Category: MLB

Having traded away a slew of players ahead of the trade deadline earlier this evening, the Mets are set to call up six players, per Will Sammon: Dedniel Núñez, Jefry Yan, Nate Lavender, Chayce McDermott, Xzavion Curry, and Cristian Pache. The team has 21 players on its active roster at the time of this writing, and with Curry having just been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Friday. Perhaps another pitcher is going on the injured list.

Núñez had Tommy John surgery last July, and he’s been pitching in the minors on a rehab assignment. In 13.0 innings, most of which have been with Syracuse, he has a 4.15 ERA and a 3.81 FIP. In 44.2 major league innings before his elbow injury, he had a 2.82 ERA and a 2.62 FIP.

Yan is a 29-year-old who took a long break from baseball in the late 2010s, but he’ll be making his major league debut whenever he appears in a game. He’s been in the Mets’ organization since the start of the 2026 season, and he’s had an outstanding 43.5% strikeout rate and a somewhat staggering 15.8% walk rate with a 3.24 ERA and a 2.64 FIP in 41.2 innings between his time in Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. He’s known for his eccentric strikeout celebrations.

Lavender, a left-handed reliever, has been in the Mets’ system since the team drafted him in 2021. He was limited to just 7.0 innings in 2024 and missed the entirety of the 2025 season because of an injury. He’s thrown 43.0 innings in the minors this year with a 3.77 ERA and a 2.78 FIP. He, too, will be making his major league debut when he first appears.

McDermott is a 27-year-old right-handed reliever who came to the Mets when they traded minor league catcher Ben Rortvedt back to the Dodgers today. He’s thrown a total of 15.0 major league innings with the Orioles and Dodgers and has a 12.00 ERA and an 8.74 FIP. He has a 4.55 ERA and a 4.51 FIP in 31.2 innings in Triple-A this year.

Curry has thrown 11.0 innings with the Mets with a 3.27 ERA and a 4.92 FIP since joining the organization this year. He has a 4.56 ERA and a 5.63 FIP in 51.1 innings in Syracuse this year.

And last but not least, Pache is a right-handed hitter who is 27 years old who was considered a top-100 prospect in baseball from 2019 through 2022 as he played in the Braves’ minor league system. He’s made 610 plate appearances in the big leagues and hit just .181/.243/.275 with a 46 wRC+. He hasn’t hit much better in Syracuse this year, either, with a .232/.289/.356 line and a 62 wRC+.

After a brief break, it’s time for the next Most Important Series of the Season™. We welcome the Padres to Chase Field for the first time this season – though it’s not the first home series against them. That conundrum is explained by the fact that the home series in April took place in Mexico City. It was an offense-minded event, the teams combining to score 29 runs across the two games, each winning once, and was an interesting cultural exercise. But it kinda sucks that it counted as a “home” series for Arizona, when this set of four is the only time we actually get to host San Diego this year. With head-t0-head now the first tiebreaker, that could end up mattering.

Certainly, everything still to play for between the two teams, with the season score currently tied, at 3-3, with seven games left to play. The Diamondbacks have a slight edge after splitting the four games in Petco last month. If everybody “hold serve” the rest of the way, then they’d win 7-6. But I’ve a feeling it might not be that easy. While the D-backs are currently tied with the Phillies for the second/third wild-card spots, the Padres are lurking, just one game back. So, anything less than a split would see Arizona drop behind San Diego, and depending on what Philadelphia do (they’re hosting Washington), potentially out of a playoff spot entirely.

It might end up being a pitcher’s duel tonight. Both starters went in the July series, and got wins in their respective starts. Brandon Pfaadt gave the D-backs five scoreless innings, combining with two relievers on an eight-hit shutout, as they took the opener, 8-0. But two days later, Michael King was almost as good, allowing one run over six innings, as the Padres cruised to a 10-4 victory. We’ll see who prevails tonight, as we come down from the breathless excitement of the trade deadline [sorry, there’s no sarcasm font available when you’re writing a Gameday Thread…]

The Yankees added a big-time basher at this year’s MLB Trade Deadline, plus a platoon-side righty swinger who should help against left-handed pitching until their injured sluggers return. Two needs met – nice job, Brian Cashman and lieutenants. 

But the Yanks’ deadline feels incomplete because the club did not address other glaring needs, particularly behind the plate and in the bullpen. There were a couple of big-name blockbusters that didn’t involve the Yankees, too, which is weird because those kinds of deals were once their annual domain. 

So while we love the addition of slugger Luis García Jr., like well enough the trade for Heliot Ramos and understand the addition-by-subtraction of sending Camilo Doval away, we have mixed feelings overall. Too many flaws left unaddressed.

