This year's one-stop-shopping trade deadline has come and gone, and it's no exaggeration to say that several teams didn't check off every item on their lists. Many didn't even come close, and some teams didn't do anything of note. With the disappearance of the August waiver period and its arcane rules for making trades, teams either have to solve their remaining problems from within their organizations, or by grabbing someone via the waiver wire, or by trading players who are on minor league deals, which significantly limits their options. If you're looking for rotation help, Zack Wheeler ain't walking through that door.
What follows here is a look at 10 remaining holes on contenders -- more or less once around the diamond, with some doubling up. Several are ones that I identified in my annual replacement-level killers series, which ran at FanGraphs the week before the deadline. For that series, I identified contenders -- teams with records above .500 and with playoff odds of at least 10%, a definition that covered 17 teams at the time but is now down to 15 -- that had received less than 1.0 WAR at a given position and hadn't already addressed that situation with a trade, a late-arriving prospect or a recently returned stalwart. Each positional list generally ran three to six teams deep.
The killers series does not address pitching, however, because every team has multiple spots where they're dealing with the dregs on the mound. So here I'll bring that half of the game into the equation as well as highlight some of the killer holes that weren't fixed. Unless otherwise indicated, all stats are through Saturday.
New York Yankees: Rotation
Yankees starters were lit up for a 6.23 ERA and 5.82 FIP in July. From July 21-27, they went 0-for-7 in getting at least five innings from a starter, and only one of their final 12 starts of the month was a quality start. Masahiro Tanaka's splitter has abandoned him, CC Sabathia's right knee has sent him to the injured list for the second time this season, and both free agent J.A. Happ and trade acquisition James Paxton have been disappointments. Domingo German, who has pitched as well as any Yankees starter lately, will run out of innings at some point, and there's no guarantee that Luis Severino, who has been sidelined all season due to rotator cuff inflammation and a lat strain, can rejoin the rotation.
The market was awash in mid-rotation starters, and even with their minor league system down relative to recent years, general manager Brian Cashman needed to land some help, and could have used outfielders Clint Frazier and/or Estevan Florial to get it. With the Astros adding Zack Greinke, the separation between the American League's top two teams has widened.
Boston Red Sox: Closer
I've written about Boston's bullpen woes enough times that I might break the record for sounding like a broken record. The short version is that they failed to adequately replace free agents Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly, and have watched Ryan Brasier, a key late-inning arm, pitch his way back to Triple-A Pawtucket. As of the deadline, their bullpen FIP (based on strikeout, walk and home run rates) ranked a respectable fifth in the AL, but they were 10th in ERA (4.53) and last in walk rate (10.6 percent).
President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski's plan to use Nathan Eovaldi as the closer -- after he just returned from arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies in his right elbow -- appears flawed given his inexperience in the role and his track record for health. Eovaldi has been shaky in his five outings since returning. Whether pursuing a rental like the Giants' Will Smith or a controlled player like the Tigers' Shane Greene, the Mets' Edwin Diaz or even Smith's teammate Sam Dyson, the Sox could have made an upgrade. It wouldn't have been painless, but for a defending champion that's already carrying a $236 million payroll, to risk missing the postseason this way is inexcusable.
Los Angeles Dodgers: Setup reliever
After being torched for an 8.35 ERA and 5.57 FIP through the end of May, Joe Kelly, the Dodgers' big offseason addition for the bullpen -- has pitched better, posting a 2.12 ERA and 2.52 FIP in June and July. But Kenley Jansen has looked shaky (4.24 ERA and 3.58 FIP in June and July), and the other principals of the relief corps besides multi-inning youngster Julio Urias have either taken a step back (Pedro Baez, Caleb Ferguson), gotten hurt (Scott Alexander, Dylan Floro, Ross Stripling) or demonstrated themselves to be too fringy to begin with (Yimi Garcia).
There was good reason not to surrender catching prospect Keibert Ruiz and either righty Dustin May or infielder Gavin Lux -- three of the top 12 prospects in the minors by FanGraphs' reckoning -- for the Pirates' Felipe Vazquez. But as with the Red Sox, they could have done something more impactful than obtaining sinkerballing lefty Adam Kolarek from the Rays and picking up Sox castoff Tyler Thornburg off the scrapheap to alleviate the pressure that's on Jansen and Kelly.
Boston Red Sox: First base/DH
Between multiple injuries to both World Series MVP Steve Pearce (calf and lower back strains plus a knee sprain, the last of which is still causing setbacks) and Mitch Moreland (quad strain and back woes), and the cooling off of rookie Michael Chavis, who initially filled in ably at second base, Sox first basemen have combined to hit just .238/.331/.431. Their 85 wRC+ and minus-0.5 fWAR both rank in the majors' bottom five, below every other contender. Meanwhile, the 95 wRC+ they've gotten from their DHs (.253/.329/.433) is tied with the Rays and A's for the AL's third-worst, and their minus-0.1 WAR is fourth-worst.
Some of the latter situation owes to the small-sample weirdness of J.D. Martinez hitting much better while playing the field (154 wRC+) than DHing (125), and every other player passing through the latter spot combining for a pitcher-esque .159/.240/.242. The bottom line is that when you put together those situations, the lukewarm production of left fielder Andrew Benintendi (114 wRC+, admittedly with stronger work in recent weeks), the streakiness and struggles of Jackie Bradley Jr. (86 wRC+) and the team's modest 98 wRC+ against lefties, there's clearly room for another bat -- preferably a right-handed one. The Brewers' Jesus Aguilar (who was traded to the Rays) would have been a very good fit, while the Tigers' Nicholas Castellanos (who landed with the Cubs), could have helped as a platoon DH option.
