The Toronto Blue Jays did well at the 2025 trade deadline, plugging multiple holes in their roster.
But what about the other teams in the American League, the teams the Blue Jays are battling to get to the postseason? It’s safe to say that the New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, and Seattle Mariners got stronger at the deadline.
Let’s take a look at what those other nine buyers from the American League did before Thursday’s deadline.
Yankees
Shortly before trade deadline day, the Yankees made a handful of moves, trading for Ryan McMahon, Amed Rosario, and Austin Slater, three players with minimal impact offensively. At this point, it was funny. And then they went crazy on Thursday.
First up, they traded prospects Rafael Flores, Edgleen Perez, and Brian Sanchez to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for David Bednar, one of the better relief pitchers on the market. They improved their bullpen further by trading Roc Riggio and Ben Shields to the Colorado Rockies for Jake Bird.
They thought their bullpen was a clear area of need because the Yankees then traded Trystan Vrieling, Jésus Rodríguez, and Parks Harbor (nicknamed Parks Harbour) for Camilo Doval.
Bednar has a 2.37 ERA and 1.96 FIP in 38 innings pitched with the Pittsburgh Pirates this year, with a 33.1 K% and 6.5 BB%. He’ll likely slot in as their closer. Doval has a 3.09 ERA and 3.18 FIP in 46.2 innings pitched, with a 26.2 K% and 12.6 BB%. His K% dropped from 31% in 2023 to 28.8% in 2024.
This season, Bird has a 4.73 ERA and 3.45 FIP in 53.1 innings pitched, with a 26.3 K% and 9.7 BB%. It must be the Coors Field effect, right? Wrong, as Bird has a 2.48 ERA and 2.53 FIP in 29 innings pitched at Coors and a 7.40 ERA and 4.56 FIP in 24.1 innings pitched away from the stadium.
The Yankees’ bullpen looks better, but Devin Williams went from one of the best relievers in the sport to well below average after the Yankees acquired him. Hopefully, the same happens here.
Rays
As expected, the Rays did Rays things, selling briefly before ultimately deciding to buy.
They made a three-way trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers, sending Littell to the Reds and Ben Rotvedt and Paul Gervase to the Dodgers for Hunter Feduccia and Brian Van Belle.
The Rays also traded former Blue Jay Danny Jansen to the Milwaukee Brewers for Jadher Areinamo on July 28th. On the 29th, the Rays acquired Nick Fortes from their state rival, the Miami Marlins, for Matthew Etzel.
Toward the end of the trade deadline, the Rays traded José Caballero to the Yankees for Everson Pereira and either a player to be named later or cash. You could argue all three of these moves are one of a seller.
And then the Rays did buyer things. They traded Curtis Mead, Duncan Davitt, and Benjamin Peoples to the Chicago White Sox for Adrian Houser. Their biggest move was trading Taj Bradley to the Minnesota Twins for Griffin Jax.
The Tampa Bay Rays, everyone.
Red Sox
Despite being in a wild card spot, the Red Sox only made two moves ahead of the trade deadline, post-All-Star Game. On the 30th, they acquired former Blue Jay Steven Matz from the St. Louis Cardinals for Blaze Jordan. They followed that up by trading James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard.
Their biggest splash before the deadline saw them trade Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, but that doesn’t count for this article.
Tigers
Shifting to the American League Central, the Tigers also reinforced their bullpen. On the 28th, they traded Enrique Jiménez to the Twins for Chris Paddack and Randy Dobnak. Three days later, they acquired Rafael Montero for Jim Jarvis.
They were one of the busiest teams on Thursday, acquiring Codi Heuer for cash, Joseuth Quiñonez for Matt Manning, Paul Sewald for a PTBNL or cash, Kyle Finnegan for Josh Randall and R.J. Sales, and Charlie Morton for Micah Ashman.
None of those relievers are big names, so we’ll see if it pays off for them.
Royals
The Royals didn’t have an incredibly busy day, as two of their five trades came on July 26. First, they traded Cam Devanney for Adam Fraizer, followed by trading Andrew Hoffmann to the Arizona Diamondbacks for former Blue Jay, Randal Grichuk.
On Thursday, they acquired left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter for Evan Sisk and Callan Moss, before trading Freddy Fermin to the very busy San Diego Padres, receiving Ryan Bergert and Stephen Kolek. Their final move saw them acquire Mike Yastrzemski from the Giants for Yunior Marte.
Nothing big, as they sit three games outside a Wild Card spot.
Astros
Moving to the American League West, this division is going to be an absolute war. The Astros made their first trade on Wednesday, acquiring Ramón Urías from the Baltimore Orioles for Twine Palmer. On Thursday, they acquired Jesús Sánchez for Ryan Gutso.
However, their biggest move was reacquiring Carlos Correa from the Twins, as well as cash. In return, the Astros sent left-handed pitcher Matt Mikulski. Next to maybe the Mason Miller trade, this was one of the bigger trades of the day.
Correa isn’t the same player he was in his first stint with the Astros, but he had a strong season in 2024 when he posted a slash line of .310/.388/.517 with 14 home runs in 367 plate appearances. He’ll play third base for the Astros.
Rangers
Like the Blue Jays, Yankees, and Tigers, the majority of the Texas Rangers’ moves saw them improve their bullpen. They traded Codi Heuer to the Tigers, but then acquired Phil Manton for Mason Molina, Skylar Hales, and cash. Next up, the Rangers acquired Danny Coulombe from the, you guessed it, Twins. All it took was Garrett Horn.
By far their biggest move before the trade deadline was moving Kohl Drake, David Hagaman, and Mitch Bratt to the Pirates for starter Merrill Kelly. That’s another legitimate starter for a solid rotation.
Angels
The Angels didn’t sell at the deadline because they are just four games back of a Wild Card spot, despite not having a realistic chance to make it. They never learn.
On the 30th, they acquired two relievers, Andrew Chafin and Luis García, from the Washington Nationals for Jake Eder and Sam Brown. They then sent Wilberson De Pena and IFA bonus pool money to the Yankees for Oswald Peraza.
Should’ve given the Blue Jays Reid Detmers and Taylor Ward.
Mariners
The American League team that made the biggest splash at the deadline was the Seattle Mariners. Starting with the small trade, they acquired Caleb Ferguson from the Pirates for Jeter Martinez on Wednesday.
That doesn’t compare to their two other moves: trading for Eugenio Suárez and Josh Naylor. The former saw them move Tyler Locklear, Hunter Cranton, and Juan Burgos. While the Naylor move saw the Mariners trade Brandyn Garcia and Ashton Izzi on July 25.
Suárez has the third-most home runs in the big leagues this season, and Naylor is a great first baseman for the team. They may have had the best deadline for any team in the league.
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.