A week after trade deadline

In 2023, the MLB trade deadline was on August 1. Before the trade deadline, several teams decided to make some big changes. Some teams became sellers and, in the meantime, some teams aggressively tried to add more top players into the roster.

 

It’s been more than a week since the trade deadline. Let’s take a quick look to see some top pitchers’ performances. Do they enjoy throwing in the new uniform?

 

First of all, Shohei Ohtani isn’t going anywhere. He stays with the Angels. At the same time, he has new teammates. The Angels acquired Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox. Gilito made 21 starts for the White Sox in 2023, posting a 3.79 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP over 121 innings. Meanwhile, Lopez made 43 relief appearances for the White Sox and he owned a 4.29 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP through 42 innings. After joining the Angels, Giolito made 3 starts so far and gave up 15 earned runs in 15 innings. Opponents’ batting average against Giolito is .283. At the same time, Lopez seems to be comfortable wearing the Angels uniform, he now owns a 1.80 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP across 5 innings.

Also in Los Angeles, the Dodgers acquired 2 pitchers from the White Sox. Firstly, they added Lance Lynn in the rotation. Before the trade, Lynn made 21 starts for the White Sox and his ERA was over 6. In the Dodgers uniform, Lynn now has an ERA below 3 after making 2 starts. Additionally, Joe Kelly is back to the Dodgers. He hasn’t given up a run yet in 3.2 innings after returning to the Dodgers. While playing for the White Sox, Kelly posted a 4.97 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP over 29 innings.

 

On the other side of the United States, the New York Mets, which spent a lot during the offseason, decided to send Max Scherzer to the Rangers and trade Justin Verlander to the Astros. Max Scherzer made 19 starts for the Mets in 2023, posting a 4.01 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP over 107.2 innings. In the meantime, Justin Verlander owned a 3.15 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP over 94.1 innings in the Mets uniform. After being traded, Max Scherzer made 2 starts for the Rangers and earned 2 wins with a 2.77 ERA. At the same time, Verlander gave up 2 runs over 7 innings in his first start in the Astros uniform in 2023.

 

Finally, the Cleveland Guardians got pitcher Noah Syndergaard from the Dodgers. Syndergaard had an ERA over 7 when he was pitching for the Dodgers. After moving to Cleveland, he now has a 3.71 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP across 17 innings. Additionally, the Orioles are currently leading the AL East and they don’t want to stop. The Orioles acquired Jack Flaherty from the Cardinals. Flaherty owned a 4.43 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP with the Cardinals. After joining the Orioles, he owns a 3.27 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 11 innings.

 

It's been just 10 days after the trade deadline, and as we can see, some pitchers seem to be comfortable pitching for the new team. However, it’s too early to tell which team is the winner. Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn were in the White Sox to start the season and after the trade, will they shine in L.A. in the rest of the season? Moreover, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were teammates in New York and at this moment, they are rivals in Texas. It will surely be interesting to see them face each other.