This changes everything.
That might as well be the official motto of MLB‘s annual non-waiver trade deadline, which rolls around every summer to tilt the balance of power and upend playoff races across both leagues.
The 2016 edition was no exception, with an array of marquee players swapping uniforms and the postseason picture shifting accordingly.
Oh, and the long-suffering Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians emerged as two of the most aggressive buyers, while the New York Yankees went into full-blown sell mode. Welcome to Bizarro World.
As we try to get our minds around that, let’s run through each divisional race and the wild-card scrambles and parse exactly how this season’s deadline reshaped the chase for October.