I was wrong.

I find myself saying that far more than I used to — not because I’m wrong more frequently these days but because, as a dad to three young children, I want to model owning my mistakes out loud. It seems to help.

So, why not take that stance as a trade grader?

Today, The Athletic’s MLB writers are revisiting grades we gave out at last year’s trade deadline. We selected 15 impactful trades from the 2025 trade deadline and audited our work, placing each into one of three categories: Grades we got right, grades we got wrong, and grades still pending. For trades we reassessed where the revised grades for both teams shifted by plus/minus two steps or fewer — a B- to a B+, say — that’s a trade we got right. Any trade where the grade for either team moved by two steps or more, like a B down to a C? Well, we got that one wrong.

When the Pittsburgh Pirates traded third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Cincinnati Reds, I felt like I had a good read on the situation. I was covering the Pirates when they drafted Hayes. I dropped a feature when he debuted. I had a running bit for each homer. I was realistic about his floor and ceiling.

When the Pirates in 2022 signed Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million extension, he was an all-world defender with peripherals that pointed to a breakout at bat. But, by last July, the club was tired of waiting. Pittsburgh traded Hayes for shortstop prospect Sammy Stafura and reliever Taylor Rogers, who was then flipped to the Chicago Cubs. It felt a little cheap: Would a big-payroll club feel the need to dump a contract of that size?

Still, Stafura’s upside was significant, so I gave the Pirates a B+. I handed the Reds a B- but wrote they’d “look like geniuses” if Hayes started hitting.

Hayes is batting .146 with a .418 OPS this season, with scant power, despite a hitter’s home park, and continued lower-back issues. He is platooning. He is guaranteed at least $29 million after this season. Meanwhile, the 21-year-old shortstop Stafura is batting .311 with a 1.015 OPS at High A.

Mea culpa. Here’s a regrade:

Pirates: A
Reds: D (hedging in case that breakout ever comes)
Me: F

Grades we got rightIn Josh Naylor, Mariners acquire slugger they’ve been missing

Mariners get: 1B Josh Naylor
Diamondbacks get: LHP Brandyn Garcia, RHP Ashton Izzi

Original grades
Mariners: A-
Diamondbacks: B-

A year ago, Mariners president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto had clear holes at the infield corners. He acted early to land Naylor and was richly rewarded. Naylor slashed .299/.341/.490 down the stretch with nine homers and a somewhat shocking 19 steals. After starting the postseason with a 0-for-13 rut, Naylor batted .471 with a 1.308 OPS the rest of October.

At the time of the trade, Arizona’s return felt light but roughly in line with market expectations for a rental first baseman. Diamondbacks GM Mike Hazen will feel all right about the result now. Lefty reliever Brandyn Garcia has a 1.69 ERA in 26 2/3 MLB innings this season, and Double-A starter Ashton Izzi is ranked by Baseball America as the organization’s No. 15 prospect. — Nesbitt

Regrade
Mariners: A
Diamondbacks: B

Blue Jays land Louis Varland, Ty France from the Twins at the buzzer

Blue Jays get: RHP Louis Varland, 1B Ty France
Twins get: OF Alan Roden, LHP Kendry Rojas

Original grades
Blue Jays: A
Twins: B-

Spot on — for Toronto, at least. Considering Varland’s performance and length of club control, the Twins should lose a grade for not getting more in return. Varland was indispensable in the Jays’ run to the pennant, appearing in seven of their 10 postseason victories and providing shutout relief in three of their close World Series losses. He parlayed that success into his first All-Star appearance this month, and cannot be a free agent until after the 2030 season. France did his part in a limited role, batting .277 with a hit and an RBI in the World Series before signing with the San Diego Padres.

As for the Twins, Roden has hit worse for them than he did in Toronto, where his average was .204. Rojas, a 23-year-old lefty from Cuba, has been mostly effective in long relief and spot starts, but he’s issued 18 walks in 21 2/3 innings and won’t sustain success without better control. — Tyler Kepner

Regrade
Blue Jays: A+
Twins: C

Yankees acquire Ryan McMahon from Rockies, fill key need at third base

Yankees get: 3B Ryan McMahon
Rockies get: LHP Griffin Herring, RHP Josh Grosz

Original grades
Yankees: B-
Rockies: A

The Rockies’ A was almost a participation trophy. At least they’d done something! Herring has since struggled, but that’s the inevitable risk of acquiring an arm while dumping salary. Grosz has since been flipped to acquire outfielder Jake McCarthy from the Diamondbacks, and McCarthy has been excellent. Again, the sort of thing the Rockies should be doing.