Oakland Athletics: Second base
As exciting as it was to see former consensus No. 1 prospect Jurickson Profar dealt to the A's and have a clear path to a full-time job, the results have been dismal. Profar has hit just .206/.270/.381 for a 70 wRC+, and A's second basemen as a group (including Chad Pinder and top prospect Franklin Barreto) have combined for a 63 wRC+ and -0.7 WAR, both second-worst in the majors.
While the A's improved their pitching depth by adding starters Homer Bailey and Tanner Roark and lefty reliever Jake Diekman, they skirted their keystone problems. Considering that former Athletic Eric Sogard -- who's in the midst of a breakout year with the bat (.303/.367/.497 with 12 homers) -- was dealt from Toronto to Tampa Bay for two players to be named later, this was a missed opportunity.
Milwaukee Brewers: Shortstop
At a time when a wave of incredible young talent at shortstop has pushed the position's league-wide production to an unprecedented 100 wRC+ -- which is to say, league average across all positions -- Orlando Arcia is a throwback to the days when the position's denizens couldn't hit a lick. Through 1,521 career plate appearances, he owns a 71 wRC+ (.246/.296/.366), and he's at 69 this year as well (.229/.295/.367). Combine that with sketchy defense (minus-3.5 UZR) and you've got a player below replacement level for the third year out of four.
The Brewers' ready alternative, 25-year-old Mauricio Dubon, was dealt to the Giants on deadline day in exchange for relievers Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black. Sogard (who spent time in Milwaukee), the Orioles' Jonathan Villar (another ex-Brewer) or the Blue Jays' Freddy Galvis represented potential upgrades as well. Now, their alternatives are reheated veterans like Tyler Saladino, Hernan Perez and Cory Spangenberg, all currently stashed at Triple-A San Antonio.
St. Louis Cardinals: Third base
Matt Carpenter spent most of 2018 looking like an MVP contender while hitting a career-high 36 homers and splitting his time between the infield corners. The trade for Paul Goldschmidt sent Carpenter back to third base, but he has slumped to .215/.321/.372 (86 RC+) with 0.3 fWAR (compared to last year's 4.9) and missed time due to lower back woes and foul balls off both his left knee and right foot. Self-inflicted shots aside, Statcast shows that his quality of contact has deteriorated; his hard-hit rate has fallen from last year's 44.7 percent to 34.3 percent.
Had Jedd Gyorko not been limited to 38 games by a lower back strain and arthroscopic surgery on his right wrist (which will sideline him until September), the Cardinals would have had an easy alternative; Gyorko was dealt to the Dodgers last week. Rookie Tommy Edman, who placed 20th on the Cardinals' prospect list in November, has scuffled (.248/.281/.411 in 135 PA), while Yairo Munoz has a 74 wRC+ in 147 plate appearances overall. Other than the Gyorko trade (which netted two pitchers who are out for the season) and the acquisition of reliever Zac Rosscup, the Cardinals stood pat at the deadline, bypassing both a third-base fix as well as a chance to upgrade a rotation that has largely disappointed this year.
Oakland Athletics: Left field and DH
Between Robbie Grossman (.247/.341/.363, 93 wRC+), Chad Pinder (his platoon partner) and others, the A's have received just an 80 wRC+, seven homers and 0.3 WAR from their left fielders. They've gotten less than nothing (minus-0.1 WAR) from their DHs, as Khris Davis has battled hip, oblique and hand injuries while hitting .230/.296/.399 for an 83 wRC+ overall and a 61 wRC+ since the start of June. Pending free agents such as Castellanos and Yasiel Puig were both available, and in theory, so was the Royals' Alex Gordon, but the A's stood pat while hoping that the return of Stephen Piscotty from a sprained right knee would provide a shot in the arm; alas, he has sputtered (.247/.311/.393, 89 wRC+) as well.
Atlanta Braves: Right field
Last summer, Nick Markakis made the first All-Star team, but a second-half slump took some of the shine off his 2018 season. This year, the 35-year-old veteran hit a modest .284/.358/.429 (104 wRC+), while his defense declined precipitously (from 1.1 UZR to minus-5.8, or 2 defensive runs saved to minus-8). To add injury to insult, he suffered a fractured left wrist when hit by a pitch on July 27 and will miss six to eight weeks.
While the Braves upgraded their bullpen with Shane Greene, Mark Melancon and Chris Martin, they looked in-house to address right field, recalling 30-year-old Adam Duvall from Triple-A Gwinnett, where he'd homered 29 times in 94 games. Duvall hit 79 homers for the Reds from 2016-18, albeit with just a 92 wRC+, including a homerless 6-for-53 after being acquired by the Braves last August. He's off to a much better start this time around, clubbing five homers in eight games while splitting time at both outfield corners. Still, his career performance (95 wRC+) and that of Ender Inciarte (94 wRC+, and 82 this year) suggest that even Markakis' production will be hard to replace.
Philadelphia Phillies: Center field
Between the domestic violence-related arrest and suspension of Odubel Herrera, the injuries to Andrew McCutchen (a season-ending torn left ACL) and Roman Quinn (a Grade 2 groin strain), the struggles of rookie Adam Haseley and the fill-in work of Scott Kingery, Phillies center fielders have hit just .218/.289/.375 for a 74 wRC+ with -0.1 WAR. Though 25-year-old Kingery has rebounded from a dismal 2018 rookie season to hit .270/.331/.491 (113 wRC+) while spotting at all three outfield positions, as well as at second and third base and shortstop, the metrics suggest he was stretched in center (minus-1.0 UZR, minus-3 DRS), where he has seen the bulk of his duty. But now Kingery will be spending more time at third base after the demotion of Maikel Franco over the weekend. The trade market wasn't exactly awash in options to play center, but that's what happens when you leave your shopping until the last minute.