Astros, Yankees Buys, Orioles, Twins Selloffs Highlight AL Deadline

Forbes

2 days ago

The MLB trading deadline arrived at 6 PM Eastern on Thursday. Plenty of notable players and prospects changed hands, with multiple buyers seeking bullpen help specifically. The AL activity will be discussed in this space; the NL will be covered here.
The New York Yankees were among the biggest bullpen buyers at the deadline, adding David Bednar from the Pirates, Camilo Doval from the Giants and Jake Bird from the Rockies. They gave up largely prospect quantity in return. Six of the prospects dealt were on my midseason top prospect lists - 2B Roc Riggio (#63 position player, to Rockies), OF Jesus Rodriguez (#167, to Giants), OF Brian Sanchez (#189, to Pirates), 3B Parks Harber (#240, 3B), C Edgleen Perez (#339, to Pirates), and P Griffin Herring (#140 pitcher, sent earlier to 3B Rockies in Ryan McMahon deal). (These lists are based purely on first half 2025 statistical performance, relative to league and level, adjusted for age.) They also added UT Jose Caballero from the Rays at an affordable price, and cut bait on homegrown position players Oswald Peraza and Everson Pereira. On balance, they're significantly improved, at an affordable cost.
The Houston Astros might have been the shrewdest deadline buyer. Their biggest move brings 3B Carlos Correa back to town, with the Astros on the hook for $70 million of his salary through 2028. The acquisition of OF Jesus Sanchez could also pay off big. They acquired him for modest prospect cost, but if Sanchez can learn to hit lefty pitching (admittedly a big if), he could be a cost-controlled star. 3B Ramon Urias also came over from the Orioles in a minor deal.
The Seattle Mariners qualify as big buyers, adding 3B Eugenio Suarez and 1B Josh Naylor to their lineup and Caleb Ferguson to their pen. The prospect cost was reasonable, as arms Ashton Izzi (#99, to the Diamondbacks) and Jeter Martinez (#161, to the Pirates) were the only players dealt on my midseason top prospect lists. Suarez is a big get, but shouldn't be inflated beyond what he is - he's a rental, and a streaky power hitter who's due for a comedown.
The Toronto Blue Jays made multiple moves, including a highly speculative deal for the Guardians' Shane Bieber. He'll be healthy and available soon, and could opt out of his 2026 deal if he has success. That's a risk the Jays are willing to take. Seranthony Domiguez and Louis Varland help their bullpen, and 1B Ty France gives them another useful bat. They gave up some decent prospects - P Juaron Watts-Brown (#25, to Orioles), P Khal Stephen (#43, to Guardians) and OF Alan Roden (#126, to Twins), who has some MLB experience.
The Texas Rangers made some noise right before the buzzer, bolstering their pitching staff with the acquisition of starter Merrill Kelly and relievers Phil Maton and Danny Coulombe. They gave up a mostly mid-to-low range prospects, but did give up my #4 and #41 midseason pitching prospects, Mitch Bratt (to the Diamondbacks) and Mason Molina to (the Cardinals).
The Detroit Tigers added pitching depth, with Chris Paddack and Charlie Morton joining their rotation and Kyle Finnegan and Paul Sewald fleshing out their pen. They did so while parting only with relatively minor prospects, none of whom made my midseason top prospect lists.
The Boston Red Sox were reportedly in the mix for bigger fish, but wound up settling for added pitching depth in the form of Steven Matz and Dustin May. They did give up some prospect quality, sending bat only 1B Blaze Jordan (#43) to the Cards and OFs Zach Ehrhard (#69) and James Tibbs III (#263) to the Dodgers in return.
It was a low-key interesting deadline for the Kansas City Royals. They did send C Freddy Fermin to the Padres in a deal that netted them a pair of displaced MLB starters in Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek, but then chimed in at the buzzer, acquiring starter Bailey Falter from the Pirates and OF Mike Yastrzemski from the Giants. The best prospect they moved was 1B Callan Moss (#197, to Pirates).
Having It Both Ways
What a wacky deadline for the Tampa Bay Rays. They 'bought' starter Adrian Houser from the White Sox and reliever Griffin Jax, cutting bait on one-time top prospect Taj Bradley in the latter deal. On the other hand, they sent UT Caballero to the Yankees, durable starter Zack Littell to the Reds and backup C Danny Jansen to the Brewers. The best prospect moved in any of these deals came to the Rays for Jansen - SS Jadher Areinamo (#147). On balance, I like their work.
Or maybe it's Having It Neither Way, in the case of the Los Angeles Angels. They moved none of their supposedly available players, and actually made a small bullpen buy, bringing aboard Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia. I have no idea what these guys are doing.
The Chicago White Sox held on to Luis Robert and others, but did move starter Adrian Houser (to the Rays) and OF Austin Slater (to the Yanks), landing multiple marginal prospects in return.
Moderate Sellers
The Cleveland Guardians moved Bieber (to the Jays) and Sewald (to the Tigers), and did receive a very interesting prospect in return in the Bieber deal in P Stephen (#43).
Heavy Sellers
Both the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins moved anything that wasn't nailed down. The O's emptied their bullpen, cutting loose Dominguez, Gregory Soto, and Andrew Kittredge, and also dealt starter Charlie Morton and position players Urias, Ryan O'Hearn, Ramon Laureano and Cedric Mullins. They got a bevy of prospects in return, with P Juaron Watts-Brown (#25, from the Jays), P Boston Bateman (#53, Padres), P Wellington Aracena (#81, Mets) and Victor Figueroa (#137, Padres) the best among them. The Twins just might have torn it down to an even greater extent, moving Correa, Paddack, Jax, Varland, France, closer Jhoan Duran, reliever Brock Stewart, OF Harrison Bader and UT Willi Castro. They added five prospects ranked on my midseason lists, including three top 100 hitters/pitchers from the Phillies (#75 OF Hendry Mendez, #77 C Eduardo Tait and #86 P Mick Abel). P Ryan Gallagher (#35, Cubs) and #126 Roden were the other two. I prefer the Twins' return to the O's.
That leaves with the Athletics. Sure, they got arguably the best prospect moved at the deadline in SS Leodalis de Vries, but Mason Miller is a really tough concession. They also moved starter JP Sears to the Padres in the same deal that brought aboard solid pitching prospects Henry Baez (#135) and Braden Nett (#145). If de Vries clicks (his stock is a bit down this year), the A's position player nucleus becomes really dangerous.