Every MLB Team's Biggest Trade Deadline Regret

After the MLB trade deadline closes, every team looks over their decisions in detail.

For some of those teams, their biggest regret of the season may come from the trade market.

In a lackluster trade market, few teams made trades before Wednesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline passed.

For those teams that made a move, and for the teams that did not, each of them will have a regret about the trade deadline at the end of the season.

But, what exactly will that regret be?

Read on to find out what the biggest regret of deadline day is for every team.

All Wednesday deals linked to official announcements through the teams' official Twitter accounts.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Coming on Too Late in the Pitching Market

The Arizona Diamondbacks made the first deal of deadline day, via @Dbacks, by shipping beleaguered starter Ian Kennedy to the Padres for a package that included left-handed reliever Joe Thatcher.

Bringing in Thatcher will help the struggling Arizona bullpen, but with the inactivity of other teams, the Diamondbacks could have made a second move to bolster their bullpen.

In the deal with the Padres, Arizona gave away a major league talent in Kennedy, which is something it would not have had to do if it were looking to acquire a second relief pitcher.

With a bullpen dominated by right-handers, it would not have hurt the Diamondbacks and their farm system had they chased after another left-hander.

Atlanta Braves: Not Acquiring a Starter

The Atlanta Braves took care of one of their needs on Monday when they acquired left-handed reliever Scott Downs from the Angels.

However, that would be all the business that general manager Frank Wren would do before the trade deadline expired.

With Tim Hudson and Paul Maholm both currently on the disabled list, the decision not to bring in a starting pitcher shows that Wren and his staff have plenty of faith in their young starting rotation.

With a hefty lead in the National League East, the Braves will most likely make the playoffs this season, and bringing a young crop of starters into the postseason could offer either a high return or a total failure.

Baltimore Orioles: Failure to Bring in a Bat

The Baltimore Orioles did plenty of work in the pitching market by bringing in Scott Feldman in early July and Bud Norris on deadline day, via @Orioles. 

Despite their added depth in the starting rotation, the O's may regret not bringing in an experienced hitter when the regular season ends.

With Chris Davis already falling into a second-half slump, players like Michael Young or Justin Morneau would have been a great fit for Buck Showalter's ballclub.

After Young was made unavailable through his no-trade clause, the Orioles should have furiously chased after Morneau, who would have been a good fit in Baltimore, according to this tweet from Mike Berardino of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

No excuses can be made either on an asking price for Morneau or Young because the O's did give up quite a bit of talent in the Norris, deal including young left-hander Josh Hader.

Boston Red Sox: Holding on to Prospects for Stretch Run

Sitting in second place in the American League East, the Boston Red Sox were expected to bring in a few veterans in exchange for some of their prized prospects.

The Red Sox did just that in the Jake Peavy deal where they let Jose Iglesias go, per ESPN Boston's Gordon Edes, but they did not make any other corresponding moves to bolster their lineup.

Instead of bringing in Michael Young to play third base for the remainder of the season, manager John Farrell went against the thinking of many, including ESPN's Jim Bowden, and called up Brock Holt to play the hot corner.

Another potential employee of the hot corner at Fenway Park would have been top prospect Xander Bogaerts, who like Will Middlebrooks could have been used as trade bait on deadline day.

The inexperience at third base could easily be masked by the other players in the lineup, but failing to bring in a bat in the form of Young is something that could hurt the Sox in the final months of the season.

Chicago Cubs: Inability to Exploit the Weakness of a Rival

The Chicago Cubs had little influence on deadline day itself because of their deals with the Rangers and Yankees earlier in the month.

On Wednesday, the Cubs had one more chance to be active in the trade market as their NL Central rival, St. Louis, inquired about Dioner Navarro, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.

With Yadier Molina heading to the disabled list, the Cubs had a chance to take advantage of the Cardinals' need for a catcher.

However, the Cubs failed to finish off a third trade in July, and instead of acquiring a prospect or two from one of the best farm systems in baseball, they are stuck with Navarro.

