2024 Trade Deadline: MLB Players on the Move

Issue #189

For a while it seemed like we’d see fewer trade deadline deals than in years past. In the end, in my view there were not too many truly game-changing exchanges made—but the volume did catch up and became enough that I really needed to pay close attention in order to not missing anything.

As in years past, MLB.com provided a helpful article that they updated regularly: Tracking every 2024 Trade Deadline deal. That page lists all the trades that were made, in more-or-less chronological order over the past several weeks. What I also find helpful is to consider the players traded by position, and organized by their new teams. So for the former, I created the following rather crowded positional map:

I’ll note that the above players are only those that have had significant Major League playing time. I didn’t include here all the guys who have only been up for a few games at some point this year, or who have yet to make their MLB debut.

Very few MLB catchers (2) changed teams, but that is typical, as quickly learning a new pitching staff in the middle of a season is not easy.

What I found more interesting was how few pure 2B, 3B, and SS were dealt. 3B Isaac Paredes went from the Rays to the Cubs. SS Paul DeJong went from the White Sox to the Royals—though with young superstar Bobby Witt Jr. there, DeJong will see at-bats at mostly other positions. Beyond those two, I listed five guys on the side as “utility” players because they can and have played several infield and outfield spots. And Jazz Chisholm has played most CF this year, but for the Yankees might end up playing more in the infield—thought perhaps more at 3B, a new spot for him, than 2B or SS.

Overall there were several hitters who could be difference makers, including the previously mentioned Paredes and Chisholm, but also guys like DH/OF Jorge Soler (ATL), DH/OF Eloy Jimenez (BAL), OF Lane Thomas (CLE), OF Randy Arozarena (SEA), OF Bryan De La Cruz (PIT), and a few others.

But as the cluttered diagram shows, there were far more pitchers moved, both starting pitchers and especially relievers. Most notably perhaps is SP Jack Flaherty joining the Dodgers—a loaded team that always seems to have lots of great pitchers, but also several injured pitchers.

Like Flaherty, there were questions about how Erick Fedde would perform this year—but since he has done well, he became a valuable trade piece for the White Sox and is now with the Cardinals. Other starters who will immediately be in the back-end of their new teams’ rotations are Frankie Montas (MIL), Paul Blackburn (NYM), Zach Eflin (BAL), Yusei Kikuchi (HOU), and several of the others listed above.

Amongst the many relievers who find themselves on new teams, some are lefty specialists and many are meant to add depth, but a few are critical late-inning types. The Padres in particular really improved their bullpen by adding Jason Adam, Bryan Hoeing, and especially lefty Marlins closer Tanner Scott. Pairing him with existing Padres closer Robert Suarez gives the Padres two closers, one RHP and one LHP, both with sub-2.00 ERAs so far this year.

In addition to viewing the MLB guys by position per above, here are all the players that I’m aware of that have been traded in the past two weeks—including the prospects who changed franchises—organized by their new team (first the NL, then the AL):

Braves

• OF/DH Jorge Soler

• RP Luke Jackson

Brewers

• SP Frankie Montas

• RP Nick Mears

• Prospects: LHP Tyler Jay

Cardinals

• OF Tommy Pham

• SP Erick Fedde

• RP Shawn Armstrong

Cubs

• 3B Isaac Parades

• RP Nate Pearson

• Prospects: INF Ben Cowles, RHP Jack Neely

Diamondbacks

• 1B Josh Bell

• SP/RP AJ Puk

• RP Dylan Floro

Dodgers

• CF Kevin Kiermaier

• INF/OF Amed Rosario

• INF/OF Tommy Edman

• SP Jack Flaherty

• RP Michael Kopech

• Prospects: RHP Oliver Gonzalez, INF Moises Bolivar

Giants

• 1B/OF Mark Canha

• RP Tyler Matzek

• Prospects: RHP Eric Silva, LHP Jacob Bresnahan, INF Sabin Ceballos, plus a player to be named later from CLE

Marlins

• OF Kyle Stowers

• SP Adam Mazur

• Prospects: LHP Robby Snelling, INF Graham Pauley, INF Jay Beshears, OF/3B Wilfredo Lara, RHP Jun-Seok Shim, 1B Garret Forrester, RHP Will Schomberg, 2B/OF Connor Norby, 2B/SS Jared Serna, C Agustin Ramirez, SS Abrahan Ramirez, 1B/3B Deyvison De Los Santos, OF Andrew Pintar, plus a player to be named later from ARI

Mets

• LF Jesse Winker

• SP Paul Blackburn

• RP Ryne Stanek

• RP Huascar Brazoban

• RP Tyler Zuber

• Prospects: LHP Nicolas Carreno, RHP TJ Shook

Nationals

• Prospects: 3B Andrés Chaparro, LHP Alex Clemmey, SS Rafael Ramirez Jr., 3B José Tena, RHP Tyler Stuart

