Rounding Up the 10 Biggest Moves of 2024 MLB Trade Deadline

Tom Dierberger | Jul 30, 2024

Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty throws a pitch during a game against the White Sox at Comerica Park. / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

MLB executives were quite busy this week tinkering with their rosters ahead of the trade deadline Tuesday.

Before the clock struck 6 p.m. ET, a few star pitchers were moved, others stayed put (looking at you, Garrett Crochet), and all 30 teams around the league made at least one trade to either sell, buy or in some cases, both.

ESPN's Jeff Passan, who has been glued to his phones over the last few days reporting the latest transactions in baseball, perfectly summed up the deadline with five words Tuesday.

There were a lot of trades.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 30, 2024

Yes, there were, Jeff. Here are the 10 most notable moves from the 2024 MLB trade deadline:

Padres significantly bolster bullpen

One thing about San Diego Padres general manager AJ Preller: He's never afraid to trade away the organization's future to make a push for the playoffs. He did it again this week, acquiring Miami Marlins closer Tanner Scott and reliever Bryan Hoeing as well as Tampa Bay Rays righthander Jason Adam in two separate deals.

To do so, the Padres sent away seven prospects, including top pitching prospect Dylan Lesko, left-hander Robby Snelling (ranked No. 2 in the organization by MLB Pipeline), right-hander Adam Mazur (No. 4) and infielder Graham Pauley (No. 5).

Aside from All-Star closer Robert Suarez, the Padres' bullpen has been an issue this season, ranking 19th in ERA (4.17) and 22nd in opponent batting average (.247). San Diego now boasts a star-studded duo in Scott and Adam setting the table for Suarez in the ninth.

Dodgers land Jack Flaherty

The Los Angeles Dodgers took a big swing just minutes before the deadline by acquiring right-handed pitcher Flaherty from the Detroit Tigers.

Flaherty racked up 11 quality starts in 18 outings for the Tigers this season, logging a 2.95 ERA, 3.11 FIP and 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He'll join a Dodgers rotation that slowly is getting healthier, as Clayton Kershaw and Tyler Glasnow returned last week, and Walker Buehler and Bobby Miller are expected back soon. If Yoshinobu Yamamoto returns before the playoffs, manager Dave Roberts has quite the rotation to work with.

Jazz Chisholm heads to Yankees

Chisholm, the cover athlete for last year's MLB The Show video game, is set to pair his electric personality with Yankee pinstripes.

Chisholm was named an All-Star in 2022 but hasn't quite lived up to expectations since then, registering a 105 OPS+ (100 is league average) with 13 homers in 101 games for the Marlins this season. He already has made an impact for the Yankees, however, crushing two homers in New York's 14–4 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.

2nd game as a Yankee.
2nd home run as a Yankee. @j_chisholm3 ✌️ pic.twitter.com/0kZYlRM5pY

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 30, 2024

The Yankees sent three minor leaguers to Miami: catcher Agustin Ramirez as well as infielders Jared Serna and Abraham Ramirez.

White Sox bid adieu to Eloy Jimenez era

The White Sox traded 27-year-old designated hitter Jimenez to the Baltimore Orioles after six seasons in the Windy City. In exchange, Chicago received minor league reliever Trey McGough.

Jimenez was once crowned as the future of the White Sox, but injury issues and an offensive decline prevented him from playing out the six-year contract he signed with Chicago in 2019. Jimenez is an interesting addition for Baltimore, which leads all of baseball in homers (167) but ranks 23rd in batting average (.254).

Orioles trade for Trevor Rogers

Rogers was one of the brightest young stars on the mound three years ago, as he was named an All-Star and finished runner-up in the NL Rookie of the Year race in 2021. He has dropped off a bit since then, logging a 4.92 ERA over the past three seasons, but Rogers gives Baltimore help in the middle of its rotation behind Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez.

The Orioles traded their No. 5-ranked prospect Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers to bring in the 26-year-old Rogers.

Jorge Soler rejoins Braves

The San Francisco Giants had themselves an interesting trade deadline, which began with them trading designated hitter Soler to the Atlanta Braves.

Soler, who was also traded to Atlanta at the 2021 deadline and went on to be named World Series MVP that fall, hit just 12 homers in 93 games with the Giants this season but had a .860 OPS since June 1.

The Giants also sent reliever Luke Jackson in the deal and acquired lefthander Tyler Matzek and prospect Sabin Ceballos. They also traded away starting pitcher Alex Cobb to the Cleveland Guardians and acquired first baseman/outfielder Mark Canha from the Tigers before the deadline.

Brewers take a chance on Frankie Montas

The Milwaukee Brewers sent outfielder Joey Wiemer and righthanded pitcher Jakob Junis to the Cincinnati Reds for Montas on Monday.

Montas starred for the Oakland A's from 2017 to '22 until he was dealt to the Yankees in a trade deadline blockbuster. He didn't fare well in pinstripes, appearing in just nine games over a couple of injury-plagued seasons, and signed with Cincinnati in the winter.

Montas went 4–8 with a 5.01 ERA in 19 starts for the Reds this season. He has a $20 million mutual option on his contract for the '25 campaign that's almost certain to be declined by Milwaukee.

The Brewers, currently in first place in the NL Central, will slot Montas in their starting rotation alongside Freddy Peralta, Aaron Civale and Colin Rea.

Mariners make a splash with Randy Arozarena

Arozarena burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2020 while putting up historic numbers in the playoffs and leading the Tampa Bay Rays to the World Series. Less than four years later, the Rays sent Arozarena to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for three players—righthanded pitcher Brody Hopkins, outfielder Aidan Smith and a player to be named later.

Arozarena is a fun fit with the Mariners, who gave away their AL West lead in record time earlier this month and are desperate to improve an offense that owns MLB's second-worst batting average (.219).

Guardians trade for Lane Thomas

Sitting atop the AL Central, Cleveland isn't messing around.

The Guardians added Thomas to their outfield mix by trading three prospects—lefthanded pitcher Alex Clemmey, shortstop Rafael Ramirez Jr. and infielder Jose Tena—to the Washington Nationals.

In 77 games this season, Thomas is batting .253/.331/.407 with 16 doubles and 40 RBI while primarily playing right field for the Nationals. He'll join All-Star Steven Kwan as well as Tyler Freeman and Will Brennan in Cleveland's outfielding corps.

Astros add Yusei Kikuchi to AL West pursuit

On May 29, the Houston Astros were 24–32 and 6.5 games back of the Mariners in the AL West. Two months later, they entered Tuesday's slate of games tied with Seattle for first place.

To help chase down a fourth straight division title, Houston sent three prospects—righthander Jake Bloss, infielder Will Wagner and outfielder Joey Loperfido—to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Kikuchi.

In a league-high 22 starts this season, Kikuchi has registered a 4–9 record, 4.75 ERA and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Those aren't flashy numbers, but the Astros are betting on there being better days ahead for Kikuchi considering his 3.65 FIP and 4.00 xERA.