The American League East produced some of the 2024 MLB trade deadline's biggest moves. This season's deadline was largely underwhelming — no top-100 prospects were traded and there were few blockbuster deals to really change the game for anyone.
Teams in contention battled a seller's market before July 30. Prices for the biggest deadline trade pieces were reportedly extortionate, and no AL East squad fell victim to the robbery — although, one did some robbing.
The Orioles, Yankees and Red Sox asserted themselves as buyers, despite the Rays being close to the Sox in the standings. The Blue Jays aren't too far behind the Rays either, and a hot or cold streak for any one of these teams late in the season could change everything.
Each of the five AL East squads participated in a lot of action before 6 p.m. on July 30. Here's how we think everyone fared.
Red Sox 2024 trade deadline: Winners and losers from the AL East
Orioles - winners
The Baltimore Orioles are the AL East's biggest winners. The Birds are under new ownership, which seems more willing to spend and take risks, and it flashed a commitment to improving before the deadline.
The Orioles opted to add a wide range of improvements as opposed to a few blockbuster moves. They added Zach Eflin and Trevor Rogers to take up spots in their depleted rotation. They added Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto to bolster their beleaguered bullpen. Eloy Jimenez is a questionable addition to their outfield, but the O's also brought in Austin Slater and a few others to give the club as many options as possible.
Baltimore has the resources at its disposal to do more, though — there's not a place on the big league roster for some of the prospects it held onto. But the Orioles have plenty of time to win with the squad they're working with. Most of their core is young, and their prospect pool is set for years to come. It was not the year for Baltimore to mortgage the farm and go for Tarik Skubal or Garrett Crochet.
Yankees - losers
The Yankees have been gunning for a World Series win for years now, and their fans are quick to dub each new season "theirs." New York's recent slump had Yankee Universe begging for an impactful trade deadline, which they didn't really get.
New York's biggest additions come down to Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Mark Leiter Jr., but they also acquired reliever Enyel De Los Santos and some cash and international bonus money, which will help them in future seasons.
Chisholm has been stellar for the Yankees in his first few games, but his history suggests that won't last forever. Leiter pitched two innings for New York with one earned run, and De Los Santos doesn't move the needle. New York whiffed on Jack Flaherty and Yandy Diaz, who would've provided relief for their tiring rotation and offensively lackluster infield.
Not only do the Yanks have one of the best farm systems in the league, they also have Juan Soto and Aaron Judge hitting back-to-back in their lineup with no guarantee of the same arrangement next year. Many experts believe the Yankees have the best shot at signing Soto as a free agent when the season ends, which may be why they held off on any ridiculously expensive moves — it doesn't make sense to mortgage the farm when the organization hopes to sign the most expensive contract in its history next season. Soto is a generational talent and the Yankees would surely like to build around him if he becomes a New Yorker for life, but they should've spent more adventurously to have the best chance at signing him before the 2025 slate.
Red Sox - pass
The Red Sox's trade deadline was squarely average. Sure, they got better with the additions they made — Danny Jansen is a one-for-one improvement over Reese McGuire and Luis García and Lucas Sims will bring some heat to the bullpen — but like most of the other teams in the league, they passed on game-breaking moves.
The Sox's deadline moves seem to acknowledge that it's not their year. Boston has overperformed this season and many experts didn't expect it to be near playoff contention. Despite the doubt, the Red Sox front office made an effort before the deadline, which is more than it can say for itself in the past few seasons.
Boston's front office has expressed that it will wait for its top prospects to reach the league before it gives 100%, and the acquisition of Quinn Priester from the Pirates was solely future-minded. The Sox sold high on a top prospect without a place on the big league squad and received a former first-round pick with true starter potential.
So, yes, the Red Sox got better at the trade deadline, but not as much as some of their AL counterparts. They didn't "win" at the deadline, and they didn't necessarily "lose," so we give them a passing grade.
Rays - winners
Few other teams could get away with selling or attempting to sell almost all the best players in their lineup, but the Tampa Bay Rays do it frequently. It works.
The Rays structured Eflin's contract for an eventual sale — the Orioles owe him more money for 2025 than Tamp Bay paid him in the first two years of his deal. The Rays sent Isaac Paredes to the Cubs, which is no sweat for them, as their infielders are versatile and they have three corner infielders among their top-five prospects. They received two top-10 prospects from the Padres in the Jason Adam deal.
Tampa Bay tends to sell high and usually collects quality returns on each of its exchanges, and the 2024 deadline was no exception. The Rays aren't far out of postseason contention this year, but they're sure to be back in the mix soon with the collection of players they received this year.
Blue Jays - winners
The Blue Jays engaged in some highway robbery of the Astros, traded Jansen to the Red Sox, sent Justin Turner to the Mariners and dished Isiah Kiner-Falefa to the Pirates. Toronto sold many of its expendable pieces in a year it carries a franchise-record payroll and underperformed.
Jansen and Turner are impending free agents the Jays secured returns for. Kiner-Falefa is under contract until after the 2025 season, and the three players represent a solid salary dump for a club that isn't used to spending so much. IKF has also posted career numbers at the plate, and selling high on him was a wise choice.
Toronto got three prospects from Houston in the trade for Yusei Kikuchi, a 4.75 ERA pitcher. Jake Bloss was the Astros No. 3 prospect and he's already made the jump to No. 2 in the Jays' system. Joey Loperfido and Will Wagner are also insane returns for just a few months of the 33-year-old lefty's services. The three prospects the Blue Jays received ether have experience or approach MLB readiness, which makes the benefit of the exchange almost immediate.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette will both be free agents at the end of the 2025 campaign and the Jays likely hope to lock one of them up long-term. Their deadline moves afford them resources to do just that, and to build around them in the process.