Chicago White Sox: Keeping Alex Rios

As they sit 20 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central, the Chicago White Sox know that they will be doing nothing positive for the final two months of the season.

Robin Ventura's club did do something positive by acquiring Avisail Garcia in the Jake Peavy deal on Tuesday, but it failed to bring in another few prospects by keeping outfielder Alex Rios.

Rios was one of the better hitters available on the trade market, but instead of leaving the Windy City for greener pastures, he will be miserable in Chicago for the remainder of the season.

Cincinnati Reds: Staying Quiet on the Trade Front

With the Pittsburgh Pirates setting the National League Central on fire, the Cincinnati Reds are in need of a spark to climb up the standings.

While the Reds were not rumored to be in on any deals at the deadline, it would not have been a bad thing for them to acquire a bench player or relief pitcher to spark a postseason run.

With that being said, it is hard to criticize the Reds, who are deep at mostly every position and are in line right now to take the second wild card in the National League.

Cleveland Indians: Not Bringing in Another Left-Handed Reliever

The Cleveland Indians did make a minor move on Tuesday when they brought Marc Rzepczynski in from the Cardinals to bolster their bullpen. 

Despite bringing in Rzepczynski, the Indians were still in the market for another left-handed reliever.

According to Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer, the Indians were looking to acquire either Javier Lopez or Josh Outman, but neither move gained any traction.

As the stretch run of the regular season extends into September, most contenders have two or three lefties in the bullpen they can rely on.

The Indians will have just two in Rzepczynski and Rich Hill for the time being.

Colorado Rockies: Letting the Deadline Pass Without Moving Outman

The Colorado Rockies did not have many pieces available to move at the trade deadline, but they did have one pitcher attracting a bit of interest.

Left-hander Josh Outman was linked with the Indians, but according to ESPN's Buster Olney, the asking price of the Rockies was too high.

By staying put and not dealing away any of their players, the Rockies have given themselves an outside chance to continue to compete for the second wild-card spot in the National League.

With two months to go, the Rockies are eight games out of the second wild-card spot, but with players like Outman, Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Gonzalez staying put, they do have a chance of getting hot and catching the Reds.

Detroit Tigers: Letting Go of Avisail Garcia

When everyone woke up on deadline day, the Detroit Tigers had already been an active club by bringing in shortstop Jose Iglesias from the Red Sox in the Jake Peavy deal.

While they did acquire a top young talent in Iglesias, the Tigers were forced to give away outfield prospect Avisail Garcia to the White Sox as a part of the deal.

Iglesias was brought into the Motor City because of the impending suspension that current shortstop Jhonny Peralta will be facing because of the Biogenesis scandal, a point that was made by Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan on Tuesday night after the trade.

By filling that need at short, the Tigers were forced to hand over one of the better prospects to a division rival, which is a move that could come back to haunt them in the future.

Houston Astros: No Regrets

It is hard to criticize the Houston Astros for their wheelings and dealings on deadline day.

The Astros sent Bud Norris to the Orioles and Justin Maxwell to the Royals in exchange for three minor league prospects, both via @Astros. 

The two deals followed the Monday deal that sent Jose Veras to the Tigers in return for outfielder Danry Vasquez.

By doing plenty of work before the trade deadline, the Astros were able to add to an already stacked minor league system.

Kansas City Royals: Being Too Passive

The Kansas City Royals made one minor move on Wednesday, as they brought in Justin Maxwell from the Astros, via @Royals.

While Maxwell will provide some stability in the outfield, the Royals' mindset on deadline day was too passive for a team looking to contend for the first time in a while.

The Royals are just five games out of the second wild-card berth in the American League, and they will certainly gain ground through the combination of winning and the three AL East teams in contention beating up on each other.

With a chance to make a splash, the Royals disappointed their fans, but they did not sell any of their stars like Ervin Santana, a move that represents a change in mentality from the front office.

