Enjoying his first year with the Dodgers, MVP contender Shohei Ohtani plays with his dog Decoy. ... [+]
With the end of the 2024 baseball season just two weeks away, it’s easy to see which deals worked well and which ones fizzled.
Counting both pre-season and trade deadline transactions, here’s how they stack up:
Home Runs
1. Shohei Ohtani – It cost the Dodgers $700 million (most of it deferred) but the best player in the game keeps getting better, with the first-ever 50/50 season in his sights. He might even pitch again in the playoffs – and then win his third MVP award (and second in a row) afterward.
2. Juan Soto – The Yankees traded three pitchers, a catcher, and a prospect to the cost-cutting Padres for a one-year rental player with a $31 million contract but Soto brought a desperately-needed left-handed bat and formed baseball’s best slugging tandem with Aaron Judge. He’d be the American League MVP if not for Judge and probable batting champion Bobby Witt, Jr. of Kansas City. New York wants to keep him in pinstripes – and away from the crosstown Mets.
3. Chris Sale – After multiple injury-riddled seasons, this lanky Atlanta left-hander seems likely to win his first Cy Young Award and maybe the Triple Crown of pitching too. Obtained from Boston for infield prospect Vaughn Grissom, the 34-year-old southpaw has become baseball’s best starter again.
4. Luis Arraez – A line-drive contact hitter who’s defensively challenged, his arrival in San Diego changed San Diego’s run-making approach and turned the Padres into serious contenders for their third pennant. He’s about to win his third straight batting title – all with different teams.
5. Corbin Burnes – Like Soto, he can waltz way from his new team via free agency this fall but the new ace of the Baltimore rotation has supported a staggering rotation down the stretch. With the O’s under new ownership, perhaps he can be persuaded to stay.
6. Jurickson Profar – An All-Star for the first time, he cost the Padres only $1 million but delivered enormous return on investment. The former Texas left-fielder has been productive since the bell rang in April.
7. Jack Flaherty – Acquired by the Dodgers from Detroit at the trade deadline, the erstwhile ace of the Cardinals won five of his first six decisions for Dave Roberts and filled a huge void in the L.A. rotation. The Tigers, now closing in on a long-shot playoff spot, should have kept him.
Dylan Cease has become a standout for San Diego after his trade from the Chicago White Sox. (Photo ... [+]
8. Dylan Cease – Yet another San Diego mainstay, this veteran right-hander was plucked from the Chicago White Sox in a trade for prospects. He’s helped the Friars circumnavigate injuries to Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove.
9. Seth Lugo – Finally given a regular front-line spot after signing with the Royals, this right-hander helped engineer a total turnaround by the Royals, a 2024 contender rebounding from a 106-loss campaign. A bargain at three years for $45 million, he actually leads all starters in innings pitched.
10. Shōta Imanaga – The Chicago Cubs got this left-handed starter out of the Japanese majors for four years and $53 million but never imagined he’d become a Rookie of the Year contender.
11. Jazz Chisholm, Jr. – The best position player dealt at the July 30 deadline, he provided unexpected power while converting to third base, filling a major void in the Bronx, after arriving from the moribund Miami Marlins.
12. Sean Manaea – A lefty likely to leave the Mets for free agency if he opts out of his two-year, $28 million contract, Manaea and fellow signee Luis Severino bolstered a rotation recreated after the 2023 trades of Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander. He has pitched consistently well since the All-Star break.
13. Rhys Hoskins – The former Philadelphia first baseman, out all of 2023, has hit two-dozen homers for the contending Brewers – adding much-needed pop despite a low batting average.
Whiffs
A 2023 postseason stud, Jordan Montgomery never found his footing in Arizona after missing all of ... [+]
1. Jordan Montgomery – One of the “Boras Four,” advised to wait for better offers by agent Scott Boras, he missed all of spring training and then endured a season ruined by injuries and poor performance. His 6.25 ERA for the defending NL champion Diamondbacks is almost as unbelievable as his $25 million salary.
2. Lucas Giolito – After signing with the Red Sox, the 30-year-old pitcher missed all of 2024 after undergoing an internal brace repair to his right elbow ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). The 6'6" right-hander received a two-year, $38.5 million contract to lead the Red Sox staff.
3. Kodai Senga – Signed out of Japanese ball for five years and $75 million, this right-hander fell victim to the sophomore jinx, missing almost all of the 2024 campaign with various injuries. He’s expected to return next spring, however.
4. Eddie Rosario – The Most Valuable Player of the National League Championship Series in 2021 played for the Nationals, Mets, and Braves this season without recapturing his former form. Never a strong defender, his didn’t connect often enough to justify a major-league job.
5. Cody Bellinger – Retained by the Chicago Cubs after a bidding war that lasted all winter, this left-handed slugger had such a bland year that he might activate his $27.5 million player option rather than risk free agency in search of a deal with more money and more years. The fact that he’s a solid center-fielder who also plays first base helps his case, however.
6. Craig Kimbrel – Desperate for a closer, the Baltimore Orioles gave Kimbrel a one-year, $13 million deal. It didn’t pay dividends. Through Sunday, he had a 5-7 record, just 23 saves, and a bloated 4.35 earned run average. He had also given up seven home runs.
7. Jorge Polanco – Seattle was so desperate for offense that they traded four players plus cash to Minnesota for this second baseman in January. With the season about to end, however, he’s barely over the Mendoza Line. And the Mariners are just shy of a wild-card berth despite the best earned run average in the American League.
8. Yoshinobu Yamamato – Worry over the health status of Clayton Kershaw, Walker Buehler, and other front-line starters convinced the Dodgers to give this erstwhile Japanese ace a 10-year, $325 million contract to come to the U.S. He pitched well but then hurt his shoulder, idling him for three months and limiting him to 15 starts before mid-September.