Here are our grades for the deals the Yankees made at the trade deadline: 

Acquired 1B Luis García Jr. from the Washington Nationals for four pitchers (Yovanny Cruz, Jake Bird, Jack Cebert and Ben Grable)

Aaron Judge has not played since May 31, and the Yankees are 26th in runs scored, last in on-base percentage and 25th in slugging since then. Yikes. With Judge down and Cody Bellinger out for several weeks, too, the Yankee attack needed help. Desperately. 

García, who is just 26 and comes with one more year of control beyond ‘26, is enjoying a breakout season. He entered Monday leading the National League in slugging (.560) and has already established career-bests with 23 home runs and 76 RBI. He ranks ninth in the NL in extra-base hits with 48 – the same number as some guy named Shohei Ohtani. 

“He can hit, and he’s coming into the power this year for sure,” said a scout from another MLB organization who was granted anonymity to talk about García. 

“He will wear out the right-field bleachers,” the scout added. “He’s got a really good feel for the barrel and he’ll use the whole field, too. He’ll create opportunities and balls will end up in the seats.” 

Aaron Boone noted that García has been a “wrecking ball” in the NL this year and says he’ll add instant presence to the Yankee lineup. Monday night, Boone slotted García third in the order, tucked behind Ben Rice, the Yanks’ best hitter. 

García, who was born in New York, doesn’t walk much, so he doesn’t have the patience profile that other Yankees do. Still, they’ll benefit from his thump. Swing-happy or not, he’s batting .283 and has been a very effective hitter.

It’s not an ideal trade – García is a left-handed hitter and it would’ve been better for the Yanks had their big acquisition on offense been a righty. He’s not positionally perfect, either – the Yankees now have three first basemen on their roster – García, Rice and Paul Goldschmidt. 

García has played second base in the past, but “his tools fit best at first,” the scout noted. 

Still, they needed some thunder before Judge, Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton return from injury. They’re weeks away, though. The rough roster edges can sort themselves out whenever they get back. 

In the meantime, García can mash. Maybe one or two of the pitchers morph into something good for Washington, but it’s worth it to fill this Yankee need.

GRADE: A

Acquired OF Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants for LHP Henry Lalane and INF Kaeden Kent.

With the abovementioned players out, especially Judge and Stanton, the Yankees lacked weapons against lefty pitching. Ramos is batting .292 against lefties this year with a .343 on-base percentage and .492 slugging in 65 at-bats. Overall, he has a .728 OPS. He figures to give Boone platoon options. 

Two years ago, Ramos, a former first-round pick, was an All-Star for the Giants when he hit 22 homers and notched a .792 OPS. 

Ramos is a handy pickup, though he cost the Yanks their No. 5 prospect (Lalane) and their 13th-ranked youngster (Kent). Lalane is a highly-regarded 6-7 lefty who had a 2.77 ERA across two levels of A-ball this season. Kent, the son of Hall-of-Famer Jeff Kent, is, perhaps not surprisingly, a bat-first second baseman who was hitting .302 at High-A. 

GRADE: B-minus

Acquired C Omar Alfonzo and OF Luis Cruz from the Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Camilo Doval

Doval, a former closer for the Giants, was acquired at this time last year with great fanfare as the Yanks rebuilt the bullpen by targeting relievers with control. Doval has high-octane stuff and nice peripherals, but he never thrived, pitching to a 4.63 ERA in 66 games for the Yankees. 

Alfonzo, a 22-year-old minor-league catcher, has a .743 OPS this year, which he’s spent mostly in Double-A. Cruz, 18, was hitting .300 in the Dominican Summer League. 

Doval was supposed to be David Bednar’s primary setup man, but his strikeouts backslid and he always walked too much. A change of scenery was inevitable and necessary for both Doval and the Yankees, regardless of the return. It’s fine. 

GRADE: C-plus

OVERALL

Again: love the García acquisition. But the Yankees should’ve pressed deeper into the trade market, even if it got pricey. The American League is, overall, pretty soft this season and an easy path to the World Series should’ve injected more urgency into the Yankee deadline.

They really needed to add to their catching department – a right-handed hitting catcher with power would’ve been ideal, especially since Yankee backstops are 26th in homers, 28th in average and 29th in OPS this season. Bleah. 

Austin Wells is a quality defender and deft handler of pitchers. But he’s batting .161 with a .537 OPS. Wells swatted 21 homers last year and was supposed to be a contributor at the bottom of the lineup. 

Cashman told reporters he had multiple conversations with the Orioles about Adley Rutschman, the three-time All-Star, but couldn’t agree on price. Then Baltimore traded him to the Red Sox – gulp! – instead. The Rays, the team the Yankees are chasing in the AL East, also acquired a catcher, getting Liam Hicks from the Marlins. 

Non-moves there by the Yankees may prove costly in the division race. Or even October.

Maybe Wells gets his offense together. He’s been better lately, as Cashman noted. Wells also has the lowest catcher’s ERA in MLB this season among backstops with at least 50 games caught. It’s 2.84. Connor Wong of the Red Sox is second at 3.21. 

Even though they have the second-best bullpen ERA in baseball (3.01, just 0.06 behind Boston), they could’ve and maybe should’ve added relievers. The bridge to David Bednar often feels rickety. 

In fairness, they’ve been good at finding relievers in recent years. Maybe their rotation surplus, such as Ryan Weathers, helps keep the bullpen humming. 

Finally, the Yanks saw Tarik Skubal get traded to the Dodgers. That could be a pinstriped problem come October. Cashman said the Tigers set an enormous price for the prized lefty and he also indicated that Detroit wanted one player in particular. Seems pretty certain that was the Yanks’ best prospect, George Lombard Jr., who might be in the Majors soon. Maybe including Lombard wouldn’t have even gotten the deal done. 

Whatever the case, the Yanks left too much undone. Maybe it’s unreasonable to ask them to splurge prospect capital on Skubal, a luxury of sorts for a team with an already-terrific rotation. But the Yanks needed other fixes and didn’t get them. That hurts their overall mark at this deadline. 

OVERALL GRADE: C-plus

Nationals manager Blake Butera was ejected in the top of the seventh inning because he thought Garrett Stubbs tripped into Nasim Nuñez during a run down that began to change the tides into the Phillies favor.

While Butera was not witnessing the game from the dugout, he and the entire Nationals organization experienced a flashback and will have nightmares tonight because of their bullpen.

After cruising through six innings, the Nationals staff let Andrew Alvarez return for the seventh inning against the bottom half of the Phillies order with a three-run lead. After a flyout to Alec Bohm, Bryan De La Cruz was hit by a backfoot slider in an 0-2 count that gifted him first base. Bryson Stott then worked a walk and it was time for the 2026 Washington Nationals bullpen.

First up is left-hander Tom Cosgrove against the bottom of the Phillies order. Against Edmundo Sosa, Cosgrove could not find the strike zone and walked Sosa on five pitches to bring up Derek Hill.

Against a left handed pitcher for the Nationals in a big leverage spot? Flashbacks!

🚨 DEREK HILL GRAND SLAM 🚨 pic.twitter.com/6ab3PA0Y3Q

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 4, 2026

After a shutdown inning from Orion Kerkering that featured an excellent running catch by Hill to save a leadoff double, the Nationals bullpen roulette must go on!

Clayton Beeter was summoned from the bullpen to try and keep the Phillies lead to only one-run. Unfortunately, it is the 2026 Washington Nationals bullpen and this is a Phillies game recap so you know what is about to happen.

After a five pitch walk to Kyle Schwarber, the next right fielder of the Philadelphia Phillies crushed a dead-center fastball right over Jacob Young’s head to give the Phillies a three run lead.

The game was not trending this way for most of the night. In the aftermath of one of the weirdest trade deadlines a Phillies fan might ever witness, they experienced a normal version of the Phillies during their post all-star break rut for at least half a dozen innings.

Aaron Nola took the ball against a Nationals team that is now missing a few pieces after making a few trades at the deadline. One of their new corner infielders, Abimelec Ortiz, crushed a hanging curveball for his first career home run to draw first blood.

In the second inning, it was even more quick trouble for Nola, Keibert Ruiz began the inning with a single and then Daylen Lile almost immediately took a high fastball over the right field seats to give them a 3-0 lead.

Nola was able to work through six innings without any damage, striking out five in the process against a pesky Nationals lineup.

Kyle Backhus started the seventh inning with the Phillies down three runs and it began to feel like one of those nights. Nasim Nuñez laid down a solid bunt and Backhus threw a fastball to Bryce Harper that went right past his glove and down foul territory in right field, De La Cruz struggled handing the ball so Nuñez made it to third base standing.

On a two-two count, Brady House his a dribbler right to Backhus but Nuñez went on contact, forcing a controversial run down that squandered a thread. But the inning wasn’t over yet, after a Jacob Young walk, it was first and second with one out.

Backhus then worked through the next two hitters, getting James Wood to hit a ground ball to first base and Andrés Chaparro to strikeout.

With two more scoreless innings from the bullpen, the Phillies begin their homestand with a win before Luis Arraez joins the club with several position changes to make it all work.

