MLB Trades 2015: Assessing Impact of League's Biggest Moves

The clock has stopped, the dust has settled and now it's a straight shot to October. 

Major League Baseball's 4 p.m. ET trade deadline has passed, and there have been plenty of big names switching towns and new contenders emerging after hitting the market. 

While some teams addressed needs to become a threat, others passed through the deadline quietly. Here is a look at the winners and losers of this year's trade deadline.

Winners

Toronto Blue Jays

Notable Players Acquired: P David Price, SS Troy Tulowitzki, CF Ben Revere

One game over .500, the Toronto Blue Jays have put the American League East on watch, despite sitting six games behind the division-leading New York Yankees. 

With the acquisitions of an ace in David Price, one of the best shortstops in the game in Troy Tulowitzki and a true leadoff man in Ben Revere to replace Jose Reyes, Toronto has addressed its glaring needs and can now be molded into a serious contender. Just ask Blue Jays play-by-play man Mike Wilner, as reported by NBC Sports' Chris Johnston:

Price comes into a Blue Jays rotation that is in need of a shutdown pitcher, though the team is receiving solid years from Mark Buehrle (11-5) and Drew Hutchison (9-2) despite high ERAs. Buehrle has a respectable 3.29 ERA, while Hutchison's mark is at 5.42. But they have been the benefactors of a high-powered offense that leads the league in runs scored with 543.

The team's new ace, Price, is 9-4 with a 2.53 ERA after playing for a Tigers team that is experiencing a down year in the American League Central, sitting 11.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals. Bringing in an ERA like that and keeping it within the American League will take tons of pressure off the Blue Jays offense for at least one out of every five nights. 

Even though they've had to score seven or eight runs a night to win at times, the Blues Jays bolstered their offense even more with the acquisitions of Tulowitzki and Revere. 

When healthy, Tulowitzki is baseball's best shortstop, capable of hitting above .300 with over 20 home runs. In his first two games, he has captivated the Toronto fans with a home run and three RBI while collecting three hits in his first eight at-bats. 

But in acquiring Tulowitzki, who is certainly an improvement at the position, the Blue Jays had to deal shortstop Jose Reyes, a quintessential leadoff man with a lot of speed. 

So Toronto went out and acquired Revere from Philadelphia. The National League hits leader last season, Revere is the kind of player who will find a way to get on base and wreak havoc on them once he is on. With an expansive outfield at the Rogers Centre, Revere will be an extra-base hit machine while providing sound defense in center field.

Toronto will play the Yankees 13 more times this season and will have an opportunity to dwindle its deficit. And though Price does not necessarily perform well against the Yankees, Toronto has made the moves to force itself back into the conversation of the AL East.

New York Mets

Notable Acquisitions: OF Yoenis Cespedes, P Tyler Clippard, IF Juan Uribe, OF Kelly Johnson

The New York Mets went from losers of the trade deadline at 3:40 p.m. ET to winners at 3:45 p.m. with their reported acquisition of Yoenis Cespedes. 

That doesn't mean the Mets were not busy earlier last week. They gave up next to nothing for added offensive depth and proven hitters in Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson, though, at the time, it was not going to be enough to mount a real challenge for a playoff spot. But still, it was a step in the right direction.

Then the week of July 27 began.

After relief pitcher Jenrry Mejia was suspended for a second performance-enhancing drug offense, a deal for center fielder Carlos Gomez fell through after it had been reportedly made Wednesday night. To make the feelings in Queens even worse, the Mets then blew a 7-1 lead against the San Diego Padres on Thursday to fall three games behind the Washington Nationals for the lead in the National League East. 

But it turns out the Mets have had a move up their sleeve to counter each of these blows. 

While it is unlikely Mejia will ever be in a Mets uniform again, Clippard's acquisition was perfect timing, as he was obtained a day before the suspension was announced. So while the Mets lost their once-closer and now setup man, they were able to bring a better, more proven one to the roster who is even capable of closing after the recent bobbles of Jeurys Familia, the closer who blew Thursday's save opportunity against the Padres.

Around 15 minutes before the trade deadline, the Mets became one of the most successful teams of the deadline after acquiring the big bat they so desperately needed:

It could very well be a two-month rental, but again, the Mets went to their deepest part of the talent pool, the pitching department, to send a pair of prospects who were unlikely to see time with the team to the Detroit Tigers. 

Cespedes is on track for one of the best seasons of his career, as he is batting .293 with 18 home runs and 61 RBI. Though he doesn't have a lot of experience with Citi Field, he put on a show during the 2013 All-Star weekend, winning the Home Run Derby at the Mets' home park.

MLB.com's Michael Baron sees this move as a historic one for the Mets:

The Mets were also able to keep starter Zack Wheeler, who was originally a part of the Gomez deal that fell through, as well as hold onto other big-time pitching prospects like Steven Matz and Rafael Montero.

Cespedes' bat takes the Mets from a team barely hanging on by a thread in the NL East to a contender, as New York's sterling pitching staff will now finally have some support from the offense. His arrival couldn't come at a better possible time, either, with the Mets starting a three-game series against the division-leading Nationals on Friday night.

Losers

San Diego Padres

For all the talk, speculation and rumors, the Padres came away from the trade deadline with nothing to show for it. 

After an offseason in which they acquired Matt Kemp, the Upton brothers, James Shields and Craig Kimbrel, the Padres have not been able to put it together this season, sitting in fourth place in the National League West, eight games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Their lack of performance had rumors flying around that they would be aggressive in dealing on the trade market. Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reported that Tyson Ross and Kimbrel could be going to the Houston Astros, while ESPN's Jayson Stark reported that San Diego and the Baltimore Orioles were discussing a deal that included outfielder Justin Upton. 

But nothing happened. Nothing at all. And that was a letdown for the New York Post's Joel Sherman:

Though they've won five of their last six—albeit against the Miami Marlins and the Mets—it's doubtful that the Padres will be able to mount a serious run in the NL West.

Boston Red Sox

It's not getting any better for the Red Sox this season. 

With the fourth-worst ERA (.450) to go along with 495 runs allowed this season, the Red Sox needed some help in their rotation. 

They didn't get it. In fact, they were not even in the hunt for anyone, as manager John Farrell told WEEI's Dale & Holley Show that he didn't anticipate "any major deals being broken," according to Jen McCaffrey of MassLive.com.

It's not like the Red Sox could take on much salary, either, as they continue to deal with Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval's big deals. 

Boston looks like it will have to suffer through another letdown season two years removed from its 2013 World Series win. Despite being in last place in the American League East, the Red Sox are 13 games behind the Yankees, who also were somewhat dormant during the deadline. 

The Red Sox's dormancy was just one of the aspects of the trade deadline that threw off Passan:

However, while 13 games is certainly not the easiest of deficits to come back from, crazier things have happened in baseball from August to the end of the regular season. 

And with all of the week's moves leading up to the trade deadline, baseball will certainly be primed for a fantastic finish in 2015.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com