Five biggest deals of the 2017 MLB trade deadline

A good trade at the MLB trade deadline can turn a good team into a World Series winner. There is, after all, a long history of teams swinging deadline deals for pieces that helped them win a World Series; the Cubs added Aroldis Chapman, the Royals grabbed Ben Zobrist, and so on.

One of these deals could certainly put someone over the top and help them to a championship.

Here are the five best deadline deals made throughout the month of July by MLB teams.

5) Cubs acquire Jose Quintana from White Sox

In a certain sense, the Cubs’ acquisition of Jose Quintana was as important symbolically as it was in terms of talent addition. The reigning champions spent much of the first half of the season floundering around the .500 mark, falling behind the surprisingly potent Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Central standings. Something had to be done, both to improve the team and send a message to a group of players that had the talent to perform much better than they were.

Yes, Quintana was extremely expensive in terms of prospects. The Cubs gave up Dylan Cease, Bryant Flete,, Eloy Jimenez, and Matt Rose, with Jimenez in particular having the potential to be elite. But the Cubs have so much talent that is just entering its prime, and they’ll be fine on the depth front.

Getting someone like Quintana, who has a long track record of success and is under team control through 2020, will be huge. The early returns are extremely encouraging, too — he has a 2.37 ERA in his first three starts for the Cubs. The team has responded as well by surging into first place, and suddenly things look rosier on the north side.

4) Yankees acquire Frazier, Robertson, and Kahnle from White Sox

Todd Frazier is a rental who should shore up third base for the Yankees for the rest of the season and provide some power. He’s not the same guy he was in his heyday with the Cincinnati Reds, but he can still hold down an everyday job.

The pitchers are the real prize here for the Yankees. Robertson isn’t the same guy he was in his first stint with New York, but he’s still a steady hand in the back of the bullpen who will be able to get the ball to the likes of Dellin Betances and Aroldis Chapman. Kahnle might actually end up being the true gem of the trade for New York. He turns 28 next week, will be Yankees property through 2020, and is striking out opponents at a remarkable rate — 69 in 41.1 innings, to be exact. He is the forgotten name in the deal, but he may end up having the biggest long-term impact.

The trade didn’t come at no cost to the Yankees. They traded Tyler Clippard along with minor leaguers Ian Clarkin, Tito Polo, and Blake Rutherford. Rutherford was a first-round pick last year and Clarkin was a first-rounder in 2013. Both are far from the big leagues, yet have promise and talent and could provide a nice return to the White Sox. But the Yankees were willing to pay the price to add a lot of depth to their current club.

3) Washington Nationals acquire Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from A’s

The Nationals’ bullpen has been such a problem that members of the team have supposedly complained off-the-record to media members about how long it took to fix. Fix it they did, though, with a deal that brought them two quality relievers for a relatively modest price, all things considered.

Ryan Madson’s career once appeared to be over due to elbow injuries, but he resurrected it with Kansas City and then Oakland to re-establish himself as one of the league’s more reliable relievers. He brings a lot to the table as he has an ERA under two this season, has extensive postseason experience, and is under contract for 2018.

Doolittle is the key piece. Injuries have held the lefty back throughout his career, but when healthy, he’s one of baseball’s best power lefties out of the bullpen. Add in Monday’s addition of Brandon Kintzler and you have three solid new arms in the Washington bullpen, all of whom can get outs late in ballgames.

Coupled with a powerful offense and a great group of starting pitchers, they should not be slept on in October, particularly if they can batten down the hatches late in games. In order to acquire the two pitchers, Washington sent Blake Treinen and minor leaguers Jesus Luzardo and Sheldon Neuse to Oakland.

2) Yankees acquire Sonny Gray from A’s

That the Yankees were able to get this done while keeping five of their top six prospects speaks to both the depth of New York’s system and the fact that Brian Cashman is really, really good at his job. Gray drew interest from many teams, but the Yankees were the ones able to match things up and strengthen their rotation with the 27-year-old righty.

The Yankees shouldn’t have needed to buy a starter, but Masahiro Tanaka’s struggles and Luis Severino’s youth necessitated a move like this. Gray will help, and not just in 2017. He appears to be back to his best, with a 3.43 ERA and a 3.24 FIP that bests all of his other seasons except his first one. He will also be with the team for two full seasons beyond this one. The Yankee rotation just got deeper for October, and they may well be the favorites to win the American League East now.

In this trade, the Yankees had to part with Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian, and Jorge Mateo. Fowler and Kaprielian will need to rebound from season-ending injuries, but could provide Oakland plenty of good players down the road.

1) Dodgers acquire Yu Darvish from Rangers

The rich get richer. It looked like the Dodgers were going to be content to pick up a couple relief pitchers and call it a day, but they sneaked in just before the deadline to grab Darvish from Texas, all while managing to hold on to top prospects Alex Verdugo and Walker Buehler. They still surrendered minor leaguers A.J. Alexy, Willie Calhoun, and Brendon Davis in the deal, with Calhoun being the biggest name.

The Dodgers didn’t particularly need Darvish, but Clayton Kershaw’s recent injury created a bit of a question mark atop the rotation. Darvish should answer those questions. His 4.01 ERA is inflated because of a 10-run start against the Miami Marlins in his last outing with Texas in which he allegedly tipped his pitches. Provided he fixes that, Darvish will bring the same nasty stuff he has always had with him to the National League.

In the postseason, Kershaw, Darvish, and Alex Wood will likely prove a devastating 1-2-3 punch for opponents, and the Dodgers have added even more talent to a team that was on pace to win 114 games. It’s almost unfair.