It was a bizarre day but good for Derek Hill.

Thomas Harding of MLB.com is reporting that the Colorado Rockies are nearing a two-year extension with outfielder Mickey Moniak.

Major League source: #Rockies are closing in on a two-year contract extension for OF Mickey Moniak. Likely to be completed tomorrow.

— Thomas Harding (@harding_at_mlb) August 4, 2026

A former first overall pick of the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016, Moniak struggled to find his footing in his first few big league seasons. He was eventually traded by the Phillies to the Los Angeles Angels, where he had a career year in 2023. However, after a down year in 2024, Moniak was released by the Angels during spring training prior to the 2025 season. The Rockies then swept in and signed him to a Major League deal.

Moniak, now 28, has developed into an important contributor on this Rockies team. While it cannot be denied that he was a defensive liability in 2025, his bat was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise miserable season. Moniak hit .270/.306/.518 with a career high 24 home runs and 68 RBIs.

Although he missed the start of the 2026 season with a hand injury, Moniak got off to a strong start when his year began. In his first 43 games he hit .280/.335/.607 with nine doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, and 28 RBIs. He was then sidelined with right ankle tendonitis for just over a month, but since returning he has continued to be a key offensive player. Coming into Monday night’s trade deadline, Moniak was hitting .273/.317/.547 with 17 home runs. He has also played fairly solid—if unremarkable—defense in left field.

Moniak was one of several names linked to trade rumors at the deadline, but ended up not being moved. Now we know why.

“I think Mickey’s an important part of what we’re doing here,” Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta said in a media availability following the deadline.

“Again, he had a very good year last year. I think he’s been off to a great start this year. Unfortunately, missed a little time with the injuries, but he is a legitimate middle-of-the-order bat for us. He’s a leader in our in our clubhouse. He’s a veteran. He’s been around a little bit longer. He’s also been in some different organizations, so he he knows what it should look like. He also knows sometimes maybe what it shouldn’t look like, which is just as valuable, and that’s important not just for his peers in the clubhouse, but also for me and for Schaeff as we try to shape our culture here. So I think Mickey’s value, both on on the field and off the field, is really important to us.”

The terms of Moniak’s extension are not yet public, but would buy out his final year of arbitration in 2027 and his first year of free agency in 2028. A formal announcement is expected some time tomorrow.

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Yankees general manager Brian Cashman denied a report that the Yankees had conversations with the San Diego Padres involving right-hander Will Warren ahead of the MLB Trade Deadline.

A report from Sunday had San Diego rejecting a New York offer of Warren for left-handed reliever Adrian Morejon. 

"There was a lot of noise on whatever that was, but that wasn't true; that's all I can tell you," Cashman said when asked about the report after Monday's deadline.

"There's a lot of media reports, there's a lot of noise always constantly flying around, some are accurate, some of them aren't accurate," he continued. "It's a lot of people with a lot of information. Writers who cover the sport have a difficult time of trying to parse what's real and what's not.

"We never had a discussion with San Diego that way. So, I'll leave it at that." 

Warren, 27, is under team control through the 2030 season. He is 8-5 with a 4.14 ERA and 1.362 WHIP in 108.2 innings over 22 games (21 starts) this season. His latest outing saw him allow four hits and strike out seven batters in 6.2 scoreless innings of Friday's 2-0 win at the Chicago Cubs.

The 27-year-old Morejon is a free agent after the 2026 season. In 60 frames through 52 games this season, the Padres' setup man 3.00 ERA and a 1.067 WHIP with 70 strikeouts to 15 walks.

Cashman did reveal that the Yanks “looked and engaged on trying to upgrade the ‘pen,” but weren’t able to get any deals done.

“There wasn’t a lot of arms that moved ‘pen-wise,” the GM Said. “More starters moving and certainly a lot less relievers, especially high-impact ones.

“But we definitely were on a number of different people but we were unable to find the matches there.”

He added: "We shopped in that aisle pretty heavily, but to no avail."

Warren was asked about trade noise after Friday's start and said you have to "control what you can control."

"Whatever's going to happen is going to happen. So, that's never really been on my mind," he said. "I feel like, ever since I've been with the Yankees, that's been a thing, so I'm kind of used to it by now. But just taking it day by day and, again, whatever happens is going to happen."

In the end, neither Warren nor Morejon was dealt before the deadline.

The 2026 Trade Deadline has officially come and gone, and it’s time for the immediate breakdown of the state of the Yankees following it. It’s fair to say that most weren’t projecting a flashy deadline for New York with a big-name blockbuster or anything of that sort, but it still comes as a surprise that at the end of the day they made only three moves: they traded Camilo Doval away to Pittsburgh, and then added Luis García Jr. alongside Heliot Ramos to bolster their lineup and provide some depth to the outfield while two of their stars are on the shelf.

