MLB Trade Deadline Winners

Now that we all have digested what went on at this year’s July 31st trade deadline, let’s take a look at the teams who improved themselves the most at the deadline.

Here are the five winners from this year’s trade deadline.

Winners

1. Texas Rangers. The Rangers acquired Cliff Lee, Jorge Cantu, Cristian Guzman, and Bengie Molina at or near the deadline and all of these acquisitions will certainly help the Rangers down the stretch.

The biggest move of all was of course, the acquisition of Lee. Lee gives the Rangers something they haven’t had in about 20 years—an ace. Cantu and Guzman provide infield depth for the Rangers.

2. Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies were able to trade for the second best pitcher on the market and didn’t give up all that much to get him. The acquisition of Roy Oswalt gives the Phillies the best one-two punch in baseball with him and Roy Halladay.

3. San Diego Padres. I wasn’t that big of a fan of the Miguel Tejada trade, but I loved the Ryan Ludwick trade. Ludwick is a solid player, who should fit in nicely in the middle of the Padres’ lineup.

The Padres desperately needed an outfielder and Ludwick was a nice score for them.

4. New York Yankees. In terms of acquiring household names, the Yankees scored big time this trade deadline. Lance Berkman, Kerry Wood, Austin Kearns bring a lot of star power to the Bronx, but this also isn’t 2002.

All three players are at the back end of their careers, but each should fill a specific need in New York. Berkman will serve as the primary DH moving forward, Wood will be the eighth inning setup guy for Mariano Rivera, and Kearns will serve as a fourth outfielder/DH against righties.

5. Los Angeles Dodgers. I like what the Dodgers did acquiring Ted Lilly, Ryan Theriot, and Octavio Dotel at the deadline. I especially like the acquisition of Lilly, who I feel will do very, very well pitching in LA.

Despite their acquisitions, I do feel it might be a little too little too late for the Dodgers. I think they have too many teams to pass in both the Wild Card and NL West to make the playoffs.

Those were the five teams that wheeled and dealed on July 31st. Later, I will look at the five losers.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg