The MLB trade deadline did not disappoint and ensured an entertaining finish over the final two months of the season.
Several contenders around the league made noticeable improvements while other teams in the race failed to keep pace with the competition.
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Here are five winners and three losers from theMLB trade deadline.
WINNERS
San Diego Padres
A.J. Preller strikes again.
Nobody worked like San Diego on Thursday. The Padres headlined the day with Mason Miller coming over from the Athletics. The team also added to the lineup with Ramon Laureano and Ryan O’Hearn from the Baltimore Orioles.
The Padres bolstered their chances of catching the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.
New York Yankees
The Yankees have a truly formidable bullpen. Aaron Boone should have great confidence in turning the game over to the newly-acquired pair of arms in Camilo Doval and David Bednar in addition to Luke Weaver and Devin Williams.
New York Mets
The New York teams both went to work in the bullpen. The Mets gave closer Edwin Diaz some help in leverage spots with the additions of Trevor Rogers and Ryan Helsley.
The Mets also addressed an outfield need with a deal to get Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles.
Philadelphia Phillies
The race for the NL East between the Mets and Phillies is a prime storyline for the rest of the season.
Harrison Bader is an on-the-margins upgrade in the outfield but getting a true stopper in closer Jhoan Duran makes a massive difference.
The Phillies have the formula that wins in October: hitters that put the ball out of the ballpark, multiple frontline starting pitchers and an elite reliever.
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners are incredibly well-rounded, though they’ve lacked bats in recent years that continued their playoff woes.
Cal Raleigh is on a historic tear at the plate to help the offense, but the move to reunite with slugger Eugenio Suarez after his season-long surge with the Arizona Diamondbacks could be the X-factor in the race for the AL West.
LOSERS
Boston Red SoxSteven Matz and Dustin May are arms that can help in the postseason if Boston even gets there. The bottom line is the Red Sox did not do enough (again).
They needed another starter like Joe Ryan or even Merrill Kelly. They failed.
The Red Sox neglected to address first base, which keeps the pressure on the platoon of Abraham Toro and Romy Gonzalez to stay on pace with overperforming offensive productions.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers are tied for the most wins in baseball and only added catcher Danny Jansen two days before the deadline.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs needed to be decisive to boost their chances at a division title over the Brewers.
They did make additions in Willi Castro, Andrew Kittredge, Taylor Rogers and Michael Soroka. Will those be enough?
More MLB: Phillies Boss Defends No. 1 Prospect Trade Decision After Deadline Moves