There haven’t been any blockbuster deals via waiver trade over the last month, but there have still been a handful of notable deals worth analyzing. Over the next few slides, that’s exactly what we’ll do with our 2015 MLB waiver trade deadline grades.
Teams can only do so much after the July 31 trade deadline. It’s much more difficult to get a deal done in August, which is a big reason why most of the trades made are smaller, need-based moves.
For contenders, August is a final opportunity to plug glaring holes before the season’s final month. The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Texas Rangers and New York Mets have attempted to do that in the last few weeks with the likes of Chase Utley, Marlon Byrd, Will Venable, Mike Napoli and Addison Reed.
Of those moves, which ones were really worth making? Did the Dodgers really need Utley? How much of an impact can Napoli realistically have with his old team?
We’ll take a look at each of those situations and assign an appropriate grade to each deal. Make sure to let us know how you feel about these trades in the comments section below.
Let’s jump right into it!