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It's the calm after the storm of the Trade Deadline. Let's recap the action.
There were nearly 50 trades yesterday alone. There were blockbusters. There were shockers. There were last-minute deals before the 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline hit.
There was a lot that happened, and we're here to make sense of it all.
Here are seven big things that happened on Deadline day:
1) The Red Sox land Adley
The Red Sox trading for Orioles cornerstone catcher Adley Rutschman was the biggest deal of Deadline day itself -- and second only to the Dodgers' Tarik Skubal blockbuster for the biggest move of Deadline season overall. It also might've been the biggest surprise of the Deadline. The O's got a big haul back for Rutschman, but they're only 2 1/2 games out of an American League Wild Card spot, and they just traded their three-time All-Star backstop to a division rival.
This wasn't the only stunner involving Boston yesterday, either. The Red Sox also traded away Marcelo Mayer, who's still only 23 years old and was viewed as a future star for the franchise not too long ago.
2) Arraez to Philly … and Bryce to the outfield?
The Deadline day action started early. One of the first moves of the morning was the Giants sending three-time batting champion (and potentially four-time, since he's leading the league again this year) Luis Arraez to the Phillies. Arraez was one of the marquee hitters on the market. But the big surprise here is what's going to happen with the Phillies' defense. Arraez will play second base. Bryson Stott will shift to third base. Alec Bohm will go to first. And Bryce Harper will return to the outfield for the first time in five years.
3) The Mets complete their retool
After sending Freddy Peralta to the Rays over the weekend, the Mets stayed busy on Deadline day, making a series of trades to hit the reset button with a new core. That included sending Clay Holmes to the Cubs in a deal for Top 100 prospect Jefferson Rojas, and sending Luke Weaver to the Pirates for a young shortstop who's a hometown kid and lifelong Mets fan. By the time the Deadline hit, the Mets had traded nearly a third of their active roster. The one potential trade chip they didn't move was Luis Robert Jr.
4) The Yankees add more offense
The Yankees didn't get a catcher at the Trade Deadline, but they did add a pair of bats that will help carry the load in the absence of Aaron Judge and others. On Deadline day, the Yanks checked off their need for a right-handed-hitting outfielder by trading for Heliot Ramos from the Giants. That move came a day after their trade for lefty slugger Luis García Jr., who made his Yankees debut on Deadline day and wasted no time bopping his first home run in pinstripes.
5) Blue Jays surprise with Sori
We thought the Blue Jays were going to be sellers after they traded Kevin Gausman to the Cubs over the weekend. But then they went out and traded for Angels breakout starter José Soriano yesterday. The move does make sense if you think about it, since Soriano will be in Toronto through 2028, giving the Jays plenty of time to rebound with him in the rotation over the next two seasons. But it was still one of the biggest surprise moves at the Deadline -- especially when you consider that, as the day went on, the Jays kept trading away other pieces, sending Gold Glove outfielder Daulton Varsho to the Astros and closer Jeff Hoffman to the Twins.
6) Padres beat the buzzer
For all the Mason Miller buzz out there, the Padres held onto their superstar closer. Instead, as the Deadline approached, the Padres went into buyer mode, swinging not one but two trades for starting pitchers. First they got 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray from the Giants, and then, in a buzzer beater, they got the other (non-Skubal) Tigers pitcher on the market, Casey Mize, who's having a career year. A.J. Preller might not have pulled off one of his signature Deadline blockbusters, but he did make much-needed upgrades to the rotation for a team trying to win.
7) Rays keep pushing with Hicks
Tampa Bay was one of the odd teams out of the Skubal sweepstakes, but the AL East leaders definitely didn't have a quiet Trade Deadline. The Rays made a series of savvy moves: After they got Peralta from the Mets to satisfy their starting pitching need, they gave him a batterymate on Deadline day with their trade for slugging catcher Liam Hicks from the Marlins.
