MLB Trade Deadline 2015: Twitter Reacts to Trades, Fails, Surprises, Non-Deals

Just when you thought Major League Baseball's trade deadline had nothing left to offer after a busy week leading up to July 31, there were still plenty of moves and surprises once the smoke cleared. 

Facing a disappointing 2015 season and apparent need to look toward the future, San Diego Padres general manager A.J. Preller held the biggest cards with names like Craig Kimbrel, Justin Upton, Andrew Cashner and Tyson Ross being bantered about. 

Instead, per Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, Preller views his team differently than the rest of the world:

Preller's optimism is admirable, but Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports highlighted why it's misplaced:

Considering how much the Padres put into winning this season, it's hard to sell fans on another rebuild, but reality has to trump publicity at some point. 

The New York Yankees and Houston Astros seemed like the most aggressive suitors for Kimbrel, though neither side could work out a deal with the Padres. 

Per ESPN's Jayson Stark, even though word was the Padres wanted shortstop Jorge Mateo from New York, San Diego didn't bite:

The Yankees remained silent throughout the day, sticking with the status quo. It's not a bad formula since they have a six-game lead in the American League East, but it's still surprising they didn't offer some response to Toronto's flurry of major moves.

Regarding the Astros, Evan Drellich of the Houston Chronicle cited a source as saying the "ship has sailed" on a trade for Kimbrel. 

Preller wound up hanging on to all of his cards, leading Joel Sherman of the New York Post to issue this appropriate response:

USA Today's Bob Nightengale does expect things will pick up for the Padres this offseason:

For the second consecutive season, Yoenis Cespedes found himself on the move at the deadline. The slugger was dealt to the New York Mets, per Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago.

Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported Detroit will receive right-handed pitchers Michael Fulmer and Luis Cessa from the Mets.

Morosi also noted why Fulmer, who has a 2.03 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 93 innings between High-A and Double-A, perfectly fits what the Tigers need: 

The Mets have as much young, impact starting pitching as any team in the big leagues with Matt Harvey, Steven Matz, Jacob de Grom and Noah Syndergaard. They were able to keep all of those players, as well as the rehabbing Zack Wheeler, and get the impact hitter they need for the stretch run. 

Cespedes is limited in his ability to get on base, but the 29-year-old immediately becomes the best power hitter in the Mets lineup. He slugged a robust .506 with 18 home runs in 102 games for Detroit. 

No regular in New York's lineup this season is slugging above .458, while Lucas Duda and Curtis Granderson are the only hitters with more than 15 home runs. 

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Mets outfielders have struggled getting extra-base hits in 2015:

The American League East turned out to be the epicenter of Friday's deadline, not just with the Yankees' failed pursuit of Kimbrel. The Baltimore Orioles filled their need for an outfielder by acquiring Gerardo Parra from Milwaukee for minor league right-hander Zach Davies. 

In Parra, the Orioles are getting a player who is hitting as well as anyone right now, per ESPN Stats & Info:

Parra can slot in at left field for the Orioles, who have gotten a collective .210/.283/.330 performance from players at the position in 2015. Parra's .886 OPS is 276 points higher, so this was a huge score for Baltimore. 

As Alec Dopp of GammonsDaily.com noted, the Brewers are getting a terrific young pitcher in return:

The Blue Jays, who made the blockbuster deals for David Price and Troy Tulowitzki earlier in the week, left no doubt that they were going for it in 2015. They also filled a void in center field by acquiring Ben Revere from Philadelphia. 

According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports, the Blue Jays have undergone a major roster overhaul in a short timeframe:

While Revere isn't a dynamic offensive player, ESPN Stats & Info did highlight one reason he is an underrated hitter:

The Blue Jays' already explosive offense will be even better with Revere, who is a significant upgrade over Toronto's center fielders:

Player	AVG	OBP	SLG	SB	K
Revere	.298	.334	.374	24	36
TOR CF	.268	.311	.396	14	68

An under-the-radar move pulled off by Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos was acquiring Mark Lowe from Seattle, as Joel Sherman of the New York Post pointed out the right-hander's stellar 2015 numbers:

While the Blue Jays were working nonstop over the last few days, the Chicago Cubs pulled off a solid move to address their need for pitching depth by acquiring Dan Haren from Miami. 

Even though Haren is nowhere near the Price or Cole Hamels level to excite Chicago fans, USA Today's Bob Nightengale did point out why it was the right move for what the franchise wanted to do:

There's also an underrated aspect to Haren that was pointed out by Cubs catcher Miguel Montero, via ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers:

That is certainly player-speak, but there's something to be said for having a pitcher who is going to take the ball every fifth day. It's not like the Cubs needed a major addition to their rotation, with Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta and Jason Hammel making a solid trio at the top. 

Haren, who has a 3.42 ERA and 1.093 WHIP this season, provides much-needed depth. If he performs better than that over the final two months, then it's a bonus for the Cubs. 

The Cubs also added a bullpen arm, acquiring Tommy Hunter from Baltimore for Junior Lake. Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports noted the right-hander has turned his season around after a rough start:

Even though all of the major pieces wound up getting dealt earlier in the week, a few teams were still able to make a splash on July 31 to secure their roster for the playoff push. 

According to MLB Communications on Twitter, 21 All-Stars have been traded since June 1:

The Mets are the biggest winners because they were able to address their biggest need without giving up any of their major assets. Cespedes is only a rental player who may be too pricey for them after the season, but his bat in the middle of the order with that pitching staff makes them a scary October threat.

The Orioles and Blue Jays did what they had to do in addressing holes on their roster, and they did so without having to part with any top prospects. (Toronto already did enough of that this week, though the system is still solid.)

San Diego's lack of activity is baffling. The Padres are likely going to lose Upton after this season while only receiving a draft pick. Ross walks such a tightrope because he issues so many walks, including a league-leading 61 so far in 2015. 

Even Kimbrel hasn't been as dominant, with the highest ERA of his career (2.68) and lowest strikeout rate (12.5 per nine innings). Those numbers on their own aren't problematic, but interested teams also have to factor in he's owed $24 million total over the next two years. 

Now that the trade deadline has passed, teams know where they stand for the rest of 2015 and will play out the string either looking forward to October or the long-term future. Given how many moves contenders made, expect a lot of shuffling in the standings over the next two months. 

Stats and contract info via Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.