In years previous, the trade deadline has served as a kind of separator, or at least an inflection point. Contenders gearing up for the stretch run and the postseason made big moves to bolster rosters; as a consequence, the league landscape shifted—sometimes slightly, other times like an earthquake had rumbled through.
But this year’s edition of the July 31 madness was a subdued affair, shaken up only by Houston’s audacious Zack Greinke trade. Normally, Aug. 1 functions as a kind of resettling, in which the direction of baseball’s best teams becomes more clear.