Los Angeles Angels: Making Something out of Nothing

While the other team in Los Angeles is experiencing plenty of success, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are in the midst of a lost season.

The Angels did send Scott Downs to the Braves and Alberto Callaspo to the Athletics earlier this week, but other than that, they remained quiet.

With players like Howie Kendrick and Erick Aybar floated out there in trade discussions over the last 48 hours, via HardballTalk, the Angels could have found a trading partner for both of their middle infielders.

Instead, the Angles stayed put and will keep most of the same squad heading into next season, where they expect to be a more competitive ballclub.

Los Angeles Dodgers: Not Entering the Cliff Lee Sweepstakes

The Los Angeles Dodgers are turning out to be one of the best stories in baseball this season, and instead of adding to their star-studded roster, they decided to remain fairly quiet on deadline day.

The Dodgers did acquire catcher Drew Butera from the Twins, via @Dodgers, but the one trade prospect who got away was Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee. 

With a starting rotation that has seen its fair share of injuries and then some this season, it would have been wise of the free-spending Dodgers to go out and add Lee to the rotation that already includes Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

Acquiring Lee for the right price would not have been a problem for the Dodgers, either, as they have plenty of star prospects like Dee Gordon and Joc Pederson playing in the minors.

Having a third star starting pitcher going into the playoffs would have increased the Dodgers' playoff odds and could have possibly made them a World Series team. 

Miami Marlins: Inability to Be a Typical Marlins Team at the Deadline

The one team that has traded away the largest amount of star talent in the last decade, the Miami Marlins, was eerily quiet on deadline day.

With a sparse relief market out there this season, the Marlins could have easily made Steve Cishek and Michael Dunn available, but they decided to keep the two young arms in their bullpen, via Danny Knobler of CBS Sports.

Usually, the Marlins make exorbitant deals that continue their trade legacy, but that was not going to happen this season with Giancarlo Stanton far from available.

Needless to say, baseball fans have to be disappointed with the fact that not even the Marlins were willing to make a trade on a deadline day like Wednesday.

Milwaukee Brewers: Not Shipping John Axford to a Contender

With Francisco Rodriguez long gone, the Milwaukee Brewers could have traded another closer on deadline day in John Axford.

Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal mentioned in an article earlier this month that Axford could be one of the better relievers out on the market.

The towering Canadian would have been a great fit in the bullpen of any contender, but as 4 p.m. ET approached, he remained the closer of the Brewers.

Axford was the only player the Brewers could have realistically dealt, and the potential return for their closer in the barren relief market could have benefited the future of the club greatly.

Minnesota Twins: Not Rebuilding by Way of a Justin Morneau Deal

Justin Morneau was dangled out in the trade market, and it was expected that the Orioles would make a move for the first baseman, but he was deemed to be too expensive by Baltimore, according to ESPN's Buster Olney and Tim Kurkjian.

When the trade deadline passed, the Minnesota Twins, just like many clubs across the league, were left imagining what could have been.

Instead of bringing in a plethora of prospects from another team, Minnesota was forced to settle with the acquisition of the dubious player-to-be-named-later or cash from its last-minute trade with the Dodgers for catcher Drew Butera, via Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com.

New York Mets: Not Acquiring a Prospect or Two in Exchange for Marlon Byrd

The New York Mets are a team that may be out of the playoff hunt this season, but they have plenty of pieces to make a run at the postseason in 2014.

One of the veterans on the roster, Marlon Byrd, was viewed as expendable if the right price was matched.

That price, according to WFAN in New York, had to blow away the Mets' hierarchy, and no team in the majors made that type of offer.

With the Mets staying put, they have a veteran in Byrd who will help bring along younger players like Juan Lagares and Andrew Brown, who will play a big part in the 2014 season.

Byrd's presence on the roster does bring a negative with it because he will demand playing time, which is something that would have been given to Brown had the 35-year-old been dumped.