Let’s start with what they did accomplish before we get into what they failed to get. García is a legit A-plus addition offensively, leading the National League in slugging and coming in just behind Ben Rice for third overall across MLB. They also managed to pry him away from Washington for a basket of arms that they likely didn’t have plans for this season and possibly even next, sending off their 14th-rated prospect Jack Cebert and their 25th-ranked prospect Ben Grable by MLB Pipeline’s scouting, alongside Yovanny Cruz and Jake Bird. Cruz impressed in Triple-A this season and got a couple brief stints with the major league team but never seemed to be in the plans for a postseason bullpen, while Bird actively worked his way off the roster two years in a row after getting acquired at the deadline last season. Overall, that’s a more than acceptable package to surrender in exchange for a bat that can mash against righties and bring some protection to Rice’s spot in the order.

García’s defensive fit is a bit more murky, as he’s a first baseman when the team already has Rice and Paul Goldschmidt working there. Goldschmidt, for all his early-season success, is still meant to be a backup for this team, and it looks as though he’ll cede playing time to García at first while Rice will primarily play as the designated hitter.

What that group looks like once Giancarlo Stanton is back in the fold, who knows, but the Yankees can’t plan on Stanton just sliding back in after missing most of the season and needing a bat in the worst way to stay afloat here and now. The Yankees will have García for the 2027 season as well, assuming there will be one amidst CBA negotiations and the very real threat of a lengthy lockout.

The other piece of this deadline “haul,” Ramos is a league-average bat overall but owns a 127 wRC+ against left-handed pitching this season, a trend that was muted during his down 2025 season but carried his performance in his breakout 2024 with the Giants. Just 26-years-old, Ramos will be entering arbitration for the first time in 2027 and under team control until 2030, giving them a solid platoon to utilize for the foreseeable future and the right-handed bat they coveted to help cover the outfield’s holes with Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger still out. Is he the most exciting get? Not exactly, and the cost of getting him was a little steeper with No. 5 prospect Henry Lalane headlining the return alongside their 13th-best prospect Kaeden Kent. The sticker price probably looks a little bit riskier than it is, as the Yankees’ system is rather top-heavy and both Lalane and Kent are still a while away from playing in High-A. As far as who they got, I’m not complaining about either Ramos or García — they’re both fine additions that’ll hopefully raise the offensive floor from dreadful to watch towards tolerable until the cavalry arrives.

Speaking of dreadful, it’s time to address what the Yankees didn’t do at the deadline. For months, speculation has been centered on the Yankees seeking help at catcher and aiming for relief help, but when the pencils were put down, Brian Cashman came away with exactly zero additions for both departments. The bullpen is a lesser concern at this point than it was earlier in the year, to be fair, as Paul Blackburn and Brent Headrick have turned into fantastic options late in games while closer David Bednar locked in and allowed two runs combined throughout June and July. They’ve shed the disappointing arms in Doval and Bird, and will likely shift one of their starters over to the ‘pen alongside ramping up Clarke Schmidt for relief duties as he nears a return.

The biggest failure of the deadline comes from being unable to secure any upgrade at all at catcher. Simply put, Austin Wells and Ali Sánchez have been a disaster duo behind the plate. While Wells at least has the trust of the pitching staff, keeping him in the lineup, they needed to do something with their backup catching spot. But while several catchers indeed moved on deadline day, none of them will be donning pinstripes — the big ticket name was Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman going over to the archrival Red Sox, but the Rays secured a catcher as well in Liam Hicks from the Marlins. Rutschman being available is a shock to the system, but Baltimore fumbled their core with just a single postseason of getting swept to show for it, and the star is admittedly not doing too great health-wise. In fact, those medicals were concerning enough for the Yankees to not pursue him after doing some initial check-ins, but Boston was clearly willing to take the gamble.

Passing on Rutschman for health concerns is one thing, but the rest of the market entirely passing them by? How could that happen? Well, it takes two to tango, and unfortunately the other enticing options were Minnesota’s Ryan Jeffers and Colorado’s Hunter Goodman. Goodman looks to be a legit big bat at a premier position, so Colorado has been asking for the moon in any talks regarding his services; and it’s fair enough to balk at a king’s ransom for a player that hasn’t established themselves long-term yet. Jeffers, meanwhile, became unavailable as the Twins fancied themselves competitors despite sitting under .500 entering play on Monday because the AL Central has been anyone’s game and the AL Wild Card field is a bit of a joke with how many teams are within striking distance. Suddenly out of first-choice options, the Yankees were left scrambling to consider backup plans like Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson, a relatively unappealing defender but at least one with a pulse at the plate. Even there they couldn’t agree on a deal, and now they’ll be stuck with what they’ve got.

