Roster of the Month

2022 Trade Deadline 26-Man Roster

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Just a few years ago, the trade deadline was a month-long affair. Starting well before the All-Star break, clubs would make major and minor moves, building to a crescendo before the buzzer on July 31. When MLB moved the amateur draft from early June to mid-July, front offices could no longer focus on trades until later in the month. Now, it seems they all happen at the same time in the 36 hours before the deadline.

2022’s frenetic deadline featured dozens of trades, almost all of which occurred on August 1 or August 2. Here’s the best 26-man roster of players traded in the last week or so.

Starting Lineup

  1. LF Andrew Benintendi, KCR –> NYY: Benintendi isn’t a classic slugging corner outfielder, but he boasts a .320 batting average and .387 on-base percentage as the Royals’ lone All-Star representative. He’s also a Gold-Glove left fielder.
  2. 3B Brandon Drury, CIN –> SDP: Drury is having the best season of his life. His 20 home runs are already a career-high, and he was surprisingly one of the best bats traded at the deadline.
  3. RF Juan Soto, WAS –> SDP: Soto has already accumulated 21.6 bWAR and he’s still only 23 years old. He’s quite possibly the best pure hitter in baseball already. A player of his caliber hasn’t been traded at such a young age since Miguel Cabrera in 2008. Did that trade work out well for the Marlins?
  4. LF Trey Mancini, BAL –> HOU: As of this writing, the Orioles are 53-51 and just 1.5 games out of a playoff spot. It’s unconscionable that they dealt away the heart and soul of their franchise, even if he could be a free agent at the end of the year. Shame on GM Mike Elias for absolutely oblivious situational awareness.
  5. DH Josh Bell, WAS –> SDP: The tagalong with Soto is an outstanding hitter in his own right. He’s slashing .301/.384/.493 with a 153 OPS+ and will be a massive upgrade over Eric Hosmer at first base.
  6. C Christian Vázquez, BOS –> HOU: Losing Vázquez is a gutpunch to the Red Sox, who originally drafted him in 2008. In Houston, he’ll be a big improvement offensively over the anemic Martín Maldonado.
  7. CF Harrison Bader, STL –> NYY: Bader is a Gold Glove centerfielder and a solid hitter when healthy, which he currently isn’t. It’s hard to track down fly balls with plantar fasciitis.
  8. 2B Whit Merrifield, KCR –> TOR: There were lots of first basemen and corner outfielders on the move this year, but not many middle infielders. The 33-year-old Merrifield has an 81 OPS+ and is clearly past his prime. He wasn’t able to join the Royals in Toronto a few weeks ago because he was unvaccinated. One has to hope the Blue Jays sorted that out before swinging the deal, but why would he refuse the vaccine with the only franchise he’s ever played for just to get it with a new organization? Then again, we’re not dealing with rational thought in the first place.
  9. SS Dixon Machado, CHC –>SFG: Machado was in the Cubs’ minor league system before the deal, then made his MLB season debut with the Giants. Once again, it was a thin year for middle infielder trades.

Bench

Rotation

  1. RHP Luis Castillo, CIN –> SEA: The Mariners surrendered a considerable haul of prospects for Castillo, a legitimate ace with a 2.86 ERA. They haven’t reached the playoffs since 2001, so if he can help break that streak, he’ll be worth it.
  2. RHP Frankie Montas, OAK –> NYY: Montas overcame arm trouble early in his career to become a durable, consistent starter over the past few seasons. It must be nice to go from the team with the worst record in the AL to the one with the best. Welcome to the pennant race.
  3. RHP Tyler Mahle, CIN –> MIN: Mahle is a quality mid-rotation starter, but is he enough of a rotation upgrade for the Twins? They still have a lot of holes on their roster as they cling to a small lead in a weak division.
  4. LHP José Quintana, PIT –> STL: Remember back when the Pirates were more than just a farm system for everyone else in baseball? No? Quintana is a pitch-to-contact lefty as is new rotation-mate Jordan Montgomery, so clearly the Cardinals have a type.
  5. RHP Jake Odorizzi, HOU –> ATL: Odorizzi doesn’t strike out many batters, but his 1.15 WHIP is a career-best. It’s unusual for one contending team to trade a starting pitcher to another in the middle of the season, but the Astros have plenty of pitching depth.

Bullpen

  • RHP Matt Bush, TEX –> MIL: Bush, the #1 overall pick in the 2004 draft, is on his ninth life in baseball. He has 45 strikeouts and has only given up 39 baserunners in 37.2 innings this season.
  • LHP Josh Hader, MIL –> SDP: What a masterclass this trade deadline was for Padres GM A.J. Preller! Hader is without question the best lefty reliever in MLB. How the first-place Brewers justify this deal is beyond explanation.
  • RHP Raisel Iglesias, LAA –> ATL: Iglesias is an excellent pickup for the defending champions, but wow, what a depressing state of affairs the Angels have become.
  • RHP Jorge López, BAL –> MIN: López has a 1.68 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. He represented the Orioles on the AL All-Star Team. It bears repeating that Baltimore should’ve been buyers rather than sellers this year, but here we are.
  • RHP Chris Martin, CHC –> LAD: How did we get this far into the exercise before reaching a Dodgers trade acquisition? While it was an unusually quiet deadline in Los Angeles, there’s no arguing with Martin’s 40:4 K:BB ratio prior to the move.
  • RHP David Robertson, CHC –> PHI: Robertson is sneakily one of the top fifteen or twenty best relievers in MLB history and he’s having a vintage season, though his last stint in Philadelphia didn’t go too well. The Cubs trading their relief pitching but keeping Willson Contreras and Ian Happ is one of the strangest stories of the deadline.
  • LHP Taylor Rogers, SDP –> MIL: Rogers takes over for Hader in Milwaukee. He had a 0.44 ERA through May 27, but an 8.14 ERA since then. His overall 2.34 FIP is stellar and he has only surrendered one home run this year.
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