they have Baez filling the void at shortstop until Francisco Lindor comes back, and Baez has even said he wants to play with Lindor long-term. They also acquired lefty Rich Hill from the Rays, which turns out to be quite a smart pickup now that Jacob DeGrom is on the shelf. There’s no clear timetable for him to return, so there are a lot of unknowns there, but the Mets were active at the deadline and got the bat they needed, as well as a veteran starter. They’ve got stiff competition in the East, but they addressed their problems and are still holding onto first. We’ll give them an A-
Philadelphia Phillies
Next up we have the Phillies, who were quite busy this trade season. After missing out on Tyler Anderson, they ended up getting something even better; a package of Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy from the Rangers that also contained their top pitching prospect, Hans Crouse. They also brought in a familiar face in a trade with the Orioles; Freddy Galvis. They’re right on the Mets’ heels and they got after it this trade deadline. We’ll see if they can catch them, but it’s clear they want to win now and get back to the postseason for the first time in 10 years. We’ll give them an A+
Atlanta Braves
Now looking at Atlanta; they had some shoes to fill after Ronald Acuna Jr. went down for the year with a torn ACL. They went out and bolstered their outfield with the additions of Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, and Adam Duvall. They added a big arm in Richard Rodriguez as well. With their series win in St. Louis, they’re back to the .500 mark and look like a team that may be starting to turn the corner. They sit just 2.5 back of the Mets. If they sweep St. Louis, they’ll go over .500 for the first time all year. The Braves were certainly very active at the deadline. They addressed their problems, and now look like a legitimate threat to the Mets. They get an A+
Washinton Nationals
The Nationals had quite the fire sale, much like the Cubs. The big moves were trading Brad Hand to the Blue Jays, Daniel Hudson to the Padres, Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers, Kyle Schwarber to the Red Sox, and Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes to Oakland. They got a solid pitching prospect in Mason Thompson in the deal with San Diego. They also got one in the deal with L.A.; Josiah Gray, but I feel like they could’ve gotten more in that deal, especially since they were dealing away Scherzer AND Turner. They also acquired outfielder Lane Thomas from the Cardinals in exchange for lefty Jon Lester. Thomas burst onto the scene in 2019, but has struggled since then. He never really had a clear role in St. Louis, so maybe with some more playing time, he’ll be able to prove his worth. Washington waived the white flag on the season, and despite perhaps not getting enough in return from the Dodgers, they still acquired some solid talent. We’ll give them a B.
Miami Marlins
The Marlins are at the bottom. They shipped off Adam Duvall, Starling Marte, and Yimi Garcia. In the Garcia deal, they got a solid bat in Bryan De La Cruz, who was hitting .324 at AAA. The biggest haul they got in return was from the A’s in the Marte deal. They brought back Jesus Luzardo, who’s only 23 and has an extremely bright future. With them being in last place, it made sense to sell and try and look towards the future. Luzardo could be a solid rotation piece to go alongside Trevor Rogers and Sandy Alcantara. We’ll go ahead and give Miami a B+
That’s it for today. We’ll be back tomorrow with the NL Central. I’m Curt Bishop and you’ve been listening to the Exit Velo Podcast. Thanks so much for tuning in.