The Yankees have learned not to invoke the rage of the fanbase by acting like getting a whole host of players back from the IL is a sort of deadline acquisition on its own, but it feels like that’s still the case here. They did get one significant upgrade with García, and for that alone I’m not willing to rake Cashman over the coals for this deadline, but this undoubtedly is one of their weakest deadline performances since Aaron Boone took over and the team regained their expectations of always competing. It leaves a lot unsaid about their unwillingness to go all-in this year with the clock ticking on Judge, Stanton, and Gerrit Cole’s window to win a championship, but at the same time you can at least see how the perfect storm arose to prevent them from landing more meaningful additions despite seeking them out.

Following the trade deadline Monday night, odds to win the division favor the Rays, but I certainly wouldn’t count the Yankees out of the race. The Pinstripes return to the Bronx for the next three series, facing the Cardinals, Braves, and Mariners. For now, it’s on the Yankees to weather the storm for another two months and see if they can make some noise in October.

With their playoff odds at 0.1% according to Fangraphs, the Mets’ season is effectively over. That was reflected in the fact that the Mets traded away eight players since Thursday and, if we are counting David Peterson’s departure on June 25th, have jettisoned eight of their prominent MLB players (and one Triple-A depth piece) for a haul of prospects. For most of these moves, the trades were to rid the team of expiring contracts and bring back something, anything, in exchange for 50 games of rental.

Every year, our Lukas Vlahos grades all of the Mets’ major acquisitions and he will do a deep dive into the trade deadline in the coming days. For now, let’s do a quick reaction to the weekends’ moves.

AJ Minter is traded to the Twins for Billy Amick and Bruin Agbayani

Who the Mets gave up: Veteran lefty Minter missed most of the season and a half that he was signed to the Mets with a lat injury. In 2026, Minter threw 34.0 innings in his time with the Mets with a 2.12 ERA and a 3.35 FIP.

Who the Mets got: Two prospects of minor note, including the power-hitting first baseman Amick and the scion of 2000 Met Benny Agbayani, but neither figures to be a top-flight prospect.

Quick Reaction Grade: C+ – if the Mets waited another day or two, they might’ve been able to milk a little more out of a trading partner, but overall, for half the season of an aging reliever, this is more or less what you get.

Freddy Peralta is traded to the Rays for Aidan Smith, Émilien Pitre, and Gary Gill Hill

Who the Mets gave up: Their Opening Day starter, acquired in the offseason for two (then) Top 100 prospects who has been more or less bad all season.

Who the Mets got: Peralta hasn’t been very good, but there was still some value to be had in him, and so the Rays had to pony up a package that isn’t going to set the world on fire, but had to have something to it. That something appears to be infielder Pitre, with a pitcher for whom some adjustments could unlock value, and a toss in.

Quick Reaction Grade: B – Again, not a gargantuan haul, but the return looks better in August 2026 than what the Mets gave up for Peralta in the first place.

Huascar Brazobán is traded to the White Sox for Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin

Who the Mets gave up: Their cost-controlled but old (by MLB standards) middle reliever who is having his best season in the pros.

Who the Mets got: The Mets got a nearly MLB-ready reliever in Franklin, who could be essentially the new Brazobán in no time, and a lottery ticket on a talk drink of water who played college ball with Carson Benge and Nolan McLean.

Quick Reaction Grade: B – I actually like both of these pieces in a vacuum, but to trade away Brazoabán’s team control (three seasons after 2026), you’d have hoped that the Mets could’ve brought in a little more.

Brooks Raley is traded to the Phillies for John Spikerman and Luke Gabrysh

Who the Mets gave up: Since 2022, Raley has been one of the Mets lefty relievers in all of baseball, not counting the year he lost to Tommy John Surgery, obviously. He, like Brazobán, is no kid, but his contract expires in the autumn, so this was as close to a must move as possible.

Who the Mets got: A low-power, glove-first centerfielder and a somewhat intriguing High-A starter.

Quick Reaction Grade: B+ – I think we’d all have liked to get more for Raley, but the reality of his age and contract status meant that it was always going to be slighter than fans hoped.

Ben Rortvedt is traded to the Dodgers for Chayce McDermott

Who the Mets gave up:One of their minor league catchers, who was claimed off of waivers from the Dodgers back in February.

Who the Mets got:A quad-A reliever (and occasional spot starter) who will likely fill the same role on the Mets’ roster.