The trade obviously looks bad for the Yankees. McMahon hasn’t hit. But that’s also true of the other two third basemen traded at last year’s deadline — Eugenio Suárez and Hayes — and it doesn’t appear the Yankees gave up much. Before the trade, the 2025 Yankees had gotten -0.7 fWAR from their third basemen. Afterward, McMahon and Amed Rosario led the charge to a (comparatively) whopping 0.9 fWAR. McMahon, who has produced 0.7 fWAR this season, is still better than the options the Yankees had. That’s enough for a passing grade, though probably more of a C than a B-. — Chad Jennings

Regrade
Yankees: C+
Rockies: B+

Yankees address top need by landing reliever David Bednar from Pirates

Yankees get: RHP David Bednar
Pirates get: C/1B Rafael Flores, C Edgleen Perez, OF Brian Sanchez

Original grades
Yankees: B
Pirates: B-

If anything, I should have been more enthusiastic about the return for the Yankees. Bednar has been a good, if unspectacular addition to the Yankees bullpen. He took over as the closer and has remained in that role in 2026. If the club goes on a deep run this coming October, he will be trusted to secure important outs. To acquire him, the Yankees gave up a trio of players who would have been unlikely to contribute in the Bronx in the near-future. Although I’m sure you could find a Yankees fan who prefers Flores, the Pirates’ rookie backup catcher, to Austin Wells. — Andy McCullough

Regrade
Yankees: A-
Pirates: C+

Red Sox get Steven Matz as Cardinals’ deadline sell-off continues

Red Sox get: LHP Steven Matz
Cardinals get: 1B/3B Blaze Jordan

Original grades
Red Sox: B+
Cardinals: A

The Red Sox made the postseason by just two games, and while the difference can’t all be chalked up to Matz’s 2.08 ERA in 21 ⅔ regular-season innings, he was part of a larger September push that worked. While neither of his two scoreless outings in the postseason came in the one game the Red Sox won, it was still a pure and wholesome trade deadline experience. Get a grizzled vet, have him pitch well on the way to the postseason, and give it the ol’ college try when you get there. Bully for the Red Sox, then. 

The Cardinals might be excited about this trade for a lot longer, though. While Blaze Jordan isn’t a speedy center fielder with 50 steals, which seems like it should violate FTC regulations, he might be the Cards’ third baseman of the future. He hasn’t done much in the majors since his debut earlier this season, but he has a long track record of good swing decisions in the minors, and he has loads of raw, untapped power. This is the kind of deadline return for a pending free agent reliever that front offices dream about.

Also: Even though the name doesn’t fit Blaze in terms of his baseball profile, he still does look like a guy from your dorms who named his pet turtle after himself, something like “Li’l Blaze” or “Blazeito”, so it’s still a 70-grade baseball name, don’t get us wrong. Baseball needs more Blaze Jordans. — Grant Brisbee

Regrade
Red Sox: B-
Cardinals: A

Phillies upgrade outfield, acquire defensive wiz Harrison Bader from Twins

Phillies get: OF Harrison Bader
Twins get: OF Hendry Mendez, RHP Geremy Villoria

Original grades
Phillies: A
Twins: A

It was obvious Bader was going to fit in perfectly with the Phillies’ brand of lunk-fueled chicanery, and he did, with some of the best sustained offensive production of his career (.305/.361/.463, 1.3 bWAR). The Phillies didn’t survive long enough to get Bader his postseason moment, but he would have had one, and would have involved a lot of large, bearded men congratulating him back in the dugout. It didn’t happen, but the Phillies get credit for the vision.

As for the Twins, they got two prospects. The pitcher, Villoria, is still a teenager in the complex leagues, so we’ll know more about him in a decade or so. If he’s a middle reliever who pitches an inning in the 2043 World Series, remember that we called it here. 

The prize of the deal, however, might be Mendez, who’s already reached Triple A and should reach the majors for the Twins within the next calendar year. He’s a tall, spindly fellow who might grow into some power as he matures, but he’s hit at every level, even after joining a new organization and getting promoted. Every team with a rental player at the 2026 deadline is hoping for something like this trade, at least in spirit. — Brisbee

Regrade
Phillies: A-
Twins: A

Grades we got wrong

Eugenio Suárez seemed like he would fit perfectly with the Mariners, but his post-trade production underwhelmed. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)

The all-in Mariners land the big bat they coveted in Eugenio Suárez

Mariners get: Eugenio Suárez
Diamondbacks get: 1B Tyler Locklear, RHP Hunter Cranton, RHP Juan Burgos

Original grades
Mariners: A
Diamondbacks: B

The Mariners needed another bat, and why not reunite with the lovable Suárez coming off a stellar first half? After the trade, Suárez hit only .189, though he did pop 13 home runs. His OPS was .897 with the Diamondbacks and .682 with the Mariners. Suárez hit .213 with three home runs in the postseason. Given Seattle’s deep run, it’s hard to knock any move intended to make the team better. But imagine if he had not cooled off.

