Which Teams Were Top of the Class at the 2025 MLB Trade Deadline? 

The MLB’s trade deadline for the 2025 season passed on Thursday, July 31, marking the final date in the regular season that teams can trade players on their 40-man rosters. 

At The Athletic, Jim Bowden graded each team on their overall trade performance. In all, he gave out 5 A’s, 15 B’s, 7 C’s and 3 D’s in pre-deadline activity that he says saw several teams stock up on young talent in exchange for controllable veteran players. 

The Seattle Mariners got an A from Bowden, acquiring first baseman Josh Naylor and third baseman Eugenio Suárez from the Diamondbacks in separate deals. Bowden now thinks the Mariners are the favorites to win the AL West, and that they have a real shot to win their elusive first World Series in franchise history. 

The San Diego Padres also got top marks, however, picking up pitchers Mason Miller and JP Sears from the Athletics and hitters Ryan O’Hearn and Ramón Laureano from the Orioles.  

Bowden says the Padres have put themselves in a strong position to not only catch the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, but also to again be legitimate candidates to reach the World Series. 

Close behind with an A- were the Philadelphia Phillies, who landed the best available relief pitcher in Jhoan Duran from the Twins.  

The Phillies’ NL East rivals the New York Mets, however, also got the same grade from Bowden for doing the best job of building bullpen depth. Adding three former closers in Ryan Helsley, Tyler Rogers and Gregory Soto. 

Meanwhile, over in the AL East, the Boston Red Sox only earned a C- from Bowden.

Earlier in June, the Red Sox made a blockbuster trade with the San Francisco Giants of Rafael Devers for Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, Jose Bello and James Tibbs III.  

While the Red Sox have played much better since the Devers trade, Bowden says, they still likely didn’t do enough with their pre-deadline pitching acquisitions to catch their division rivals the Toronto Blue Jays or New York Yankees. Who earned a B and B+ for their trade deadline activity, respectively. 

All in all, Bowden’s grades were based on based on how much teams improved their situation through their pre-deadline trade activity—whether they’re rebuilding, trying to make the playoffs or pushing to win a championship.