Quick Reaction Grade: B – I got nothing of value to add to this. The Dodgers needed catching depth and didn’t want to pay much for it. The Mets gain another fungible churn piece.

Luke Weaver is traded to the Pirates for Samy Stafura

Who the Mets gave up: One of the most effective relievers in baseball, under control for 2027 as well.

Who the Mets got:A NY native with a speedy middle infielder who is on an insane power streak right now.

Quick Reaction Grade: B- – I actually like Stafura’s profile a lot, but for a guy as good as Weaver who is also under control for next year, this return seems light.

Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor are traded to the Cubs for Jefferson Rojas

Who the Mets gave up: Their very successful (though recently injured) reliever to starter success story and their veteran fourth outfielder.

Who the Mets got: The second best prospect in the Cubs’ system and a bottom tier Top 100 prospect in baseball.

Quick Reaction Grade: A- – This is the type of prospect that you’d expect for a pair of players like Taylor and Holmes, both of whom have flashed excellence at times this season but have some questions. That said, it isn’t exactly a ‘blow you away’ type of return, hence the A-. It wouldn’t shock me if the Mets tried to bring one or both of these folks back in the off-season.

Overall Quick Reaction Grade: B

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The 2026 MLB trade deadline has come and gone, and barring some minor league callups, this is essentially the team the Houston Astros will be going to battle with the rest of the season.

Houston had clear deficiencies coming to the deadline. Their outfield OPS is the worst in baseball. Their starting pitchers’ ERA was the highest in the league. Their bullpen has been heavily taxed and three of their 4 leverage reliever are lefties. The one righty, Bryan Abreu, has had an inconsistent season.

The Astros had stated clear agendas for the trade deadline: a left-handed hitting outfielder who could impact the lineup, a starting pitcher who could stabilize the rotation, and a right handed reliever who could handle some leverage innings.

Dana Brown achieved none of his goals today.

The Astros traded SP Spencer Arrighetti to the Toronto Blue Jays for CF Daulton Varsho.

Varsho is a very good defensive player and former Gold Glove winner in 2024. He is also a below average offensive player with a career batting average under .230 and career OBP under .300. He does have some pop, but he has also played in two of the best hitters parks in baseball in Chase Field (AZ) and Rogers Centre (TOR).

Varsho is a free agent at the end of the season.

He gives the Astros an excellent defensive CF with moderate pop, albeit with a low average, low OBP and high strikeouts.

Spencer Arrighetti had clearly fallen out of favor in Houston, mainly due to his poor command. Arrighetti is walking 5.1 batters per nine this season, identical to his walk rate a year ago. That is an unsustainable rate. It would be one thing if Arrighetti was 23 coming out of Double-A, but he’s 26. His command hasn’t improved.

He also doesn’t throw particularly hard (93), and in his career, he’s essentially had 2 great months and the rest of his time in MLB he has been lousy. He has a career 4.66 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. Those are not the numbers of a good pitcher, not even those of a promising pitcher.

The returns of Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski bounced Arrighetti from the rotation, even if he weren’t currently on IL with nerve irritation in his foot. Arrighetti’s injury history has to be taken into account as well.

In the end, they traded a player that they didn’t have a role for to get player who will be their starting everyday CF.

Overall, I would give that specific deal a B-. It didn’t address any of their clear needs, but it was an upgrade without losing anyone who would help the team this year or really in future years.

Overall Deadline Grade

For the deadline overall, to achieve none of their stated agenda and fill none of their needs, I give them a F. They had an opportunity to improve the team and really separate themselves from the AL West, make themselves into solid contenders in the AL, and they completely whiffed.

Staying under the luxury tax seemed to be more important than winning. In a year when the AL is wide open, and several AL contenders made big improvements, the Astros failed to move the needle for their team at a time when the team is playing the best it has in a full calendar year. It’s a colossal miss and one that likely will result in the team having a new GM next season.

The Houston Astros are listed at +115 to win the AL West division and +3000 to win the World Series on the FanDuel Sportsbook. sportsbook.fanduel.com/navigation/mlb

The dust has settled, and the hard trade deadline is over. There were some big trades this year. There were some notable non-trades this year, too—we’ll get to that, later. Kansas City was quiet, though, with only a handful of deals completed.

Let’s grade the ones that they did, and one that they didn’t do.

Lane Thomas and Bailey Falter to the Braves for Lucas Braun and Carter Holton

Grade: B+

Lane Thomas probably knew when he signed with Kansas City that he’d either make the playoffs with the team or end the year playing for someone else. Bailey Falter has probably wished he was somewhere else for a while, as did the Royals front office at this point. By trading them to the Braves, the Royals enacted their most impactful trade of the deadline.

