Five biggest winners from the MLB trade deadline

The dust has settled from the MLB trade deadline, with approximately 50 trades taking place since Wednesday morning. Contending teams looked to fortify their playoff chances, rebuilding teams hope they have building blocks for the future and other teams straddled the line between buying and selling. 

We've already gone over the biggest losers. Let's take a look at five teams that improved their situation the most coming out of the July 31 trade deadline.

Athletics overhaul farm system with eye toward Las Vegas

Trading a closer for one of the top three prospects in baseball is enough to make any team a winner at the deadline. The A's managed to get far more than that for pitchers Mason Miller and JP Sears, adding baseball's third overall prospect in Leo De Vries. The A's also landed the Padres' third-, 13th- and 17th-best prospects in a deal that could be felt for years to come and acquired pitching prospect Kenya Huggins in a deal for outfielder Miguel Andujar just before the deadline.

Having a top closer on a rebuilding team is an unnecessary luxury, especially as the A's have several options who could take Miller's place. Adding a possible cornerstone player in De Vries will help the A's have their core in place when they head to Las Vegas in 2028.

Seattle Mariners land impact bats they needed

The Mariners had been held back for years by their lack of offensive firepower. A trade with the Diamondbacks to land first baseman Josh Naylor a week before the deadline helped solve one sore spot in the lineup.

The Mariners returned to the Diamondbacks' well, reuniting with third baseman Eugenio Suarez, then added reliever Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates before the deadline. In exchange, the Mariners traded just one of their top-10 prospects in Tyler Locklear. The Mariners made themselves much more dangerous without breaking the prospect bank.

New York Yankees have the best bullpen in the AL

The Yankees had several holes as the deadline approached. While Ryan McMahon and Amed Rosario are not going to win a World Series on their own, the Yankees managed to cobble together something resembling a third baseman.

The Yankees focused on the bullpen on Thursday, adding closers Camilo Doval and David Bednar. Reliever Jake Bird was acquired in a second trade with the Rockies. All three relievers are under team control beyond this season. Meanwhile, the Yankees held on to all of their top prospects while completely revamping the bullpen.

Philadelphia Phillies finally find relief

The ninth inning has been the Phillies' Achilles' heel for years. Their long search for an answer is finally over as they acquired closer Jhoan Duran from the Twins. Although the Twins received an impressive haul of prospects in return, the Phillies kept their top three prospects while potentially finding the missing piece for a championship.

Philadelphia made another minor trade ahead of the deadline, adding outfielder Harrison Bader. Although he is likely a free agent after this season (he has a $10 million mutual option for 2026), Bader has solid power and speed, improving the biggest hole in the Phillies lineup without blocking prospect Justin Crawford.

New York Mets build bullpen buzzsaw while fixing hole in lineup

The Mets and Phillies had similar concerns with the bullpen and center field. Both teams solved those problems at the deadline. The Mets completely overhauled their bullpen, acquiring relievers Ryan Helsley, Taylor Rogers and Gregory Soto. The Mets then added a center fielder, acquiring Cedric Mullins from the Orioles for a trio of prospects.

Although the Mets had been scuffling, the front office threw down the gauntlet, aggressively strengthening their weaknesses. The Mets will be a tough out in the postseason and may have the pieces for a memorable October.