Locklear remains the most interesting prospect Arizona got back. He recently made his debut after hitting .313 in Triple A. The Diamondbacks have the worst production from first basemen in the majors this year. Locklear’s bat can play, but there are serious limits to his right-handed, first-base profile. Cranton had season-ending hip surgery early this spring. Burgos has thrown 2 2/3 innings in the majors and punched out only 6.1 batters per nine innings in Triple A. This deal felt huge at the time, but unless Locklear’s bat takes off, it might go down as a shoulder shrug. — Cody Stavenhagen

Regrade
Mariners: B-
Diamondbacks: B

Mets continue bullpen revamp, add Ryan Helsley from Cardinals

Mets get: RHP Ryan Helsley
Cardinals get: 2B/SS Jesús Báez, RHP Nate Dohm and RHP Frank Elissalt

Original grades
Mets: B
Cardinals: B

For a baseball executive trying to make a trade, the relief market can be the toughest to navigate. A reliever’s performance can be volatile under the best of circumstances, and it can be hard to predict how he will pitch upon uprooting his life and joining a new club. Mets executive David Stearns was banking on Helsley mowing down hitters as part of a dynamic late-game relief corps. So was I. Seemed like a good move, at the time. Instead, Helsley started tipping his pitches, posted a 7.20 ERA with the Mets, and the team missed the postseason. Turned out to be a disaster. — McCullough

Regrade
Mets: C
Cardinals: B

Yankees add Giants closer Camilo Doval to cap reliever trading spree

Yankees get: RHP Camilo Doval
Giants get: 3B/OF Parks Harber, C/OF Jesús Rodríguez, LHP Carlos De La Rosa, RHP Trystan Vrieling

Original grades
Yankees: A
Giants: B-

Doval has been worth -1.1 bWAR in his year with the Yankees, which sure doesn’t look like an A grade anymore. Since blowing a save May 9 in Milwaukee, Doval has lost his role as a high-leverage reliever. The Yankees have gone 7-17 since then when Doval pitches, quite a comedown for a guy who in 2023 made an All-Star team while earning 39 saves. That track record made him a worthwhile pick-up, but it just hasn’t worked. Doval has allowed about two more hits per nine innings for New York while striking out two fewer hitters per nine.

The Giants got farm-system depth, with three of the four minor leaguers acquired in the trade appearing on Keith Law’s preseason top-20 Giants prospect list: Harber (No. 12), Rodríguez (No. 13) and De La Rosa (No. 19). Rodriguez, 24, has hit consistently in the minors (.305/.391/.447 in 456 games) and was recalled by the Giants this month. — Kepner

Regrade
Yankees: C
Giants: B

Carlos Correa rejoins Astros in stunning trade with Twins

Astros get: SS/3B Carlos Correa
Twins get: LHP Matt Mikulski

Original grades
Astros: C-
Twins: C+

This trade was worse for the Astros and better for the Twins than initially thought. Correa actually played well for the Astros last season, hitting .290 with six home runs down the stretch. Houston failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. Although Minnesota covered $30 million of the $96 million left on Correa’s deal, taking on that contract now looks like a disaster. Correa played only 32 games this year before undergoing season-ending ankle surgery. He will be 32 next season, and even if he can recapture production it’s hard to envision Correa being worth even two-thirds of his $31 million salary.

Mikulski was never hailed as much of a prospect. The Twins released him after the season. Still, they must be thrilled to be off the hook for $66 million of Correa’s guaranteed money. They can at least move forward in reshaping their team without the baggage of that contract. — Stavenhagen

Regrade
Astros: D
Twins: A-

Twins trade Griffin Jax to Rays for Taj Bradley in last-second deal

Rays get: RHP Griffin Jax
Twins get: RHP Taj Bradley

Original grades
Rays: B+
Twins: B-

A year ago, I wrote: “It’s hard to trust that Minnesota will get more out of (Bradley) than the Rays were able to.” That was some bad analysis. Bradley has been a key reason for the Twins’ overperformance in 2026, posting 2.8 WAR and a 116 ERA+. He’s transformed into a very solid big-league starter.

