There won't be any mistaking which teams are in the hunt for the playoffs, and which ones are not.
The 2023 MLB trade deadline has passed, with teams barred from trading as of 6 p.m. ET. Several notable teams continued buying to try and improve their postseason chances, while others officially decided to fold it up, sell off some key talents and start studying the 2024 draft class.
Many expected the 2023 deadline to be quiet. After all, last year Juan Soto was traded, and it was clear no star of his caliber would be dealt once the Angels decided against trading Shohei Ohtani.
And outside of Justin Verlander, it was largely a quiet deadline, with no major surprise stars dealt.
With the dust settled, there were certainly some teams, players and fans that came away from the deadline feeling better than others.
MORE: Tracking all the deals at the 2023 deadline
Who were some winners and losers? Here's what you need to know.
Winners
Brewers
It's easy to put together a list of needs at the trade deadline. It's another thing to address all of them. And that's exactly what the Brewers did during the deadline. Milwaukee added slugger Carlos Santana from the Pirates, outfielder Mark Canha from the Mets and reliever Andrew Chafin from the Diamondbacks. That's two bats who can be lineup regulars and a reliever to make a deep bullpen all the better.
The Brewers essentially checked off each box without giving up any of their top prospects. Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero, Jacob Misiorowski and other top prospects all wound up staying in the Milwaukee system.
What's even better is what other teams did. The Brewers got Chafin from the Diamondbacks, who are in the NL wild card race, and watched as the NL Central-leading Reds did very little. Milwaukee might not have made any splash moves, but the three smaller moves with a quiet deadline by other contenders makes for a big day for the Brewers.
The AL East race
Baseball fans can rejoice that the best division race to follow got more interesting. Yes, the Red Sox and Yankees were quiet, but they're also fourth and fifth, respectively. Instead, let's look at the upgrades of the Rays, Orioles and Blue Jays.
Tampa Bay brought Aaron Civale over from Cleveland to bolster the rotation with an arm capable of providing the team with length and potentially making some postseason starts. Baltimore bolstered its starting rotation with Jack Flaherty, who could find that a playoff race is just what he needs to keep his recent strong run going. Toronto addressed a pair of injuries by adding two Cardinals, making moves for Jordan Hicks to reinforce the bullpen and Paul DeJong to fill in for Bo Bichette.
The AL East should be a thrilling race featuring three teams that all look like playoff teams. Though none of them added star players, they went out and reinforced why they are going to be viewed among the best teams in the sport.
MORE: Latest on Bo Bichette's injury
Angels fans
The Angels probably should have traded Shohei Ohtani. They now run the risk of him walking in free agency for little more than a draft pick. And their chances of making the playoffs are still slim.
But the rest of the season should be entertaining. Los Angeles committed to the rest of the season by acquiring Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Randal Grichuk and C.J. Cron in the days leading up to the deadline. The team also is giving itself a chance to keep Ohtani after the season by keeping him around in Anaheim.
And if the Angels make the playoffs, who knows? That might be enough to change his mind.
Los Angeles is usually out of the playoff race by this point in the season. That isn't the case this year. The Angels are just three games behind the Blue Jays in the AL wild card race and 4.5 back of the Rangers in the AL West. And they will still get Mike Trout back before the end of the year. There's some fun baseball ahead in Anaheim.
Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer
Verlander and Scherzer believed they would be in the middle of a pennant race in 2023, and they will be. It will just be as rivals, instead of teammates.
The disappointing season by the Mets was hardly their responsibility. There were plenty of issues in New York that led to the team underwhelming. Verlander and Scherzer, though neither up to their usual lofty standards, both pitched well enough for the Mets to be in the mix.
Now, Verlander heads to Houston, where he was extremely comfortable over five years and has a chance to further bolster his Hall of Fame resume. Scherzer will head to Arlington, where he will fill in the ace void left by former teammate Jacob deGrom. Both, who are friends and competitors, will finally have the chance to oppose each other in what should be a thrilling AL West and pennant race. That beats languishing in New York for another year and a half.
MORE: Scherzer says Mets' rebuild decision led to Rangers trade
Eduardo Rodriguez
Everyone is going to ask why Rodriguez decided to stay with the Tigers rather than join the Dodgers and make a real playoff push. So why is he listed as a winner? Because the no-trade clause that he had in his contract worked to perfection.
It's easy to think of players as names on paper that can just be shifted. But this isn't MLB The Show. These are people with families and their own desires. Los Angeles is more than 2,000 miles away from Detroit. Uprooting during the middle of the season to go that far — especially three months before possibly signing with a new team — is not easy.
No-trade clauses are added to contracts for a reason. That Rodriguez was able to use his shows it worked to his benefit. And that should be celebrated, not bashed.
