Winners and losers from the 2015 MLB trade deadline

Tap here to access our MLB Trade Tracker, which includes all trades and rumors leading up to the July 31 trade deadline.

An impressive collection of ballplayers changed organizations in the last few days ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, with teams either loading up for a postseason run or preparing for the future. It remains to be seen whether the Houston Astros' addition of Carlos Gomez or the Phillies' haul for Cole Hamels will pay dividends, but, if nothing else, the deadline made for compelling drama by putting some recognizable faces in unfamiliar uniforms.

Here are the winners and losers from the 2015 non-waiver trade deadline:

Winners

Toronto Blue Jays

You no longer need to splurge on All-Star Game tickets to watch Troy Tulowitzki, David Price, Josh Donaldson, and Jose Bautista play baseball in the same building. You just need a passport. After more than two decades without postseason baseball, Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos pushed all his chips into the middle of the table, swapping a boatload of prospects for both Price and Tulowitzki (and LaTroy Hawkins), before brokering deals for Ben Revere and Mark Lowe. Though the acquisition cost was high, the myriad additions should thrust the Blue Jays - who have the second-best run differential in the majors - into a wild-card berth, at the least. And, despite injecting a ridiculous amount of talent into his 25-man roster, Anthopoulos still held on to Marcus Stroman, Roberto Osuna, and Aaron Sanchez.

Kansas City Royals

After watching his team succeed in spite of its rotation through the first four months of the season, general manager Dayton Moore added the premium starter he sorely needed by shipping three minor-league left-handers - none of them elite - to Cincinnati for two months of Johnny Cueto. By adding Cueto, the Royals can give their vaunted but overworked bullpen a bit of a rest down the stretch (at least once every five days), while also providing Ned Yost with a starter he can send to the mound in the postseason with a modicum of confidence. As for Ben Zobrist? He's a versatile veteran who can still hit (121 wRC+), and will give the Royals considerable lineup depth when Alex Gordon returns from injury (presuming Yost installs Zobrist as the everyday second baseman over Omar Infante and his .573 OPS).

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Pirates didn't land any marquee names at the deadline, but shrewdly improved areas that were already strong without parting ways with any of their top prospects. Joakim Soria - he of the 2.85 ERA and 1.05 WHIP - joins a bullpen with the second-best park-adjusted ERA in the National League. J.A. Happ, meanwhile, could make a few starts down the stretch in place of Charlie Morton or Vance Worley, owners of a combined 4.71 ERA this season. Michael Morse provides Clint Hurdle a right-handed complement to Pedro Alvarez, who's allergic to left-handed pitching (.596 OPS). Marginal gains will suffice when you have the second-best winning percentage in the National League.

New York Mets

Undeterred after a reported deal for Carlos Gomez crumbled and negotiations for Jay Bruce fizzled, the Mets persisted. They landed the big bat they so coveted just moments before the deadline, acquiring Yoenis Cespedes from Detroit for a pair of pitching prospects. With Cespedes, who boasts a 125 OPS+ with 18 homers this season, the Mets' abysmal offense may eke out enough runs to support their talented staff, and - rather than vie for a wild-card berth - eliminate the three-game gap between themselves and the division-leading Washington Nationals. Even if the next two months amount to nothing, it's not like the Mets will miss the two kids they sent to the Tigers; between Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, Jacob deGrom, Steven Matz, and Zack Wheeler, the Mets probably won't have a vacancy in their rotation for the next half-decade.

Losers

San Diego Padres

A.J. Preller must've exhausted himself turning over San Diego's roster this winter. The newly hired general manager was shockingly quiet at the deadline, which passed before the Padres were able to make any moves of consequence. Though few teams surfaced in trade rumors as frequently as the Padres, the club didn't even unload their expiring assets who won't be turned into compensatory draft picks at season's end, namely Ian Kennedy and Will Venable. By refusing to trade his strongest assets, like arbitration-eligible right-handers Tyson Ross and Andrew Cashner, Preller was also unable to rid himself of a lousy contract in a potential package deal. Instead, he'll head into the offseason with more than $75 million committed to his 2016 payroll and little minor-league talent ready to make an impact in San Diego.

New York Yankees

After Brian Cashman watched his contingent of second basemen eke out -1.4 wins above replacement this season, his solution was acquiring Dustin Ackley, who can't hit at all (.635 OPS this season) and doesn't even play second base anymore. Cashman's puzzling strategy aside, the fact that Ackley constitutes the Yankees' biggest addition at the deadline looks like a huge error by a team that had rotation issues before placing Michael Pineda on the disabled list. The club's beleaguered rotation - Ivan Nova's elbow is also barking and CC Sabathia was hospitalized following Thursday's start - owns the fifth-worst ERA in the majors since the All-Star break. Entrusting prospect Luis Severino to bolster the group is a dubious proposition. Even adding another bullpen arm, which the Yankees reportedly explored, would've eased the pressure on the rotation, but no such deal materialized.