With benefit of hindsight, these teams won Trade Deadline

At the onset of the 1983 season, Cleveland traded an infielder named Jerry Dybzinski (career WAR of 2.0) to the White Sox for first baseman Pat Tabler.

Five years later, Tabler was dealt to the Royals for pitcher Bud Black, who was traded to the Blue Jays two years later for a package that included pitcher Alex Sanchez, who was sent back to the Blue Jays a month and a half later for a return that included pitcher Willie Blair, who was included one year later in the package sent to the Astros for Kenny Lofton, who was traded prior to the 1997 season for outfielders Marquis Grissom and David Justice, the latter of whom was dealt to the Yankees midseason in 2000 for a package of three players that included pitcher Jake Westbrook, who was dealt to the Cardinals midseason in 2010 in a three-team deal that brought back Padres pitcher Corey Kluber, who won a couple of Cy Youngs before getting traded to the Rangers in December 2019 for a young reliever named Emmanuel Clase, who is now the best closer in baseball.

In other words, we shouldn’t ever be in a hurry to evaluate the outcome of trades, because some of them can live on for a baseball eternity.

But because the goal of contenders at the Trade Deadline is to get better right now, let’s take a look at which contenders have fulfilled that mission so far.

*All stats are entering Friday’s games

1. Royals

The Royals, under general manager J.J. Picollo, surprised the baseball world with their aggressiveness last offseason, committing more than $110 million to seven free agents. And because that aggressiveness helped put them in the contention mix a year after tying a franchise record for losses, they continued to put the pedal down at the Deadline.

Though the deal that sent their No. 2 prospect and the 39th overall pick in this year’s Draft to the Nats for the (currently injured) Hunter Harvey was probably too aggressive, the Royals have had much better results from Lucas Erceg, the late-inning reliever they acquired from the A’s. He’s got eight saves and five holds for his new club. They’ve also enjoyed instant impact from infielder Paul DeJong, who has helped fill an offensive need at third base by clubbing six homers and three doubles. And in the rotation, landing Michael Lorenzen from the Rangers was a huge boost (just five runs allowed in 24 1/3 innings across five starts) before he strained his hamstring (he’s expected back soon).

And though it wasn’t a Deadline deal, the Royals have benefited from somebody else’s Deadline deal in acquiring outfielder Tommy Pham off waivers from the Cardinals, who dealt for Pham at the Deadline only to fall further back in the playoff race. In the short time since, Pham had contributed a pair of homers and doubles in his first 37 at-bats with K.C.

2. Padres

Yes, once again Padres general manager A.J. Preller personally offended the prospect hoarders of the world by depleting his system to obtain win-now talent, and it will be years before we know the repercussions of that. But at least the moves he made did as intended and amplified a team that was trending toward a playoff spot at the Deadline and come a long way toward solidifying one in the time since.

It's all about pitching here. The Padres beefed up their bullpen with Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing (Marlins) and Jason Adam (Rays). The results have generally been resplendent. Scott has been effective in notching seven holds, two saves and three wins, and his stuff has ticked up since changing teams. Though Hoeing was a far lower-profile piece of the trade with the Marlins, he’s put up a 0.90 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in 14 appearances. And Adam has a 0.47 ERA and 8.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 18 1/3 innings for the Friars.

But the Padres’ best move might have been for starter Martín Pérez, formerly of the Pirates. He’s 2-0 with a 2.84 ERA and 144 ERA+ in seven starts for what is looking like a dangerous San Diego rotation.

3. Dodgers

The Dodgers committed an outrageous amount of financial capital to their club last winter, but Andrew Friedman and Co. still know how to do Deadline deals, too.

In a market short on starting pitching, the Dodgers were able to add an impactful one in sending a pair of prospects to the Tigers for Jack Flaherty. The L.A. native has continued his resurgent season by going 5-1 with a 2.61 ERA and 152 ERA+ through seven starts -- and that performance is all the more welcomed given the continued injury travails the Dodgers have endured in their rotation.

But the real steal of the Deadline was Michael Kopech. The Dodgers landed both him and Cardinals utilityman Tommy Edman (who has a 110 OPS+ and helped fill a need in center field, especially with fellow trade acquisition Kevin Kiermaier continuing to struggle at the plate) from the White Sox in a three-team deal. Kopech had a 4.74 ERA and 1.35 WHIP for the lowly Sox, but, with the Dodgers, he’s been incredible -- a 1.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, four saves and seven holds in 18 appearances.