Losers
Mets fans
The Mets went 101-61 last season and watched the season burst into flames in a regular-season-ending sweep by the Braves and a wild-card round exit against the Padres. New York went out and added Verlander, along with several other key adds, and appeared set to be the biggest challenge to the Braves in the NL East — and possibly for the pennant.
Fast-forward to Aug. 1, and Scherzer, Verlander, Canha, David Robertson, Eduardo Escobar, Tommy Pham and Dominic Leone have since been traded. Given the lofty payroll, the stars on the team and the expectations after last year, the Mets have to be considered the biggest disappointment in the sport. And that is brutal for Mets' fans who might have thought this was the year.
Instead, they'll watch the rest of the season as the Braves, Phillies and, gasp, Marlins make a playoff push.
And it might not get much better for the Mets moving forward. Pete Alonso is in his penultimate year of team control, and the Mets went from having several Cy Young winners at the front of the rotation to a starting five with plenty of uncertainty past Kodai Senga in 2024. The haul for all the players is impressive, no doubt, but the fans can expect a disappointing season to only get worse.
MORE: How Drew Gilbert, Ryan Clifford fit in Mets' farm system
Yankees
The Yankees kept everyone waiting. There was plenty of suspense with New York. Would the Yankees buy at the deadline? Would they sell some rentals? They waited until five minutes before the deadline and then they ... traded for a reliever and a starter with a career 7.20 ERA.
Keynan Middleton is an effective reliever who should help New York's bullpen. Spencer Howard once had plenty of promise that perhaps the Yankees can still bring out at 27 years old. But is either player a difference-maker? Absolutely not. The Yankees have had some issues with the back end of the rotation, have lineup depth problems behind Aaron Judge and also are dealing with an aging roster that could use a youth infusion.
No one would have faulted the Yankees for buying some meaningful pieces at the deadline. No one would have faulted the Yankees for selling rentals and hoping to reload for another run in 2024. But these smaller adds in a vaunted AL East and wild card race is puzzling.
Dodgers
Like the Yankees, the Dodgers needed to do something, thought it was clear they needed to do some buying. They were linked to Justin Verlander, Lucas Giolito, Dylan Cease and other top-end starting pitchers. Instead, they wound up with Ryan Yarbrough and a rejection from Rodriguez.
Look, it undoubtedly hurts to negotiate a deal for Rodriguez and have that fall apart with little time before the deadline. It left them with little time and fewer options left than expected. But these are the Dodgers, who have one of the best farm systems in baseball and the payroll abilities to absorb contracts other teams can't. They also have World Series expectations every year.
The Braves might not have done much at the deadline, but at least they made a few little moves. And they were already the best team in the National League by 7.5 games. The Dodgers needed to make a splash. Instead, they hit concrete on the first jump and settled for dipping their toe in the water afterward.
MORE: Grades for every trade at the deadline
Reds
The Reds have drawn countless comparisons to the 2022 Orioles. Last year, Baltimore was one of the biggest surprises after ending a rebuild early, boosted in part by a young core with a player at one point ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball, and made a race for the playoffs. The Orioles at the deadline responded by trading away Trey Mancini, a fixture on the team, and they missed the playoffs by three games.
Cincinnati didn't trade anyone away. In fact, they did add reliever Sam Moll, who should be a solid addition to a taxed bullpen. And yes, the Reds will have Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo back in the rotation by the end of August. That doesn't change the fact that this is a young team, particularly in the rotation, where guys will be taxed at the end of the year and could use some help to take some innings off.
No one said the Reds had to trade Noelvi Marte, Christian Encarnacion-Strand or Jonathan India to bolster the rotation with an ace. But it would be easy to make some minor upgrades that would help add some experience and length to the Reds' pitching staff. It also doesn't help that the Brewers and Cubs both made meaningful improvements.
AL Central teams
Does anyone actually want to win this division? The Twins traded a struggling reliever for a struggling reliever. Somehow, they did not add a single hitter who could help the team despite holding onto a slim lead over Cleveland.
The Guardians did well to sell high on Civale and land Kyle Manzardo, but they also added Kahlil Watson, a shortstop, to a system overflowing with shortstops. Still no power-hitting outfielders. And is Noah Syndergaard really going to turn things around? Probably not.
Then there are the sellers. The White Sox, like the Mets, got back some decent hauls at the deadline, but it also highlighted the fact that what was once a standout core of players has seen its window come and go. The Tigers must have gotten through quite a lot of negotiating to send Rodriguez to Los Angeles before asking if he'd actually be willing to waive his 10-team no-trade clause. The Royals also potentially missed an earlier opportunity to trade Scott Barlow for more than he brought back before an underwhelming return for one of the best relievers in baseball over the past two years.
The AL Central should be a close division race down the stretch. That doesn't exactly mean it will be the most entertaining. There is a real chance both the Twins and Guardians accepted the fact that one of them will sneak into the playoffs with a sub-.500 record.
