League Baseball playoff race decided not to wait for the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline to make improvements to their respective rosters.Four of the six division leaders have acquired a key piece Cory Spangenberg Jersey , while two of the four ballclubs residing in wild-card spots have done the same.After every trade in every sport, we feel the need to critique the deals immediately instead of waiting for the results to play out.While the true effects of the acquisitions will appear on the diamond in the coming months and years, there's plenty to dissect already in terms of the fight for postseason positions.Below is a look at the top trades that have occurred so far and what they mean to the franchises involved. Zach Britton and J.A. Happ to YankeesThe New York Yankees used two separate deals to improve their pitching staff entering the stretch run of the regular season.Zach Britton and J.A. Happ came from teams in the American League East the Yankees are familiar with, and that should help ease the transition into the team.Britton will bolster the bullpen as another dominant left-handed arm in front of closer Aroldis Chapman.With Britton, Chapman, Chad Green, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Chasen Shreve, the Yankees boast one of the best relief units in baseball.In 15.2 innings pitched with the Baltimore Orioles, Britton, who was recovering from an Achilles injury at the start of the season, gave up 11 hits and six earned runs while striking out 13 batters.Frank Franklin II/Associated PressThe Yankees hope to get Britton back to his form from a few years ago, as he put together three consecutive seasons of 35 or more saves with a minuscule ERA.Happ adds insurance to the back end of the starting rotation, and he should end up as a nice complement to Luis Severino and C.C. Sabathia.In 20 starts for the Toronto Blue Jays, Happ went 10-6 with 130 strikeouts and conceded 99 hits. While those numbers are impressive, the 35-year-old has an ERA of 4.18, which is his worst in four seasons.The concerns surrounding the Happ deal involve what the Yankees gave up, as outfielder Brandon Drury was sent to Toronto. Some may see the price tag for Happ as too high, but the Yankees needed to get the deal done to improve their rotation.Although Britton and Happ are solid additions http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-eric-hosmer-jersey , there's no guarantee the Yankees win the AL East with the way the Boston Red Sox are swinging their bats.Manny Machado to DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers' acquisition of Manny Machado was the first major July deal to go down, and it triggered a fire sale in Baltimore and forced other contenders to turn to other, less talented infield targets.Machado filled the void at shortstop left open by Corey Seager's injury, and he's also been moved to third base with Justin Turner on the disabled list.In his first seven games with the Dodgers, Machado has eight hits in 36 plate appearances with one home run and two RBI.John Bazemore/Associated PressBefore being shipped to Los Angeles, Machado hit .315 with 24 home runs and 65 RBI in 96 games.The 25-year-old is still hitting over .300 and there's no reason to worry about his early returns in the National League.Machado will be a valuable asset for the Dodgers' pennant chase, and when Turner returns to the lineup, the Dodgers will be tough to contain.With Machado and Turner in the mix, the Dodgers possess nine players who've hit over 10 home runs in 2018.The Dodgers have the hitters capable of capturing the National League West, but they shouldn't be content with their roster, as another reliever to help closer Kenley Jansen is necessary to acquire before the non-waiver trade deadline. Brad Hand to IndiansCleveland jumped in front of the relief market by bringing in Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from the San Diego Padres in exchange for top prospect Francisco Mejia.The addition of Hand serves two purposes for the Indians, as they get a strong reliever for their World Series push and have an in-house replacement for the 2019 season if free agents Andrew Miller and Cody Allen leave.Hand, who is considered as the bigger piece in the trade, has been effective in his first appearances with the Indians, as he's given up two hits and one earned run in 3.1 innings while recording one save.Tony Dejak/Associated PressOnce Miller, who is about to make a return from the disabled list, returns to the active roster, the Indians will get to test out their new-look bullpen.In Allen, Hand and Miller http://www.padresfanproshop.com/authentic-jose-pirela-jersey , the Indians have three players capable of closing out games, and there will be situations in which one or two are used to face specific batters in September and October instead of pitching a full inning.The Indians gave up a significant piece in Mejia, who should be in the majors