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- The MLB’s August 3 trade deadline came and went, and with the expanded postseason, fewer ball clubs are willing to give up on their pennant hopes these days. There were, of course, still plenty of moves made. Unfortunately, those moves don’t always pan out the way the buyers hope. With around 5o games left in the regular season, the book on everyone’s trade deadline moves is far from finished, but even so, some of the deals have been nothing short of disappointing. For the purposes of this list, we’ll only be looking at players already in the big leagues, meaning struggling or injured prospects won’t be included. 3. Joey Bart-Chicago White Sox The White Sox have been the best story in the MLB this season. Just two years after breaking the MLB’s single-season loss record by going 41-121, the White Sox have been in the driver’s seat of the AL Central since early July. As great as the Sox’s season has gone, the Chicago backstops have left a lot to be desired. Promising young catcher Kyle Teel suffered a Grade 2 right hamstring strain while trying to beat out a double for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. In his place, the White Sox have turned to Edgar Quero and Drew Romo. The results have been… not great. Chicago has the worst OPS in the MLB for the catcher position, and Teel wasn’t healthy for long before a high-ankle sprain forced him back onto the IL. The Sox responded by dealing for Braves catcher Joey Bart at the deadline. Bart wasn’t a splashy move by any means, but offered the Sox lineup some much-needed consistency. Unfortunately, Bart, like Teel, was quickly lost to injury after suffering a fracture in his hand after a HBP. It’s certainly not Bart’s fault, but nonetheless, the Sox are back to the Quero-Romo duo and doing their best to stay afloat until Teel and/or Bart can make a return. 2. Freddy Peralta-Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are in a dogfight with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to stay in control of what has turned into an ultra-competitive AL East. The Rays entered the deadline in first place in the division; still, they don’t have the same loaded lineup as the Yankees or Sox. Knowing this, the Rays made a move to shore up their rotation, acquiring veteran Freddy Peralta from the New York Mets. Peralta struggled for the Mets this season, but the Rays were hopeful that his experience and a change of scenery would combine to give their rotation what it needed to make a run deep into Autumn. Instead, Peralta’s struggles appear to have followed him. In two starts with Tampa Bay, Peralta has gone 9.2 IP and given up 10 ER. The Rays are still finding ways to win, but if they keep having to win despite PEralthya rather than because of him, the experiment may be ended soon. 1. Tarik Skubal-Los Angeles Dodgers The most controversial move of the deadline was without a doubt the Los Angeles Dodgers’ acquisition of two-time Cy Young-winning pitcher Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers. The Dodgers have such a hoard of talent that the move led to serious debate on whether the MLB was “broken.” Surprisingly, Skubal’s presence in LA has not gone the way anyone foresaw, least of all the Dodgers. In two starts with Los Angeles, the starter has given up 5 earned runs in 11 innings. Not the worst numbers by any means, but certainly not the sort of production Los Angeles dealt for. Skubal’s addition was meant to all but seal up a third straight World Series for LA. Instead, the Dodgers enter Wednesday with just three wins since the deadline, and would have to compete in the Wild Card round of the postseason. Hard to imagine what seemed at the time like a slam dunk going much worse than this.