This year's trade deadline was certainly an interesting one. There weren't a lot of big names available, which made things a little bit different than years past.
Blockbuster deals were few and far between, and there wasn't a lot of evidence of teams going full-throttle and trying to win a World Series title.
On Thursday, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reflected on this year's deadline and what made it so unique.
"Well, it was a beautiful year to be a seller if you weren't the White Sox or the mysteriously inactive Rockies anyway. But if you were the Rays or the Marlins, or one of the half-dozen true sellers who set up shop at this wacky baseball pop-up market, there were big hauls to be had."
Such was certainly the case this year. It truly was a seller's market, which is interesting to note given that there weren't many teams actually selling.
The Tampa Bay Rays essentially put on a clinic for how to sell properly at the trade deadline. They dealt away some key pieces such as Randy Arozarena, Jason Adam, and Isaac Paredes, but the returns they got for those players were massive.
They added hauls of prospects and even brought in Christopher Morel in the Paredes trade with the Chicago Cubs. Along with several other teams, they made the wise decision to capitalize on the value of some of their stars and set themselves up well for the future.
As such, they could be back in postseason contention as soon as 2025 if they ultimately fall short of October this year.
But it truly was a seller's market, and those who sold took full advantage of the assets they had available to trade.
More MLB: MLB trade grades 2024: Complete analysis for every deal completed on deadline day
