This trade deadline was one of the busiest in recent memory. So many former Cy Young Award winners, Gold-Glovers, All-Stars, franchise cornerstones, and heartbreaks. One division that was right in the thick of the action was the NL East. They consist of three teams that are all within five games of each other. The New York Mets have sat atop the division for two months now but some other teams decided it would be wise to attempt to knock them down. The Mets have gone 22-23 over their last 45 games and have dealt with nearly two dozen injuries. Let’s take a look at how each team in the NL East did during a wild trade deadline.
Be sure to check out all of our division grades: AL East | AL Central | AL West | NL Central | NL West
Atlanta Braves
The Braves came into the deadline just four games away from the Mets after winning a rare five-game set against them this week. They had lost Ronald Acuna Jr. to a torn ACL a month or so ago and acquired outfielder Joc Pederson from the Chicago Cubs promptly after. The next day they acquired a catcher in Stephen Vogt from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Then deadline week arrived and the Braves went off. The Braves first traded for a former friend, outfielder Adam Duvall, sending catcher Alex Jackson to Miami.
Then they traded with the Cleveland Indians for outfielder Eddie Rosario sending Pablo Sandoval to Cleveland. They then sent a prospect to the Kansas City Royals for yet another outfielder Jorge Soler. Lastly, they sent Bryse Wilson and a prospect to the Pittsburgh Pirates for closer Richard Rodriguez. They absolutely won the deadline and have improved their club substantially.
Grade: A+
Washington Nationals
Despite having to sell, the Nationals still made away from the deadline with a huge haul. They started off selling righty Max Scherzer and shortstop Trea Turner off to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a huge haul including two top 50 prospects, catcher Keibert Ruiz and righty Josiah Gray. They then sold outfielder Kyle Schwarber to the Boston Red Sox for a mid-level prospect. Following that, they traded Brad Hand to the Toronto Blue Jays for catcher Riley Adams. Next, Daniel Hudson got traded for Mason Thompson the San Diego Padres No. 9 prospect. Following that, the Oakland Athletics sent a nice prospect package for Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes. Finally, Jon Lester was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Lane Thomas. The Nationals have totally re-tooled their roster for the future and in a big way.
Grade: B+
New York Mets
The Mets could have done better and could have done worse. They started off the deadline by trading for lefty Rich Hill sending a low-level prospect and injured reliever, Tommy Hunter, to the Tampa Bay Rays. Then on deadline day, the Mets made their big splash. After being rumored to be interested in a different Cubs star, the Mets swung a deal to acquire shortstop Javier Baez and righty Trevor Williams from the Cubs in exchange for their No. 6 prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong. They could have used another reliever and maybe another depth starter but did themselves well at a price of their liking.
Grade: B-
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies are the closest team to the Mets and had the most glaring needs. They needed another reliever, starter, and bat. They only accomplished a slight amount and sacrificed one of their needs making it bigger. On deadline day the Phillies sent righty Spencer Howard, a starter of theirs, and a prospect package to the Texas Rangers in exchange for closer Ian Kennedy, and starter Kyle Gibson. Earlier in the day, they traded for lefty Braeden Ogle of the Pirates who had been in the minors. There were more needs to fill and the Phillies didn’t step up when needed.
Grade: C+
Miami Marlins
The Marlins sit at the bottom of the NL East but not as bad as they have been in previous seasons. They had many pieces available to send off and sold roughly half of them. The Marlins started by sending centerfielder Starling Marte to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a really good player in lefty Jesus Luzardo who was once a top pitching prospect in the league.
They then followed that up with the trade of closer Yimi Garcia to the Houston Astros for outfielder Bryan De La Cruz who now ranks as the No. 29 prospect in the system, and reliever Austin Pruitt. Then on deadline day, they sent reliever John Curtis to the Milwaukee Brewers for prospect catcher Payton Henry, and then followed that up with the trade of outfielder Adam Duvall to the Braves in exchange for catcher Alex Jackson, a former first-round pick. The Marlins still had a couple of players worth selling including Anthony Bass and Richard Bleier but did decently considering.
Grade: C
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