The 2022 MLB Trade Deadline is just around the corner and with the new expanded playoff format, there are plenty of teams still in the hunt for post-season spots.
Ahead of Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET deadline, keep up with the key trades made across MLB with this tracker.
Last year’s World Series foes swap veteran pitchers
Atlanta Braves receive: RHP Jake Odorizzi
Houston Astros receive: LHP Will Smith
The Braves beat the Astros in the 2021 World Series. Now both teams have come together on a trade to boost their pitching depth for another year of deep playoff runs.
Odorizzi, 32, is 4-3 this season with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.150 WHIP. By acquiring his services, the Braves now have a starting rotation of Max Fried, Charlie Morton, Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright and Odorizzi.
Smith, a 2021 World Series champion with the Braves, is 0-1 this season with a 4.38 ERA and 1.514 WHIP.
The Astros have made several moves ahead of the deadline, having also acquired catcher Christian Vazquez and first baseman Trey Mancini on Monday.
Brewers bring some heat to their ‘pen, acquire reliever Matt Bush from Rangers
Milwaukee Brewers receive: RHP Matt Bush
Texas Rangers receive: LHP Antoine Kelly, INF Mark Mathias
Bush has a 2.95 ERA in 40 appearances for the Rangers this season, including five starts. According to Baseball Savant, his fastball is sitting at 97.3 m.p.h this season.
Earlier in the day the Brewers traded star closer Josh Hader to the Padres.
Braves grab a veteran outfielder
Atlanta Braves receive: OF Robbie Grossman
Detroit Tigers receive: LHP Kris Anglin
The Tigers, who continue to dwell in the basement of the American League, shipped veteran outfielder Robbie Grossman to the defending champs.
Grossman, who had a career-high 23 home runs in 2021, has struggled this season with a .205 ERA and just two dingers so far this year. He is a 10-year MLB veteran with the Astros, Twins, Athletics and Tigers.
Anglin, 20, is currently pitching at high-A.
Cardinals add starting depth in deal with Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals receive: LHP Jose Quintana, RHP Chris Stratton
Pittsburgh Pirates receive: RHP John Oviedo, 3B Malcom Nunez
The St. Louis Cardinals added some starting depth as they look to make one final push with their Hall of Fame core.
Quintana, 33, is in a bounce-back season and has a 3.50 ERA with a 3-5 record through 20 starts.
The Cardinals are currently in a wild card spot but are within striking distance of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers with two months to go.
Royals, Diamondbacks make depth trade
Kansas City Royals receive: Luke Weaver
Arizona Diamondbacks receive: Emmanuel Rivera
The 26-year-old Rivera was hitting .237 with six homers and 22 RBIs in 63 games for the Royals this season. But he was mostly used as a backup in Kansas City, and his trade could mean a move back to third base for elite youngster Bobby Witt Jr. and more time in the lineup at shortstop for rookie Maikel Garcia.
Weaver is 1-1 with a 7.71 ERA for Arizona this season. He has a 4.76 ERA across parts of seven big league seasons.
Red Sox keep making moves, acquire Pham from Reds
Boston Red Sox receive: Tommy Pham
Chicago White Sox receive: Player to be named later
Tommy Pham has a $6-million mutual option for the 2023 season that includes a $1.5-million buyout.
The 34-year-old is slashing .238/.320/.374 during his 2022 campaign with 11 home runs and 39 RBI.
Red Sox quickly find Vazquez replacement in McGuire
Boston Red Sox receive: Reese McGuire
Chicago White Sox receive: Jake Diekman, player to be named or cash considerations
Moments after trading longtime catcher Christian Vazquez, the Boston Red Sox have found a replacement by acquiring Reese McGuire from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for lefty reliever Jake Diekman and a player to be named later or cash considerations.
Red Sox move Vazquez to the Astros
Houston Astros receive: C Christian Vazquez
Boston Red Sox receive: 3B Emmanuel Valdez, OF Wilyer Abreu
The Boston Red Sox are trading veteran catcher Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros, according to multiple reports.
Vazquez, who turns 32 later this month, gives the Astros another strong bat and depth behind the plate as they look to hold off the Seattle Mariners in the AL West. He is hitting .282/.327/.432 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs in 84 games.
Vazquez will be a free agent after this season.
Yankees continue to add by landing Montas, Trivino from Athletics
New York Yankees receive: RHP Frankie Montas, RHP Lou Trivino
Oakland Athletics receive: LHP Ken Waldichuk, LHP J.P. Sears, RHP Luis Medina, 2B Cooper Bowman
The New York Yankees continued to bulk up for a deep playoff run by acquiring one of the most sought after starters on the trade block.
Montas will provide rotation insurance as Luis Severino continues to deal with shoulder issues and should slot in nicely with all-stars Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes. Trivino will help offset the losses of Michael King and Chad Green, who both were shut down this season with elbow injuries.
Waldichuk was the Yankees’ No. 5 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and has a 2.71 ERA across 76.1 innings of play in the minors this season.
Orioles trading fan favourite Trey Mancini to Astros in three team deal with Rays
Houston Astros receive: 1B/OF Trey Mancini, RHP Jayden Murray
Baltimore Orioles receive: RHP Seth Johnson, RHP Chayce McDermott
Tampa Bay Rays receive: CF Jose Siri
Slugger Trey Mancini, a fan favourite who overcame cancer to return as a star slugger for the Orioles, is being traded to the Houston Astros.
Mancini missed the entire 2020 season with colon cancer but has been a rare bright spot in the Orioles lineup during much of the current rebuild.
This season he has hit .268/.347/.404 with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs in 92 games.
Siri, 26, is in his first full season in the majors. Johnson is the Rays’ No. 6 prospect but is slated to miss all of this season and next due to Tommy John surgery.
