How did each team do at the trade deadline? We rank 'em from best to worst

— -- And so ends one of the most entertaining trade deadlines I can remember. This time around, the rumored deals of big names quite frequently came to fruition, and we even finally saw deals consummated for a few players who had been the subject of whispers for years, such as  Troy Tulowitzki.

Unlike the playoffs, an invitation-only event, the trade deadline is one in which all 30 teams get to participate. While players can still be traded after the July 31 deadline, August trades more commonly feature the less exciting and the more overpaid, because players must pass through waivers first.

With everybody in a transactin' mood, it's an important time for teams to fulfill their short- and long-term goals. How did each team do? Let's rank 'em all from best to worst.

1. Toronto Blue Jays

The Blue Jays have the best run differential in the American League, but by mostly sticking around the .500 mark, they've underperformed this season. Toronto is in win-now mode more than most teams in baseball, so paying a heavy price for David Price, who shores up the team's weakest part, makes sense. The Tulowitzki trade, just as big as the Price trade, is one that will benefit the Jays beyond this season, so even if they've traded away some of their future, Tulo gives them some of that future back. Even if the Jays are right to think they're a better team than the one they've played like -- and I think they are -- they have ground to make up and need an excellent August/September run to have a shot at catching the Yankees. Ben Revere gives them another league-average outfielder, and while LaTroy Hawkins and Mark Lowe won't make any big headlines, they will shore up the bullpen depth.

2. Kansas City Royals

From a pure value standpoint, the Royals would rank lower on this list. Kansas City gave up real prospects, including Sean Manaea and Brandon Finnegan, for short-term rentals (albeit top-notch short-term rentals) in Johnny Cueto and Ben Zobrist. And with the AL Central not really in doubt, especially given that none of the division's also-rans made win-now moves, the Royals won't get as much value out of their acquisitions as would a team with its playoff status more in doubt. That being said, the Royals will be scarier in the playoffs. Zobrist will eventually replace possibly the worst near-All-Star in MLB history ( Omar Infante if you're keeping score) and, because of the nature of the postseason, a top pitcher like Cueto will have outsized influence. Just as important, the team is new to being in the penthouse rather than in the basement, so solidifying all these new Kansas City fans as Royals loyals has a great deal of value to the future of the club. Even if K.C. is bounced in the ALDS, the fans will remember that when push came to shove, this franchise actually went for it rather than chickening out.

3. Houston Astros

The Astros weren't supposed to be here yet, but they're in a dogfight for the AL West division, a better position than most envisioned for them a year ago, even given the team's improvement. They do give up some prospects who have future value, and while Scott Kazmir is a rental, Carlos Gomez and Mike Fiers can help the Astros beyond this season, an important thing for a team that's still on the upswing.

4. Philadelphia Phillies

When was the last time the Phillies appeared near the top of a list that was positive -- and not one talking about the worst contracts in MLB history? They didn't make a ton of trades, but they did finally trade Hamels. And while they didn't get anybody's No. 1 prospect, which was always unrealistic, Philly's farm system now has far more impressive depth than it did last week. The Phillies got another prospect for  Jonathan Papelbon -- again, they were never going to get a giant package -- and made the smart decisions to use money (subsidies for Papelbon and Hamels and taking Matt Harrison's contract) to get better prospects.

5. Texas Rangers

The Rangers were in an awkward position. They're not really likely to be in the playoff hunt come September, but they have enough of their core coming back in 2016 and enough brights spots in 2015 (most notably  Prince Fielder) that they wanted to be concerned for the middle term rather than the short or long term. Cole Hamels makes Texas a better team in 2016 and 2017, and the team can still retool around their top prospects such as  Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara in the long term. And Yu Darvish will be back! That's not actually trade deadline relevant, but I like thinking about it.

6. Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers didn't get the biggest names this trade deadline, but they filled up their rotation after Greinke and Kershaw nearly for free. Mat Latos is a terrific signing. He's been terrific since coming off the DL, with a 2.96 ERA and a couple of mph added to his fastball. Alex Wood likely doesn't have the endurance to ever be at the front of a rotation, but as a fourth or fifth guy, he's a terrific choice. In exchange for only one player they might miss -- in Hector Olivera, who doesn't have an obvious place on the roster -- the Dodgers turn their weakness (rotation depth) into a strength and even pick up a prospect in Jose Peraza, as well a couple of bullpen arms. The first trade deadline of the Andrew Friedman/Farhan Zaidi era was not a disappointment.

7. New York Mets

Up until the past few minutes, it looked like a disappointing trade deadline for the Mets, with only Tyler Clippard to solidify the bullpen and several other moves that collapsed in grand fashion. The Carlos Gomez trade fell through for reasons disputed in both camps, but after toying with Jay Bruce -- and after  the Padres' deciding to hang on to Justin Upton --  New York picked up the last significant outfield option remaining,  Yoenis Cespedes.  Cespedes isn't a scientific hitter by any means, but he has game-changing power and is the player the team mistakenly thought they were signing in  Michael Cuddyer.  And, even more important, the Mets didn't pay a hefty price for Cespedes by giving any of their big prospects for the former Tigers slugger. While Cespedes is more a short-term rental than Carlos Gomez would have been, Cespedes better fits the power need, and Michael Fulmer is much less a part of the team's future plans than Zack Wheeler. Fulmer is having a breakout season at 22, but it's hard to see where he fits in the rotation and Luis Cessa looks like a Triple-A type. If you're in the pennant race and can address your largest weakness without giving up anybody who figures prominently into your plans, you've done a good job.

8. Detroit Tigers

The decision to pull the plug on the season is the right one, even if it's a tough one for owner Mike Ilitch, who really wants the Tigers to win a championship while he's still around to enjoy it. Yes, the Tigers can fight with the rest of the lumpenproletariat of the American League that hope to win 84 games and somehow sneak the second wild card spot, but that's not the best use of team resources. Detroit has limited opportunities left with its current, shrinking core of players, and bringing in prospects now gives the franchise options in 2016 to improve the team, either by using the players or trading them for help in 2016. Draft-pick compensation is an option too slow for the Tigers. The absence of David Price and Yoenis Cespedes makes the Tigers a worse team in 2015, but the return they got for them may make Detroit better in 2016 when it has a better chance of actually mattering.

9. Oakland Athletics

While the A's are not technically eliminated from the playoff hunt, one of the hallmarks of the Billy Beane era is that he tends to be a realist. The idea that Oakland could be competitive in 2015 in a middling league was one that I agreed with at the time and still do -- they've outscored their opponents by 40 runs. But the record means it's not happening and it's better to get value for Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist than chase wacky dreams. The A's also picked up Felix Doubront for cash with minutes left at the deadline, but he's only there essentially to see if he can be the latest No. 5 guy the A's turn into a No. 3.

10. Cincinnati Reds

Unlike the team above them, the Reds are a team that hasn't been known for reality-based moves the last few years. Cincinnati's plan -- that everybody stays healthy -- is a poor one, and the team has suffered from a wretched group of Plan B options. The Reds get knocked down a few spots for hanging onto Aroldis Chapman, but they did get real prospects for Cueto and a reasonable return for the very ordinary Mike Leake. If the Reds had traded Chapman and even more, found a terrific package for Todd Frazier, who will be an over-30 free agent by the next good Reds team, they could've finished at the top of this list.

11. Washington Nationals

The one thing the Nationals actually need is something they couldn't acquire at the trade deadline: their current team to get healthy. When Dan Uggla has more plate appearances than Jayson Werth or Anthony Rendon, something has gone very wrong. Still, Washington acquired a very solid closer, and while Drew Storen can't be pleased about his demotion, the Nats do have an eighth-and-ninth-inning combo that will hold the leads they're given. Storen won't end up too badly in the end; teams today are far more willing to give deals to guys who pitch like closers even if they're not always closers (see:  Andrew Miller).

