When the clock struck 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 31, not only did every baseball fan’s phone receive a chance to breathe after the countless peeks at senior ESPN insider Jeff Passan’s X account, but the framework of the league was changed.
Teams that hope to have an “October to remember” cashed in on top farm system prospects for win-now pieces, and the teams dwelling in the basement, already dreaming of Winter Meetings, sold high on big names in hopes of securing a successful future.
With that being said, now is the time to channel Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” and analyze three 2025 MLB Trade Deadline moves that are sure to impact this season’s postseason and beyond.
Tied-for first place Toronto Blue Jays acquire 2020 AL Cy Young Shane Bieber
Toronto receives: RHP Shane Bieber
Cleveland receives: RHP Khal Stephen
It’s been 486 days since Shane Bieber last toed the rubber on a Major League mound, all the way back in April 2024 against the then Oakland Athletics. As fans may recall, the two-time American League All-Star dominated the A’s to the tune of six shutout innings and nine strikeouts before the dreaded Tommy John surgery came calling.
Bieber, currently making his way up through the minors in a series of rehab starts, could be a compelling arm for the competitive Blue Jays, who currently rank sixth in the league in terms of starting rotation ERA. Should his pitching arsenal return to form, Toronto could feasibly take its first AL East title since 2015 and ride the rotation into October.
However, the Blue Jays are trifling with one of the trickiest organizations to do business with. Since flipping vets for future team legends such as Kenny Lofton, Sandy Alomar Jr. and Carlos Baerga, the Cleveland Guardians organization has had a penchant for winning trades.
Former second-round pick Khal Stephen, who has already shown great swing and miss potential on his fastball, must be happy to be heading to a club that is known for great pitching development. In his 17 starts this season across different levels of the minors, Stephen holds a 9-1 record with a 2.06 ERA to boot in nearly 92 innings pitched.
The answer to who will win this trade won’t be found in how Stephen will be developed; barring injuries, it’s likely that Cleveland does its thing and turns the Mississippi State product into a fine mid-rotation starter. Rather, it will be how Bieber performs for the Blue Jays and what he plans to do with his player option on his contract this winter, should he decide to hit the open market, the Guards might have found yet another solid arm for a small price.
Seattle Mariners continue aggressive push towards playoffs in another deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks
Seattle receives: 3B Eugenio Suárez
Arizona receives: INF Tyler Locklear, RHP Hunter Cranton and RHP Juan Burgos
As mentioned, this was not the only Mariner-Diamondback exchange this season. On July 24, the Mariners acquired slugging first baseman Josh Naylor to bring a strong bat to its lineup in a tough AL West division.
Seattle made a second call to Arizona the evening before deadline day and brought in even more offensive fire power in the form of All-Star infielder Eugenio Suárez, who previously played for the Mariners as recently as 2023. Suárez is lighting it up this season, hitting .248 with 36 home runs and 87 RBI.
In return, Arizona received three top 20 prospects from Seattle’s farm system, a more than fair return for a player set to hit the open market. Both Juan Burgos and Tyler Locklear have already appeared in the Majors, and could be solid everyday pieces for the Snakes.
Overall, Seattle should be proud of its strong deadline, especially as the team continues to chase the Astros, who have a 4.5 game lead over the Mariners for division control. If both Naylor and Suárez can provide a boost to Seattle’s core of Cal Raleigh and Randy Arozarena, the Mariners will be looking at a fun playoff run in a seemingly wide open American League.
San Diego Padres go nuclear in all out pursuit of first place Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego receives : RHP Mason Miller and LHP JP Sears
Athletics receive: SS Leo De Vries, RHP Braden Nett, RHP Henry Baez and RHP Eduarniel Núñez
What happens when you combine a historically aggressive franchise led by a historically aggressive GM in AJ Preller with the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers leading the NL West by just three games? Well, you get the San Diego Padres going buck wild on the last day in July.
Although this was not the only trade San Diego completed on deadline day (the team also traded for Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano from Baltimore), this trade in particular brings an absolute flamethrower in Mason Miller (3.76 ERA and 20 saves) to an already loaded San Diego bullpen. Sears is also a solid piece, providing stable mid-rotation support on a team-friendly deal.
The Athletics’ return can be viewed as an embarrassment of riches, as the team received MLB’s third-ranked prospect in 18-year-old switch-hitting shortstop Leo De Vries, who would fit in nicely in the team’s core of Jacob Wilson and Nick Kurtz. The other three prospects received were all top 20 in San Diego’s farm system, with Braden Nett being the closest to De Vries as the third-ranked prospect in the organization.
This trade perfectly encapsulates the essence of the trade deadline: a contender in San Diego outsourcing a haul of prospects to a team that sits at the bottom of its division. This trade also has the biggest boom or bust potential out of all this year’s transactions. The A’s have the future set up for when the team moves to Las Vegas in 2028, and the Padres have a 50-50 chance of a World Series caliber bullpen that finally brings a title to Petco Park or a re-run of the infamous Will Myers trade back in 2014.
Gage Wellman is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected] or @GageWellmanKSTV on X.