In a rare deal between playoff teams, Padres get MLB’s top closer
San Diego Padres receive: LHP Josh Hader
Milwaukee Brewers receive: LHP Taylor Rogers, LHP prospect Robert Gasser, OF Esteury Ruiz
The San Diego Padres have reached an agreement to acquire top closer Josh Hader in a trade with the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Brewers will get left-handed closer Taylor Rogers, left-handed pitching prospect Robert Gasser, outfielder Esteury Ruiz and right-hander Dinelson Lamet in the deal.
The left-handed Hader, a four-time All-Star, becomes a free agent after the 2023 season.
Hader is 1-4 with a 4.24 ERA and a major-league leading 29 saves this season.
Yankees buy again, adding reliever Scott Effross
New York Yankees receive: RHP Scott Effross
Chicago Cubs receive: RHP prospect Hayden Wesneski
Effross, who has five more years of club control, is 1-4 with a 2.66 ERA, 50 strikeouts and 11 walks in 44 innings this season for the Cubs (41-60).
Effross made his MLB debut with the Cubs last year, going 2-1 with a 3.68 ERA in 14.2 innings.
The American League-leading Yankees get another arm for their bullpen with the move. They lost top reliever Michael King to a fractured elbow last month.
Rays add Peralta, securing a veteran bat for the playoff race
Tampa Bay Rays receive: OF David Peralta
Arizona Diamondback receive: C Christian Cerda
Peralta, 34, has 12 home runs and 41 RBI this season, slashing .248/.316/.460 in 87 games. In 2018, he hit a career-high 30 home runs.
The lefty bat has played his entire nine-year career with the Diamondbacks and is a pending unrestricted free agent.
The Rays currently hold the third and final wild card spot, 2.0 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays and 1.5 games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians
Dodgers bolster bullpen by bringing in Martin from Cubs
Los Angles Dodgers receive: RHP Chris Martin
Chicago Cubs receive: IF/OF Zach McKinstry
The Los Angeles Dodgers are probably hoping Chris Martin’s play hasn’t gone cold as they acquired the right-handed pitcher to boost their bullpen while hanging onto the NL West lead.
Los Angeles is well familiar with Martin as he pitched against them three times during the NL Championship Series last season while with the Atlanta Braves.
After winning the World Series with Atlanta, Martin signed a one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs this year. The 36-year-old reliever has struggled lately with a 9.00 ERA and 2.00 WHIP in five innings during his past five appearances out of the ‘pen.
McKinstry, 27, has played in only four games since returning from a neck injury on July 6.
Phillies find infield depth with Sosa, a former all-star
Philadelphia Phillies receive: SS Edmundo Sosa
St. Louis Cardinals receive: LHP JoJo Romero
The Philadelphia Phillies added depth to their infield by acquiring slick shortstop Edmundo Sosa from the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday in exchange for lefty JoJo Romero.
Sosa was an all-star in 2019 but has struggled at the plate this season with a .189/.244/.270 slash line, 17 runs, eight RBI and three steals over 53 games. He was demoted to triple-A Memphis in May.
Romero was assigned to triple-A following the trade with the Cardinals activating SS Paul DeJong from the taxi squad.
Mets expand their outfield options with Naquin
New York Mets receive: OF Tyler Naquin, LHP Phillip Diehl
Cincinnati Reds receive: OF Hector Rodriguez, RHP Jose Acuna
The NL East-leading New York Mets added some outfield and bench depth by acquiring veteran left-handed bat Tyler Naquin from the Reds. Naquin gives the Mets more options alongside outfielders Starling Marte, Brandon Nimmo and Mark Canha.
Naquin, 31, is hitting .246 with seven homers and 33 RBIs in 56 games this season. He will be a free agent after the season.
Diehl, Rodriguez and Acuna are all playing the minor leagues this season.
Signalling faith in a long playoff run, Yankees bring Benintendi to the Bronx
New York Yankees receive: OF Andrew Benintendi
Kansas City Royals receive: LHP T.J. Sikkema, RHP Beck Way, RHP Chandler Champlain
The AL-leading New York Yankees added another star outfielder ahead of what they expect to be a long playoff run in first-time all-star Andrew Benintendi.
Benintendi, 28, is slashing .320/.387/.398 with three home runs and 39 RBI for the Royals this season. He is expected to provide an upgrade from the left side of the plate over Joey Gallo, who is hitting .159 with 106 strikeouts in 81 games this season.
Notably, Benintendi is currently not vaccinated against COVID-19 meaning he could not cross the border to play games in Toronto
The three pitchers going to the Royals are all in the minor leagues.
Castillo, one of the market’s top starters, heads to the Mariners
Seattle Mariners receive: RHP Luis Castillo
Cincinnati Reds receive: IF Noelvi Marte, IF Edwin Arroyo, RHP Levi Stoudt, RHP Andrew Moore
The Seattle Mariners landed one of the top starters on the market, acquiring right-hander Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds.
Infielders Noelvi Marte and Edwin Arroyo and right-hander Levi Stoudt, three of the Mariners’ top five prospects, along with right-hander Andrew Moore are going to Cincinnati in exchange for Castillo.
In 14 starts this season, Castillo has a 4-4 record with a 2.86 ERA and 90 strikeouts through 85 innings with the Reds. The two-time all-star has one more season of arbitration before becoming a free agent in 2024.
Marte was the Mariners’ top-ranked prospect (18th overall), according to MLB Pipeline, slashing .275/.363/.462 with 15 home runs, 55 RBI in 85 games in high-A. Arroyo, the third-ranked prospect, is slashing .316/.385/.514 with 13 home runs and 67 RBI in single-A.