New York Yankees: Not Bringing More Right-Handed Power to the Bronx

As the waning hours of deadline day approached, the New York Yankees were being linked with a move for Michael Young.

That move failed to come to fruition, and it left the Yankees still in search of a productive right-handed bat in the lineup.

Yes, the Yankees did acquire Alfonso Soriano from the Cubs and have a now-healthy Derek Jeter at the top of their order, but they lack the pop at the plate that their fellow American East rivals have.

According to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, there was sincere interest in a move to the Bronx by Young, but a deal could not be worked out between the Yankees and Phillies by 4 p.m. ET.

Oakland Athletics: Losing out on Jake Peavy

With a starting rotation anchored by Jarrod Parker and Bartolo Colon, the Oakland Athletics could have used an experienced veteran like Jake Peavy for the run up to the postseason.

Despite showing plenty of interest in the right-hander, the A's fell short and were left disappointed as Peavy moved to Boston late Tuesday night.

As late as Sunday, the A's were thought to be the front-runner for Peavy, according to a tweet from CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes.

Having an experienced starter to help lead the charge toward the postseason would have been great for Oakland, which has plenty of young arms on its staff.

While they did lose out on Peavy, the A's did make one trade before the deadline expired, as they acquired Alberto Callaspo from the Angels on Tuesday night.

Philadelphia Phillies: Not Doing Anything on Deadline Day

The lack of activity on the end of the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday came from a combination of offers that were not good enough and the fantastical belief of general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. that the club could still make a run into October.

The Phillies had the most expendable group of trade prospects available at the deadline, but at the end of the day, third baseman Michael Young was the only player whose name was vehemently discussed on Wednesday.

Others like Jonathan Papelbon, Chase Utley, Cliff Lee and Carlos Ruiz all remained with the organization and cost the Phillies a chance to bring in top-notch prospects to bolster their farm system.

Pittsburgh Pirates: Not Making a Slight Tweak to Their Roster

It is hard to argue against the deadline day position of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Standing tall atop the National League Central and on fire at the moment, the Pirates brass decided not to bring in a player and disrupt a clubhouse that is firing on all cylinders at the moment.

With Jason Grilli currently on the disabled list, a move for a reliever would have made sense for Clint Hurdle's ballcub.

However, that potential move was not needed, and the reason for that has to be the continued development of Mark Melancon, who is filling in for Grilli at the closer spot while he is out injured.

San Diego Padres: Keeping Luke Gregerson

The San Diego Padres were expected to be a busy team on deadline day with potentially three relievers leaving the team.

Instead of trading away three players from their bullpen, the Padres just dealt one of them, Joe Thatcher, to the Diamondbacks in exchange for Ian Kennedy, via @Padres.

While trading Huston Street was a long shot to begin with, the market for setup man Luke Gregerson was there, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe, who tweeted that the Pirates and Red Sox were both interested in the right-hander.

Gregerson would have brought the Padres a decent haul of prospects in return, but instead of dealing him now, the Padres will have to wait until the winter at the earliest to shop him to other teams.

San Francisco Giants: Holding on to Stars Despite Sitting in Last Place

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the most disappointing clubs in baseball all season, and they continued along with that moniker on Wednesday when they failed to deal any one of their three rumored trade targets.

Just two hours before the trade deadline, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweeted that Tim Lincecum and Hunter Pence were going nowhere and that there was still a pulse to a potential deal for Javier Lopez.

Lopez seemed like the easiest player to trade out of the three because of the need for relief across the league and the fact that he did not carry with him a massive contract like Lincecum.

Instead of injecting a fresh face into the farm system by way of a trade for Lopez, the Giants and their fans will continue to have nothing to celebrate this season, unless Lincecum or one of his teammates throws another no-hitter.

Seattle Mariners: Keeping Calm and Failing to Make a Deal

As MLB.com's Greg Johns wrote this afternoon, there were plenty of trade possibilities for the Seattle Mariners.

