Top 10 Trade Deadline Deals of 2022

 Alright. Prolonged it enough. Built it up enough. Delayed it with National posts. But here, as per usual, is my personal list of the Top 10 Trade Deadline deals this year. I am judging this on how much it affects a team's playoff chances as well as future outlook, and I am keeping in mind star power as well as how much a team gave up to make this.

Here we go, right in with #10:

#10: David Peralta to the Rays, prospects to the Diamondbacks

This was a move a lot of D-Backs fans had figured was coming, and an interesting move as, in a deadline year where the Rays have given up Brett Phillips and had attempted to give up Ji-Man Choi, the Rays still end up as buyers. Peralta is not at his peak anymore, but he's a solid outfield bat, and he can provide star power for a depleted, falling Rays team. I'm not sure if the Rays will make as great of an impact on the postseason as they usually do, but competing with someone like Peralta will definitely give them a slight advantage. 

#9- Tyler Mahle to the Twins, prospects to the Reds

As much as it pains me to see the Reds unload the rest of the talent that made their teams so fun at the end of the last decade, this is at least a useful move because it reunites Mahle with Sonny Gray, and it adds him to a burgeoning rotation that could use some consistent innings eaters. Mahle will be a heck of a talent playing for a true competitor, and might have the best mileage of any of these pitching additions, even a teammate of his. 

#8- Trey Mancini to Houston, Jose Siri to Tampa, prospects to Baltimore

One of the first real blockbusters of the deadline. People had a feeling Mancini would be leaving the O's, as it's the kind of move they can make without compromising the core they've been building this year. Mancini is still a great hitter and can be a massive upgrade at 1st from Yuli Gurriel, giving them yet another upgrade in a monolithic year for the Astros. Meanwhile, Jose Siri is the kind of roster addition in Tampa that could yield outrageous dividends sooner or later. I equate him to somebody like Randy Arozarena, Isaac Paredes or Tyler Glasnow, where they weren't much in their initial farm system but once they got to Tampa, they figured it out and in a big way. Siri is gonna be huge for the Rays very soon, and I think he'll be the big name in this deal contemporarily. 

#7- Andrew Benintendi to the Yankees, prospects to the Royals

Yes, only #7. While this is a great deal that provides an outfield upgrade for the Yankees to people like Joey Gallo, Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton, as well as bringing a surefire contact hitter like Benny to the Bronx...a couple things have pushed this down. 1, the Yankees have made better moves this deadline. 2, the Yankees also got a major defensive upgrade in Harrison Bader thanks to a deal I will be talking about in another post, and 3, Benny hasn't figured out hitting in Yankee Stadium in his first few games there. I hope it's not like a Joey Gallo thing where the pressure's too much, and I honestly doubt it will be, but it's brought this one down a bit. Still, great move, and one that solves a lot of problems for the Yankees.

#6: Christian Vazquez to the Astros, prospects to the Red Sox. 

I had said somewhere that the only thing keeping the Astros from an essential waltz to the ALCS was a better catcher than Martin Maldonado. WELL...THEY'VE GOT ONE NOW. Vazquez was having another nice season for the Sox, now that he's in Houston he plugs in nicely. I don't think this team has many holes anymore, and it unsettles me. The Astros could very well win the whole thing this year, and Vazquez is more reassurance at backstop than they've had in a while. Excellent move, even at #6.

#5- Noah Syndergaard to the Phillies, Mickey Moniak and prospects to the Angels

Well...I CERTAINLY LOVE THIS MOVE. No offense meant towards people like Kyle Gibson and Ranger Suarez, but the back half of the Phillies rotation has a lot of very dull innings eaters without a lot of fun upsides. We NEEDED a guy like Thor. First of all, hooray, reunited with Wheeler. Second of all, while he's been a strikeout artist for years, those injuries have mellowed him into a more controlling, thoughtful pitcher, and he's had a nice start for the Angels. And thirdly...guys, Noah Syndergaard gets to pitch for one of my teams. As if I needed another excuse to love this guy. Yes, there's the issue of injuries, and Thor has had a ton over the years, which is why this is lower than some other pitching moves, but...on paper this is great. Thor on the Phils. Really helps our postseason chances.

#4- Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Yankees, J.P. Sears and prospects to the Athletics.

Well...this was the Yankees big pitching move this year. I think it's really good. Montas, while never the standout of the A's rotation, has always been a nasty little strikeout guy for them, and has had some big games even this season. Trivino, while he's struggled recently, has had masterful control as a bullpen asset there. And even if we lose a starting option like J.P. Sears, especially in the wake of losing ANOTHER STARTING OPTION BRIAN, Montas is not only an innings eater, he's an impressing starting asset that gives us another leg up in terms of our rotation. Cole, Montas, Cortes and Taillon are all looking good, even if that fifth spot still worries me [THANKS AGAIN BRIAN]. 

#3- Josh Hader to the Padres, Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet et al to the Brewers

This was my biggest shock of the deadline. Yes, contracts are contracts, but HADER getting dealt, as one of the best closers in the game right now, is huge. Especially considering that this is a deal between two competitors, and they're honestly helping each other. I have a whole post prepared tomorrow involving these kinds of 'you scratch my back' deals, and why they baffle me, but this one I can kind of see the benefits of. Rogers is still a great closer for the Brewers, and he can still help them compete. Hader, meanwhile, is pretty much a rental for the Padres, but he helps them become even more ironclad in the ninth, and adds to the 'all-star team' mentality San Diego is going with for this run. Probably has the most immediate ramifications of any of these deals, and it's still pretty impressive.

#2- Luis Castillo to the Mariners, prospects to the Reds

Initially you look at this deal and it's not very big. Okay, the Mariners get a solid innings-eater like Castillo, big whoop. Well...then you start to think about it. The Mariners got the #1 arm on the board this deadline. They got one of the top arms on the board in the offseason as well, Robbie Ray. So now their rotation is Ray, Logan Gilbert, Castillo, Chris Flexen and Marco Gonzales, with the occasional assist by George Kirby. That is...that is outstanding. Even if this team has had trouble with Houston and now is fighting New York tooth and nail, Luis Castillo puts them over the edge from novelty streaker into the main lexicon of competitors. Luis Castillo could be the Mariners' way of breaking the 21 year playoff drought. And I think he's the exact right guy for this team. 

In a normal year, that'd be a ballsy yet respectable pick for #1, completely changes a team's gameplan and makes for a new favorite in the wild card race. 

This, however, is not a normal year.

#1- Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres, Luke Voit, Mackenzie Gore and C.J. Abrams, along with some prospects, to the Nationals. 

Well...crap. A.J. Prefer just broke the deadline, guys. Let's be clear, we knew Soto would be changing hands, the team and him weren't on great terms, you could see it. We had a feeling Josh Bell would be leaving too considering his season. But...not like this. Oh my gosh. Putting not only Soto but BELL in the same lineup as Manny Machado, Jake Cronenworth, Trent Grisham and eventually Fernando Tatis Jr....uh...yeah, that's gonna be hard for anybody to beat. In terms of the return, the Nats did pretty well too, getting a power-hitting 1B/DH in the wake of Zim's departure, a starting phenom in Gore that I'm surprised the Padres parted with, and a shortstop that wasn't getting any playing time in SD anyway. The Nats now have Abrams, Gore, Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, Lane Thomas, and all these new prospects chilling in the minors. Don't be shocked if they take off in a couple years. For now, the Padres won this deadline, and they got the biggest piece on the board. Get ready for what they're about to do in the NL.

Tomorrow, we're gonna talk about some of these that didn't make much sense.