MLB trade deadline: Reviewing the impact of 2021 deadline trades
By Bill Felber
The best trades benefit both teams. That’s the corporate line from both MLB team execs and those employed as trade analysts, and it’s an increasingly common refrain as Tuesday’s 5 p.m. (Eastern) MLB trade deadline approaches.
But is there any truth to it?
Since most of the headline trades these days involve the move of a star player on a non-contender to a contending team in return for prospects, those are the most interesting trades to look at.
So consider the question in the context of trades involving that combination of trade partners. Is it common, or really unusual, for such trades to benefit both teams?
More realistically, are trades made under this type of deadline desperation just as often one-sided?
Or, perhaps more realistically yet, do deadline trades involving the move of at least one star from a non-contender to a contender end up doing nothing to enhance the chances of the playoff-bound team while producing nothing of value for the rebuilding team?
In the public mind, the model is what the 2021 Atlanta Braves did at the trade deadline. On their way to a World Series victory, the Braves acquired an entire playoff outfield: Jorge Soler from Kansas City, Adam Duvall from Miami, Joc Pederson from the Cubs, and Eddie Rosario from Cleveland.
But the Braves, of course, are sort of a trick answer. At the trade deadline, they weren’t even gleaning attention as a contender. At the deadline, they were in third place in the NL East, five games out of the division lead and sixth in the race for two postseason Wild Card spots.