I did like this trade for the Rays a year ago, and that belief has generally paid off, though not fully. Tampa Bay took a struggling reliever in Jax and turned him into a solid, above-league-average starting pitcher. In that sense, it’s been a win. Still, Jax is worth just 0.2 bWAR this season, and his underlying metrics suggest his stats are a little better than his expected numbers. Jax only has one-plus years of team control remaining, while Bradley doesn’t hit arbitration until next year. The Twins seem to have won this trade, which isn’t easy to do against Tampa Bay. — Sam Blum

Regrade
Rays: C
Twins: A

Jury’s still out

Mason Miller is great. It’s hard to know whether this trade was or not. (Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)

With Mason Miller deal, Padres GM A.J. Preller did what he does best

Padres get: RHP Mason Miller and LHP J.P. Sears
Athletics get: SS Leo De Vries, RHP Braden Nett, RHP Henry Báez and RHP Eduarniel Nuñez

Original grades
Padres: B+
Athletics: A

It’s complicated. Miller has done his part. With San Diego, he has held opponents to a sub-.150 slugging percentage. Yeah, slugging percentage. The Padres acquired a reliever so lethal he sits in his own tier of closers. The problem is, he pitches the ninth. He can’t hit. He doesn’t start games. So, the Padres traded an A-list prospect for a guy who, as dominant as he is, couldn’t prevent A.J. Preller from having to consider trading him away a year later. Miller has three-plus years of team control, so he’ll have a healthy market if the Padres opt to dangle him. We might need to wait on that before we revise our grade. Teams are typically reluctant to part with prospects as talented as Leo De Vries, though. If only Preller could trade with himself.

It’s certainly a home run for the A’s, as De Vries — who doesn’t turn 20 until October — has flourished at Double A this season and is a consensus top-10 prospect in the league. When the A’s begin operations in LV, LDV should be a prized attraction. — Zack Meisel

Phillies find what they need in Jhoan Duran, Twins ‘win,’ too

Phillies get: RHP Jhoan Duran
Twins get: RHP Mick Abel and C Eduardo Tait

Original grades
Phillies: A
Twins: A-

There’s no more deliberation on the Phillies’ side. Duran is the best NL reliever not named Mason Miller, and he remains an ideal fit for a team firmly in the World Series hunt. Last year’s bases-loaded walk in the playoffs notwithstanding, Duran has been exceptional for a team that long struggled to build a bullpen.

At the time of the trade, Abel was an almost perfect combination of big-league readiness and long-term upside — a first-round pick who seemed to be figuring things out in the upper levels. But he’s been on the injured list since April with an elbow issue, and his MLB results have been spotty. Tait remains a high-upside, risk-reward catcher, and he could ultimately swing this trade one way or the other. But the initial uncertainty with Abel is enough, for now, to knock the Twins grade down a notch or two. — Jennings

Blue Jays bolster rotation with former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber

Blue Jays get: RHP Shane Bieber
Guardians get: RHP Khal Stephen

Original grades
Blue Jays: B+
Guardians: A

Bieber was a necessary acquisition for Toronto, who gambled that he would return to form post-injury. Bieber did, posting a 3.57 ERA across seven regular-season starts and a 3.86 ERA in the playoffs. To get him, the Jays gave up Stephen, who quickly became one of the Guardians’ top prospects. He might have helped the big-league team this year if not for UCL surgery in early July. It’s too early to say what Stephen will be. While Bieber, who picked up the player option on his contract, has been limited to six games this season, the Jays did what win-now teams should do: try to win now.

If Stephen turns into the next Paul Skenes, sure, it will be a sore spot in Toronto. If he’s a bust, you make that trade five times over. It will probably take a few years before we can make a call on this one. — Brittany Ghiroli

Padres double dip, adding Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano from Orioles

Padres get: 1B/OF Ryan O’Hearn, OF Ramón Laureano, cash
Orioles get: LHP Boston Bateman, RHP Tanner Smith, RHP Tyson Neighbors, 2B/SS Cobb Hightower, IF/OF Brandon Butterworth, 1B Victor Figueroa

Original grades
Padres: B+
Orioles: A-

O’Hearn and Laureano were both pretty decent for the Padres after the trade. But it ultimately didn’t lead to a playoff run, with San Diego getting bounced in the wild-card round. Laureano had an .812 OPS in 50 games for the Padres in 2025. O’Hearn had a .736 OPS. The Orioles got a high grade here, and I’m cautious to pour too much cold water on that, given that the top two prospects were nowhere close to MLB-ready. Neighbors, however, has a 10.02 ERA across High A and Double A this year, and was hurt. Bateman, the prized return prospect, has seen an uptick in walks but remains a top prospect. Victor Figueroa has, however, had a breakout in the Orioles system, clubbing 22 homers in just 78 High-A games this season. I still like this trade more for Baltimore than San Diego. However, I’m not sold that either deserves a particularly high grade. — Blum