MLB trade deadline winners and losers

The red-letter date for the 2023 MLB trade deadline wasn’t Aug. 1 this year. It was July 27, the morning that Angels general manager Perry Minasian confirmed the worst-kept secret in the sport: Shohei Ohtani would not be dealt this season.

The moment that became official, it was as if Minasian took a pin to the deadline balloon.

With the two-way star set to become a free agent at the end of this season, the drama surrounding Ohtani’s trade possibility had been building since last winter. And with Ohtani off the table, contenders seeking history’s greatest difference-maker were left to pivot to their Plan Bs, some with more success than others.

In all, 69 trades were executed between June 1 and the 6 p.m. deadline on Aug. 1 — one fewer than a year ago — and 18 All-Stars changed teams, 10 of them pitchers.

Perhaps the biggest surprise, from an activity standpoint, were the Yankees, who pretty much sat this one out despite being tied with the Dodgers and Pirates for the most deadline trades (72) since 2000.

With 18 teams still considered to be in serious contention at the deadline, the expanded playoff system tends to put a drag on any trading frenzy at this time of year, creating a market with more buyers than sellers. And that dynamic remained in flux right through the final week, altering the plans for a number of teams.

“There’s a lot of clubs we were heavily discussing things with that I think their intentions were potentially sellers,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. “Their teams got hot, they became buyers. So there’s a lot of different changes in the marketplace. I’d say it wasn’t a deep trade deadline in terms of options, so navigating it wasn’t easy. But we were open-minded to a lot of different things.”

While the Yankees basically took a pass, acquiring two relief pitchers, every other team they’re in direct competition with for a playoff spot — oddly, the lone exception being the Red Sox — made significant deals. We’ll see how that ultimately works out for Cashman & Co. But in the meantime, here’s our list of deadline winners and losers, accompanied by their records and playoff odds, according to FanGraphs (entering Saturday night’s games).

WINNERS

1. Mets (50-59, 2.6% chance at the playoffs)

Why put owner Steve Cohen’s deadline “re-purposing” plan at the top of the winners list? The biggest reason is GM Billy Eppler somehow making Max Scherzer disappear — a vanishing act that David Blaine would have been proud of. Given Scherzer’s downward trend and $43.3 million for next season, he figured to be impossible to move. Sure, the Mets (seven games out of a wild-card spot) ate a considerable amount of his remaining contract, but they still got $22.5 million of relief from the Rangers and a head start on their organizational shift to get younger and more athletic in the future. Scherzer was the domino that led to the trade of Justin Verlander, freeing them from his age 41 and 42 seasons.

2. Astros (63-49, 88%)

Check out this wizardry. The Astros deem Verlander, who won the Cy Young Award and World Series with them in 2022, too expensive to bring back for a chance to repeat as champs. But after he spent four months with the Mets, Houston gets him anyway — at a heavily discounted rate, what could amount to only $40 million for 2 1⁄2 seasons (if his 2025 option vests). The Astros surrendered two top prospects, but with the goal of a World Series, the overall price for Verlander’s homecoming was a relative bargain.

3. Angels (56-55, 5.1%)

Trading Ohtani was never going to work. Determining the return for such a unicorn player was impossible, and if they traded him, the Angels would forfeit any chance of re-signing him in the offseason. Instead, they took the only available path, bolstering the roster at the deadline for a playoff run by adding rotation help (Lucas Giolito) and offense (C.J. Cron and Randal Grichuk) in an attempt to stay in the race as they wait for Mike Trout’s return. If they get to the postseason, the Angels have the inside track for Ohtani. If the gamble falls short, it’s a disaster.

4. Rangers (65-46, 85%)

Scherzer was a risky play given his deterioration this season — even with the sizable discount from the Mets — but he survived a disastrous first inning in Thursday’s Rangers debut to go six and deliver the victory. If Scherzer can find a second wind in Texas, all the better. But the Rangers still improved by adding Jordan Montgomery to the rotation and Aroldis Chapman and Chris Stratton to the bullpen. They also pivoted quickly to grab catcher Austin Hedges after their All-Star catcher, Jonah Heim, suffered a wrist injury a few days before the deadline.

LOSERS

1. Yankees (58-53

, 18.3% chance at the playoffs)

Cashman admitted that he had trouble picking a lane at this year’s deadline. The Yankees were in the AL East cellar but just a handful of games out of the third wild-card spot and with only two teams to hurdle last week. The optics of this roster’s performance suggested selling off whatever teams would take, but Cashman didn’t like what he heard in those proposals, and the Yankees — unlike the Mets — weren’t going to wave the white flag on a $294 payroll and near-sellout crowds awaiting them in the next two months. The only problem? Teams on the fringe of contention pulled back their top trade chips — i.e., the Cubs with Cody Bellinger — so the Yankees didn’t upgrade any area of need.

2. Red Sox (57-53, 21.4%)

Nobody expected the middling Red Sox to be this close to a playoff spot when this season began, based on their indifferent approach to building a rotation and scramble to re-sign Rafael Devers in what seemed like a reluctant attempt to avoid a total fan mutiny. But the Red Sox are on the brink of the third wild card anyway and maybe showed their hand as GM Chaim Bloom refused to deal any prospects for a number of top-flight starters. Trading Enrique Hernandez was addition by subtraction. Otherwise, the Red Sox are banking on the returns of their fragile and long-absent All-Stars in Chris Sale and Trevor Story.

3. Reds (59-54, 24.4%)

The surprising Reds are in a dogfight for both the division and a wild-card spot, but with such tight margins, they didn’t move for a veteran difference-maker to complement their kiddie rising stars. Getting lefty reliever Sam Moll from the A’s feels like a bit of buzzkill for a rejuvenated Reds team that is pushing for more attention on the national stage, not to mention a failure to capitalize on a no-show season by the Cardinals in the NL Central.

4. Twins (57-54, 82.5%)

The Twins’ deadline stance, despite sitting atop the weak AL Central, seemed to be a loud shrug, as in “what’s the point?” They’ve lost 18 consecutive playoff games dating to 2004, and if they hold on to win the division title this year, the Twins are likely to face a superior team anyway. Hence, the pickup of reliever Dylan Floro was their only move.

By David Lennon

dave.lennon@newsday.comDPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.