Padres

• SP Martín Pérez

• RP Tanner Scott

• RP Bryan Hoeing

• RP Jason Adam

• Prospects: OF Brandon Lockridge

Phillies

• OF Austin Hays

• RP Carlos Estévez

• RP Tanner Banks

• Prospects: RHP Seth Johnson, RHP Moisés Chace

Pirates

• OF Bryan De La Cruz

• 2B/3B/SS Isiah Kiner-Falefa

• RP Josh Walker

• RP Jalen Beeks

• Prospects: LHP Ronaldys Jimenez, INF Nick Yorke

Reds

• 1B Ty France

• CF Joey Weimer

• SP/RP Jakob Junis

• Prospects: 3B Davis Wendzel, RHP Ovis Portes, plus a player to be named later from BAL

Rockies

• Prospects: LHP Luis Peralta, RHP Bradley Blalock, RHP Yujanyer Herrera

A’s

• Prospects: RHP Kade Morris, RHP Mason Barnett, RHP Will Klein, OF Jared Dickey

Angels

• RP Mike Baumann

• Prospects: Ryan Zeferjahn, Matthew Lugo, Yeferson Vargas, Niko Kavadas, LHP Samuel Aldegheri, RHP George Klassen

Astros

• SP Yusei Kikuchi

• RP Caleb Ferguson

Blue Jays

• LF Joey Loperfido

• RP/SP Ryan Yarbrough

• Prospect: INF Jay Harry, RHP Jake Bloss, INF/OF Will Wagner, OF RJ Schreck, SS Eddinson Paulino, 3B Cutter Coffey, RHP Gilberto Batista, INF Josh Rivera, OF Yohendrick Pinango, OF Jonatan Clase, C Jacob Sharp, 3B Charles McAdoo

Guardians

• OF Lane Thomas

• SP Alex Cobb

Mariners

• OF Randy Arozarena

• DH/INF Justin Turner

• RP JT Chargois

• RP Yimi Garcia

• Prospects: C Andruw Salcedo, OF Rhylan Thomas

Orioles

• DH/OF Eloy Jiménez

• OF Austin Slater

• OF Cristian Pache

• SS Livan Soto

• SP Zach Eflin

• SP Trevor Rogers

• RP Seranthony Domínguez

Rangers

• C Carson Kelly

• RP Andrew Chafin

• Prospects:  LHP Walter Pennington

Rays

• INF/OF Christopher Morel

• OF Dylan Carlson

• Prospects: RHP Paul Gervase, RHP Michael Flynn, RHP Hunter Bigge, RHP Ty Johnson, RHP Dylan Lesko, OF Homer Bush Jr., C J.D. Gonzalez, INF Mac Horvath, RHP Jackson Baumeister, OF Matthew Etzel, OF Aidan Smith, RHP Brody Hopkins, plus a player to be named later

Red Sox

• C Danny Jansen

• SP Quinn Priester

• SP James Paxton

• RP Luis García

• RP Lucas Sims

Royals

• INF Paul DeJong

• RP Lucas Erceg

• SP Michael Lorenzen

Tigers

• Prospects: C Thayron Liranzo, INF Trey Sweeney, RHP Joseph Montalvo, RHP Chase Lee, RHP Ricky Vanasco, C Liam Hicks, P Tyler Owens

Twins

• RP Trevor Richards

White Sox

• INF/OF Miguel Vargas

• Prospects: SS/2B William Bergolla, LHP Trey McGough, RHP Jarold Rosado, INF Jeral Perez, INF Alexander Albertus

Yankees

• INF/OF Jazz Chisholm Jr.

• RP Enyel De Los Santos

• RP Mark Leiter Jr.

• Prospects: RHP Thomas Balboni Jr, RHP Kelly Austin

Most of the teams in contention made moves to bolster their post-season chances. Some, like the Orioles, Dodgers, and Padres brought in many reinforcements, while others like the Yankees, Astros, and Braves, made only a few moves.

On the other end of the spectrum, several teams really loaded up on prospects. I count 13 new minor-leaguers for the Marlins, 12 for the Rays, 12 for the Blue Jays, 7 for the Tigers, 6 for the Angels, 5 for the White Sox, and 5 for the Nationals. Interestingly, I only counted 4 such acquisitions for the A’s and a mere 3 for the Rockies.

Phew! That is a lot of players with new employers… who did I miss?

Did you know? I wrote a book with the same title as this Substack newsletter / blog: Now Taking the Field: Baseball’s All-Time Dream Teams for All 30 Franchises. It was published in early 2019, by ACTA Sports, the publisher of the annual Bill James Handbook and other popular titles. You can learn more about it at www.NowTakingTheField.com, or buy directly at Amazon and other booksellers.