Names like Joe Saunders, Mike Morse, Oliver Perez and Tom Wilhelmsen were all thrown out there by Johns, but none of the quartet were shipped out of Seattle on deadline day.

Morse would have been a strong right-handed bat to put into a contender's lineup, and he could have been used by a team like the Yankees.

Teams with bullpen help could have gone after Perez and Wilhelmsen, and a team like the Orioles could have brought in Saunders, like Johns suggested in his post.

Once the Orioles acquired Bud Norris, any move for Saunders, if there ever was one planned, was dashed, and no one came calling for the pair of relievers either.

Sitting just 8.5 games out of the wild-card race, the Seattle front office could have also been thinking about keeping all its pieces in place to make a run at the final playoff position in the American League.

St. Louis Cardinals: Not Purchasing Insurance for Yadier Molina

The St. Louis Cardinals became an unexpected potential buyer at the trade deadline after Yadier Molina limped off of the field in Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.

As deadline day approached, Molina was off to the disabled list and the Cardinals were suddenly thrust into the market for a catcher to provide insurance for the National League MVP candidate just in case his recovery hits a snag.

CBS Sports' Jon Heyman tweeted that there was interest from the Cardinals in Dioner Navarro, but the team with one of the most talented farm systems in baseball opted not to trade any player of value to the Cubs.

If Molina does suffer a setback in his recovery, the Cardinals will not be hurting too much, as they have plenty of depth at every position on the diamond, including catcher.

Tampa Bay Rays: Not Adding Another Reliever

The Tampa Bay Rays remained quiet on the trade front Wednesday as they seemed content with the deal they pulled off of on Monday with the White Sox for Jesse Crain.

Crain, who is currently on the disabled list, has had injury issues this season, and there is no guarantee that he will come back and provide quality relief for the Rays during the stretch run.

With that in mind, the Rays could have searched for another reliever, but in the eyes of general manager Andrew Friedman, one deal was enough at the end of the day.

Texas Rangers: Failing to Find Cover for Nelson Cruz

While the Detroit Tigers covered themselves at the trade deadline by dealing for a player to replace the one mired in the Biogenesis scandal, the Texas Rangers did the complete opposite.

With Nelson Cruz stuck in the middle of the daily news about Biogenesis, the Rangers would have been smart to pick up another bat to take Cruz's spot in the lineup if he is suspended.

According to CBS Sports' Danny Knobler, the Rangers did inquire about the Toronto duo of Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista, but nothing came of those discussions.

Whether or not Cruz will be suspended this week is an unknown, as Joel Sherman of the New York Daily News reported that the outfielder may appeal any possible suspension headed his way.

Making a move for an insurance bat in the lineup would have been smart, but maybe the Rangers know something about the Cruz situation that we all do not.

Toronto Blue Jays: Keeping Themselves Away from the Trade Market

The Toronto Blue Jays were one of the few teams that stayed far, far away from any news involving their players on Wednesday.

After making a massive trade with the Marlins during the winter, the Blue Jays have struggled mightily and currently sit in dead last in the American League East.

Maybe staying on the sidelines was the best option for the Blue Jays, but they could have received some value for relievers Steve Delabar and Brett Cecil had they been made available by the team in the last month.

ESPN's Keith Law suggested in a tweet over a week ago that there would have been a good return for the duo based on how much the Orioles sent to Milwaukee for Francisco Rodriguez.

Washington Nationals: Remaining Eerily Quiet

The Washington Nationals must be toying with us at this point in the season.

So far, the Nationals have failed to live up to expectations, but at 52-56, they still have a chance to make a run in the final two months of the season.

Not much was expected out of the Nationals on deadline day, as they have few pieces that could be easily moved, and doing that was not worth it in a lackluster trade market.

If the Nationals do make a run toward a playoff position, they could regret not moving for an extra reliever on Wednesday.

For that to even happen, the Nationals have to get their act together and act like they care about chasing down the Reds and Cardinals for one of the two available wild-card spots in the National League.