There have been more manic trade deadlines in Major League Baseball history. There have also been quieter ones. All in all, the run-up to and beyond Monday afternoon's deadline felt fairly normal. That qualifies as at least a mild surprise during a season in which more obstacles were in place to undermine potential deals than ever before. Nevertheless, deals were made. Contenders bolstered their rosters; noncontenders focused on the long term.
Who were the winners and losers from the deadline activity? That's a question best answered after the season, of course, but that's not how this works. So let's dig in and try to make sense of what did -- and did not -- happen. The guiding principle of this analysis is that everything that has happened since the start of the season counts as "deadline" activity. This is about how teams have evolved since Opening Day.