12. Baltimore Orioles

Like a lot of teams in the American League, the O's are hovering around .500 and have a real shot at grabbing one of the wild cards. While Baltimore didn't get a big name and didn't drastically change its trajectory, Gerardo Parra does in fact give a weak position for the O's a considerable boost. While his OPS is likely to be closer to .730 than his .886 this season, O's leftfielders have a .612 OPS this year. The swap of Tommy Hunter for Junior Lake is simply a serviceable reliever for a possibly future spare outfielder.

13. St. Louis Cardinals

In fairness, the Cardinals were in a tight position, with Matt Holliday's torn quad suddenly putting them in the last-minute market for an outfielder. But Brandon Moss doesn't match some of the sexier options like Cespedes or Upton, and while Steve Cishek is a good bullpen piece and Jonathan Broxton has pitched much better this season than his ERA indicates, it's not a needle-mover. No top marks for coasting.

14. Los Angeles Angels

By adding  David DeJesus, David Murphy, and Shane Victorino, the Angels are going to have a pretty sweet offense in 2010. All kidding aside, the first two are solid role players and I guess that Victorino could at least theoretically contribute, but it's not much compared to the real gains the Astros made.

15. Chicago Cubs

Unwilling to part with their top prospects considering that this is year one of their return to playoff relevance, the Cubs took a low-key approach, bringing in Dan Haren to eat some innings in a non-terrible fashion the rest of the season. Edwin Jackson was supposed to fill that role, but .... Their moves won't have a significant effect on their playoff chances or their future outlook, so while the Cubs are a well-run organization, they're in the middle for the trade deadline.

16. Cleveland Indians

I like Rob Kaminsky of the Cardinals a lot, so trading away Brandon Moss, who will be 32 in September who has seen his yearly OPS+ go from 162 to 136 to 119 to 89, is a perfectly reasonable move for a team that's not really going anywhere this year. Other than that, Cleveland didn't accomplish much, outside of some confusing Carlos Carrasco rumors.

17. Milwaukee Brewers

The Brew Crew did finally say goodbye to Carlos Gomez, one of their best acquisitions in team history. It was a necessary move, as this Brewers team is not well situated to compete in 2016, given its weak major league roster and a bottom-tier farm system. Milwaukee should have been more aggressive, however, in finding a new home for Jonathan Lucroy and getting this actual rebuild process going. And it is a rebuild process. The only question is if Doug Melvin and Co. will enter into it voluntarily -- or whether reality will drag them in kicking and screaming.

18. Chicago White Sox

Jeff Samardzija was one of the exceptions this year -- a player with trade rumors swirling around him who actually stayed put. Given that the White Sox still aren't giving up for 2016 and don't want to empty out an improving farm system, it's perhaps not so bad that they didn't do anything here. Samardzija, with a better FIP than his ERA suggests, is still a good candidate for a qualifying offer -- and with the Shark market not all that exciting, they may simply prefer that pick. Chicago will have fewer excuses if it has a quiet winter.

19. New York Yankees

A very quiet deadline for the Yankees, though they did at least dip their toes into the Aroldis Chapman and Craig Kimbrel markets, so there was at least some effort made. Some of the team's problems, such as the continued insistence of using C.C. Sabathia in the rotation, aren't really fixable in deadline trades. The Yankees stood pat, but with a significant cushion in the division, so it wasn't the worst decision in the world. But far from the best.

20. San Francisco Giants

While the Giants didn't give up much to get Mike Leake, they didn't get that much of a boost either -- certainly not as much as their eternal rivals, the Dodgers, did. ZiPS projects Leake to have an ERA just short of four in San Francisco, which is not that much different than the Giants' other non-Bumgarner starters. In a division when you're facing off against the extremely aggressive Dodgers, you need to do more than this with the pennant up for grabs.

21. Tampa Bay Rays

Well, at least they didn't trade away any stars. In an unusually quiet Rays deadline, the Rays simply traded David DeJesus for an arm -- in Eduar Lopez -- that has a nice, hard, cutter, but issues with consistency. As lotto tickets go, Lopez isn't a bad one.

22.  Dan Jennings plans on inserting himself into the rotation too.