3 trade deadline disasters that prove the Mets were right to sell

After spending historic money to compete for a World Series in 2023, the New York Mets quickly became the laughingstocks of the league when they decided to blow it up at the August 1st trade deadline.

Now just a month later, the Mets appear much better off than some of the other teams that decided to keep their cores intact. While they are firmly out of the playoff race for this season, the prospects they acquired are rising through the rankings and should contribute greatly over the next couple of seaons. Meanwhile, these three teams decided to stay in the 2023 race, and will almost certainly miss out on the playoffs with nothing to show for it.

The New York Yankees decided not to sell, and their collapse has made them regret that decision

Going into the 2023 trade deadline, the New York Yankees were in last place in the AL East and a long shot to make the playoffs. Unlike the Mets however, the Yankees decided to stand pat at the deadline, neither buying or selling and instead hoping that the return of Aaron Judge would catapult them back into contention.

In the month following, the worst case scenario for the Yankees ended up happening instead. They went 10-18 in August, which included a nine game losing streak that essentially ended their season. The Yankees pitching and hitting depth behind Gerrit Cole and Judge fell apart, and so did their playoff chances.

After weeks of losing and watching their wild card chances diminish, the team finally appears to have thrown in the towel, placing veterans on waivers in favor of getting opportunities for younger prospects. Josh Donaldson and Harrison Bader were released or placed on waivers, leaving fans wishing they would have traded them away for anything in return instead.

While both New York teams will almost certainly miss the playoffs, Mets fans are overall a lot happier going into 2024 than their Bronx counterparts. The Yankees have the star power to make them contenders, but not buying or selling at the deadline set themselves up for failure in the future.

The Los Angeles Angels became buyers instead of trading away Shohei Ohtani, and might lose him for nothing as a result

The Los Angeles Angels went for it at the trade deadline, becoming major buyers and trying to build a playoff worthy team around Shohei Ohtani. Instead, the team has fallen further out of contention over the past month, and might see Ohtani in a new uniform next season with nothing to show for it.

Of course, it's hard to blame the Angels aggression at the deadline for their misfortunes. They've suffered through countless injuries, with Mike Trout missing extended time and Ohtani's torn UCL being the major lowlights. Just about every player they've had in their starting lineup has had an IL stint, and the team went 8-19 in August to virtually eliminate them from the playoffs

The team also recently waived most of their deadline acquisitions as a sign that they've given up on the season. Just weeks after trading away some notable prospects to get Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez, they already appear to have given up and let those players find new teams to save some money.

However, now that it looks likely Ohtani will leave in free agency this offseason, the Angels front office has to wonder if they should've taken the Mets approach instead. Even on a one year deal, Ohtani would've created possibly the largest bidding war in baseball history. Every single contender could've used his services, and instead of bidding on him in the trade market, they'll be doing it in free agency while they Angels could be on the outside looking in.