within the next year, but trading him away was worth it since Hand is under control until 2021. Follow Joe on Twitter, JTansey90Statistics obtained from Baseball Reference SEATTLE (AP) — In most years, 89 wins would have landed the Seattle Mariners in the postseason and ended the longest playoff drought of any team in the four major professional sports.The Mariners picked the wrong year to collapse, going from being in control of a playoff berth at midseason to completely out of the race in early September. And with an expensive and aging core group, Seattle is back to asking whether it should push to be competitive with the rest of the American League powers in 2019 or take a step back and make changes this offseason in the hope of longer sustained success.“Leaving spring training, if you had told any of us that 89 wins was our outcome this year, regardless of how we were going to get there, we would have been thrilled,” Seattle general manager Jerry Dipoto said. “We picked a unique season where 89 wins wasn’t enough.”Seattle’s season was defined by its fade. In the middle of June, the Mariners held an 11-game lead over the A’s in the standings. By the beginning of August, Seattle was caught. By the end of September, the Mariners were eliminated.In each of the previous four seasons, the Mariners’ 89 wins would have kept them in contention for a playoff berth. Before this season, the only team to earn one of the AL’s two wild card spots and win more than 90 games was the 2017 Yankees, who entered the postseason with 91 victories.What happened this year with Oakland and the Yankees earning wild card spots with 97 and 100 victories, respectively http://www.giantsfanproshop.com/authentic-austin-jackson-jersey , is rare. The Mariners more than did their part in contributing to a swoon that saw them finish eight games behind the A’s, but even if Seattle had played .500 baseball after building that 11-game lead, it still would not have been enough to keep pace with Oakland.Seattle’s fade resulted from an offense that lost its punch and a pitching staff that carried the load for half the season and grew fatigued as the season progressed. Seattle’s already made one change, announcing that pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. will not return in 2019 after three seasons with the team.“We have to figure out as we move forward what it takes to catch the front runners. We don’t want to make it to a wild-card game. We want to be a consistent playoff presence,” Dipoto said.Here are a few key things to watch with the Mariners headed into the offseason:SEAGER BELIEVER: No one had a more disappointing season than Kyle Seager. The former All-Star played more than half the season with a fracture in his big toe, which affected his swing at the plate. Even before the injury, Seager was on his way to a down season, but his .221 average was nearly 30 points below his previous career-low. He also made 14 errors and had a 0.8 WAR, the lowest of his career. The Mariners believe a healthy Seager will get on track at the plate in 2019.NEXT FOR NELSON: Nelson Cruz may end up being regarded as the best free agent signing the Mariners have ever made. That’s how good Cruz has been during his four years in Seattle. Cruz, who turned 38 in July, hit .256 with 37 home runs and 97 RBIs this season. He has hit 163 homers and had 414 RBIs in his four seasons with Seattle.But Seattle must determine its priorities at designated hitter and whether it’s possible to bring Cruz back for one or two more years. Cruz and the Mariners both say they want to continue the relationship beyond this season, but problems may arise if another team offers Cruz more money or a longer deal.FIND A POSITION: What to do with Dee Gordon and Robinson Cano? Both believe they are second basemen. But can’t both play second base.Seattle went into this season experimenting with Gordon in center field and was forced to move him back to his natural position at second following Cano’s suspension. When Cano returned, the Mariners moved the pair all around the field with Cano at first, second and third base and Gordon playing second base, shortstop and center field.Cano said Sunday he’s going into the offseason believing he’s Seattle’s second baseman going forward.WHAT ABOUT FELIX: What can the Mariners expect from Felix Hernandez anymore?The former ace of the Mariners staff wasn’t very “Kingly” in 2018, going 8-14 with a career-worst 5.55 ERA. He was briefly demoted to the bullpen — making just one appearance in relief — and at times was lost trying to figure out how to still be an effective starting pitcher with lower velocity.Hernandez will turn 33 early in the 2019 season and perhaps he will have additional motivation entering the final year of his current contract. Clearly there must be changes made if Hernandez is to remain an effective starter and have any chance of a significant contract — in Seattle or elsewhere — after the 2019 season.