It should go without saying that the real assessment of the Dodgers’ Deadline deals will come in October, given that this is very much a “World Series or bust” campaign and a postseason spot was not exactly in doubt. But they’re definitely on the right track.

4. Diamondbacks

It’s really very simple: The D-backs needed bullpen help. The Mike Hazen-led front office swung a deal with the Marlins for lefty A.J. Puk, with the assumption that a midseason move from the rotation back to the bullpen that had benefited Puk would continue to reap rewards. And they were absolutely correct ... and then some. Puk has dominated to the tune of a 0.47 ERA, six holds and 31 strikeouts against just two walks in 19 innings. Those outs have been vital for an Arizona team that, according to FanGraphs, has improved its playoff odds by 37.5% since the Deadline.

The Snakes acquired first baseman Josh Bell from the Fish to hold down the fort at first base with Christian Walker injured, and, while Bell has been his typically streaky self, he has had some big hits for his new club, with four homers, four doubles and a triple.

Another bullpen deal for the Nats’ Dylan Floro has been a bust so far, as he’s carrying a 7.53 ERA in 14 primarily low-leverage appearances. But Puk was the D-backs’ biggest swing, and they nailed it.

5. Astros

Everybody in the industry thought that Astros GM Dana Brown sending their No. 9 (pitcher Jake Bloss) and No. 13 prospects (infielder Will Wagner) and outfielder Joey Loperfido to the Blue Jays for a struggling rental starter in Yusei Kikuchi was an overpay.

And honestly, it probably was.

But if we’re assessing instant impact, then the Astros qualify. This team’s trying to nail down another division and win another World Series, and Kikuchi is pointing them in that direction. He had been rocked for 16 earned runs in his last three outings before the Deadline, but he’s come to Houston, changed his pitch mix, and is 5-0 with a 3.19 ERA and 0.94 WHIP across 48 innings. The Astros are 8-0 in the games he has started.

6. Orioles

Though the Orioles’ swap for Trevor Rogers went so poorly that he was sent to Triple-A and left-handed reliever Gregory Soto got off to a disastrous start in the O’s bullpen, there has been enough good in the outcome for the O’s in Mike Elias’ slew of swaps that they merit a spot on the list.

Baltimore has been battered by injuries in the rotation, making the acquisition of Zach Eflin from the division rival Rays all the more meaningful. He has a 5-2 record and 2.22 ERA in his first seven starts for the O’s, proving himself a viable option for a playoff Game 2 start behind Corbin Burnes. Thankfully, his absence due to shoulder inflammation was brief.

And in the bullpen, Seranthony Domínguez has a 2.45 ERA and nine saves through 19 appearances, becoming the closing option the O’s sorely needed.

There were other moves, including for outfielder Austin Slater and DH Eloy Jiménez. But the primary need at the Deadline was pitching, and Eflin and Domínguez make you feel better about the O’s chances of advancing, even if the club’s second half as a whole has been uninspiring.

7. Phillies

It was the bullpen that was president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s bugaboo with those otherwise great Tigers teams in the early 2010s, and he didn’t want this great Phillies team to be undone by the bullpen come October.

So Dombrowski swung a deal for Angels closer Carlos Estévez, and so far, so good. Estévez has a 2.04 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and five saves through 16 appearances. Most importantly, he picked up a win and two of those saves against the Braves in games that removed any possibility of the Phillies forking over their division lead.

Of course, the value of that acquisition is offset some by what the Phillies gave up in sending Domínguez to Baltimore, and outfield acquisition Austin Hays was struggling before hitting the injured list with a kidney infection.

Ultimately, this is another “World Series or bust” situation. So let’s check back in October.

Honorable mentions: Yankees and Brewers

The Yankees did not do enough to address arguably their biggest need for swing-and-miss in the bullpen. Trade acquisition Mark Leiter Jr. has struggled to keep the ball in the yard. But the Deadline discussion would be incomplete without mention of Jazz Chisholm Jr., who came to New York, manned a new position (third base) and has slashed an impressive .298/.346/.556 with nine homers and five doubles through 32 games. A UCL injury threatened to upend those good vibes, but Chisholm was able to come back much sooner than expected.

As for the Brewers, Frankie Montas and Aaron Civale have been very solid additions to the rotation. It would be hard to say they’ve taken it to another level, though Montas, who has had two scoreless starts of at least six innings, might be trending that way.