Best moves at 2024 MLB Trade Deadline

There were more than 60 trades finalized in the days leading up to this season’s July 30 Trade Deadline, including 32 on Deadline day alone.

One month later, which players have performed the best with their new teams? We’ve ranked the top 10 additions and thrown in a couple of honorable mentions for good measure.

All stats updated through Thursday.

1. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees
For most of the season, the Yankees’ offense has been propped up by Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. They have been an all-time great duo, but two players can do only so much for a lineup. Through July 27, the Bronx Bombers had a 116 wRC+, tied for the highest in the Majors. But their hitters who batted outside of the Nos. 2 and 3 spots — those have belonged almost exclusively to the MVP candidates — compiled a 91 wRC+. This group needed another potent bat.

Enter Chisholm, who was acquired on that date and quickly went about rewriting the Yanks’ record book, hitting a franchise-best seven homers in his first 12 games with the club. Even though his tenure was interrupted for 10 days by a sprained left elbow, Chisholm has been a consistent force for New York. He has bashed nine dingers, stolen five bases, and his 1.029 OPS since debuting for the Yankees ranks eighth in MLB (min. 80 plate appearances).

2. Paul DeJong, Royals
It’s one thing for big-ticket acquisitions to stand out in new uniforms. There’s an expectation that they will deliver big numbers immediately. DeJong, conversely, came to Kansas City with little fanfare. He was traded in a one-for-one swap for an unheralded prospect. The expectation? Maybe he would give the Royals more pop at third base, a position where they had registered a .351 slugging percentage and only seven homers through 108 games.

He has certainly done that. The eight-year veteran has slugged .563 and belted five homers in his first 21 games with Kansas City. His 15% barrel rate and .281 average are also far above what he accomplished in 102 games with the White Sox (9.6% and .228, respectively). Although correlation is not causation, the Royals’ .808 OPS since DeJong’s arrival on July 31 is the best in the American League.

3. Yusei Kikuchi, Astros
Kikuchi has emphasized his slider more with Houston while curbing his curveball, and the results have been fantastic. Getting about 2 1/2 more inches of vertical drop on the pitch, Kikuchi has recorded 16 strikeouts and allowed only four hits in 43 at-bats ending on his slider with the Astros. His overall K rate has jumped from 26.4% to 31%, and his 25.5% squared-up rate this month is tied for 9th among 103 pitchers (min. 150 competitive swings).

4. Jorge Soler, Braves
The Braves, like every good horror movie villain, just keep coming at you no matter how much damage they sustain. Already without reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. and second baseman Ozzie Albies, Atlanta lost slugger Austin Riley to a fractured right hand on Aug. 18. And yet, the Braves have won 12 of their past 17 games and hold a three-game edge for the final NL Wild Card.

The pitching staff deserves a lot of credit, posting an NL-best 2.75 ERA since Aug. 11, but Soler has helped cover the holes in the lineup with five homers and an .820 OPS in his second stint with the club. Soler, the 2021 World Series MVP with the Braves, remains a largely feast-or-famine hitter, but his 15 walks have led to a solid .358 on-base percentage.

5. Zach Eflin, Orioles
Eflin would likely be higher on this list if not for a bout of right shoulder inflammation that necessitated a trip to the injured list on Aug. 20. In four starts prior to his injury, the veteran right-hander turned in a 2.13 ERA with 25 strikeouts and two walks across 25 1/3 frames. Eflin’s cutter, his most frequent pitch with Baltimore, was especially effective as hitters went 3-for-32 — all singles — with 13 K’s against it.

The 30-year-old was nothing short of a godsend for the pitching-depleted O’s, who are already without starters Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and John Means for the rest of 2024. Grayson Rodriguez may not return from his lat strain until late September. However, there is good news on the horizon: Eflin’s IL stay appears to be a short one, and he could be back on the mound Sunday against the Rockies.

6. Jack Flaherty, Dodgers
Flaherty in a Dodgers uniform is a match that’s about 27 years in the making. A Southern California native, Flaherty’s homecoming has resulted in a 3.49 ERA, 34 strikeouts and seven walks through 28 1/3 innings. Although his K-BB% is not quite as good in L.A. as it was in Detroit, Flaherty’s 26.3% still ranks second in MLB, trailing only NL Cy Young favorite Chris Sale.

Putting together his best full season since 2019, Flaherty has exceeded expectations all year long and should play a prominent role on a Dodgers staff that will be burdened with sky-high expectations once the postseason begins. He, much like Kikuchi and Eflin, has provided a significant boost to banged-up rotation.

7. Michael Kopech, Dodgers
There are a handful of relievers we could have chosen for this list. A.J. Puk has been nails for the D-backs. Lucas Erceg began his Royals career with 12 1/3 scoreless innings. The Padres have three possibilities: Jason Adam, Bryan Hoeing and Tanner Scott. But we’ll stay in L.A. and move from the rotation to the ‘pen, where Kopech has been unbelievable in Dodger blue.

The 28-year-old has struck out 19 of the 45 batters he has faced while permitting one run on three hits over 13 1/3 innings. His opponents’ OPS is a minuscule .231. But the most important number for Kopech is 6.7%. That is his walk rate with the Dodgers. It’s a massive improvement for a pitcher who produced a 13.3% walk rate from the beginning of 2022 through July 30, a span of 293 1/3 frames.

8. Josh Bell, D-backs
Bell made the cut for this same list last year after he was dealt from Cleveland to Miami. This year, he left Miami while on an offensive roll, bashing five homers in his final nine games before moving to the desert on July 30. Bell kept raking with his new club, batting .300 with eight extra-base hits and a 1.012 OPS through his first 12 games for the surging D-backs.

Bell’s bat has quieted since then — he has a .541 OPS and no extra-base hits in his past 12 games — but when Arizona needed someone to fill the void at first base created by Christian Walker’s oblique injury, the switch-hitter filled in admirably. Now with Walker nearing a return, Bell looks like a useful depth piece in MLB’s highest-scoring offense.

9. Frankie Montas, Brewers
The Brewers made what could be considered the first move of Trade Deadline season when they got righty starter Aaron Civale from the Rays on July 3. He just had his best start for Milwaukee on Thursday. But the Brewers’ second addition to their rotation, Montas, has been a little bit better.

Perhaps energized by joining a first-place team, Montas has turned it up a notch since being acquired from Cincinnati on July 30. His velocity has increased by about 1 mph on each of his pitches. His barrel rate has fallen nearly five percentage points (8.8% to 3.9%) while his strikeout rate has gone up by almost the same amount (19.2% to 24.3%). Montas has limited opposing hitters to a .216/.278/.304 slash line through 27 innings, and the Brewers are 4-1 when he toes the rubber.

10. Martín Pérez, Padres
There probably won’t be room for Pérez in the Padres’ rotation if it’s at full strength come the postseason. However, the left-hander is doing what he can to ensure that San Diego will be in the playoff field. He owns a 2.70 ERA and a .220 opponents’ batting average in five starts (26 2/3 innings) since arriving from the Pirates on July 30.

Pérez’s move to the West Coast has come with many more curveballs; he is throwing his curve 28.5% with the Padres — more often than at any point in his 13-year career and much more often than when he was with Pittsburgh (10.4%). Expect to see plenty more big benders from Pérez until opponents find a way to do anything with it. His curveball in those five starts has held batters to a .156 average and a .338 OPS through 33 plate appearances.

Connor Norby, Marlins: The 24-year-old rookie set a Marlins record by recording six extra-base hits in his first six games. He is slashing .350/.422/.650 with 13 runs scored through 10 games with Miami.