The key player here is Lucas Braun, a 24-year-old righty selected by Atlanta in the 2023 draft. Braun has seen success in the high levels of the minors as a starter; in 94 innings pitched this year across Double-A and Triple-A, he has a 3.53 ERA and a 3.76 FIP. The Royals also got Carter Holton, the 62nd overall pick in the 2024 draft who missed all of 2025 with Tommy John.

To get legitimate rotation depth and a buy-low lefty pitcher drafted in the second round a few years later is a pretty good result. The only reason this doesn’t get an A is because you just have to wonder what the Royals could have gotten if they didn’t attach Falter and his salary to the deal.

Kris Bubic to the Dodgers for Carlos Duran

Grade: A-

When healthy, Kris Bubic has ended up as the most valuable of all the vaunted 2018 Royals draft class arms. But that is the key: when healthy. Bubic has only pitched a little more than 200 total innings across the last four seasons, and he’s never tossed more than 130 innings. With looming free agency at the end of the year as well as lingering arm problems, it was no guarantee the Royals would be able to move him for anything at all.

However, the Royals did find a suitor for Bubic in Los Angeles. The Dodgers are the cozy home for enigmatic-but-talented pitchers and aren’t afraid to spend the annual GDP of Iceland on players on the injury list. Moreover, the Royals got something back—Carlos Duran. A right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic, Duran just turned 25, and threw one third of an inning with Atlanta last year. But in 37 innings for the Dodgers’ Triple-A squad, Duran struck out over 31% of total batters with a 3.38 ERA. He’s got two more option years remaining and many years of control.

Expect him to be the closer by Thursday. I jest. But do I? It was a good trade.

Manuel Colon to the Phillies for Nolan Hoffman

Grade: B-

Not many Royals fans know who Manuel Colon is, and sort of for good reason: he’s a 19-year-old with two innings in A ball this year. He is the definition of a lottery ticket—might be worth something, might be worth less than that—which is the going rate to require roughly replacement level talent in the upper minors, which is what Nolan Hoffman is. Hoffman, 28, is with his fourth big league organization, and is a right-handed arm with a strikeout rate north of 25% in each of the last three seasons at Triple-A.

Kansas City needs arms right now, and Hoffman will probably see the big league bullpen sooner rather than later.

Not trading any of Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, or Daniel Lynch IV

Grade: F

Sometimes the most impactful trades are the ones you don’t make. Kansas City entered the trade deadline with three pitchers who had multiple years of control and who would have been big additions for another club looking to add legitimate, playoff-caliber talent: starting pitchers Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, and left-handed reliever Daniel Lynch IV.

Kansas City didn’t trade any of them.

In some comments to the media after the deadline, general manager JJ Picollo was clear that no deal worked out because the Royals wanted big league ready talent and other playoff teams balked at that. He believes that the Royals will compete next year and thinks that Wacha and Lugo and Lynch can help the team then. I think it’s a big miss.

What do I know, I guess. I do know that the Royals’ odds to win the division right now are +30000 at FanDuel and that also doesn’t bode well for the future. But, you know, sure. Let’s win it all next year.

While nearly every other MLB team made moves at the 2026 MLB trade deadline to boost its present and future, the Athletics sat on the sidelines, unwilling to shake up a roster that is staring down a fifth straight losing season. 

Entering the deadline, it felt like the A’s were not going to do much, as the organization continues building in anticipation of its 2028 relocation to Las Vegas. As such, it made sense that the team kept recently extended starters Jacob Wilson and Tyler Soderstrom off the market, as well as promising rookies Henry Bolte, Gage Jump and Joshua Kuroda-Grauer.

The reason why the team did basically nothing was that it had no healthy, valuable players to put on the trade block. Injuries and performance regression were major factors behind the team’s collapse over the past couple of months.

The A’s two pending free-agents, left-handed pitcher Jeffrey Springs and second baseman Jeff McNeil, stayed with the team. Their poor performances and team-options for next season likely discouraged contending teams from pursuing them.

A’s Make A Minor Trade

The Athletics’ lone move was announced right at the deadline. The club traded 25-year-old outfielder Colby Thomas to the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for right-handed reliever Seth Johnson.

Thomas had plenty of opportunity to prove himself with the Athletics since he made his MLB debut last August, but he failed to provide much of an impact. With the A’s, he accumulated 10 home runs and 30 RBIs over his first 234 major league at-bats. Now he goes to Philadelphia, where he will look to provide some thump against left-handed pitchers for a Phillies team in the postseason hunt.

Johnson can immediately slot into an A’s bullpen in need of help. Through 16 appearances with the Phillies this season, the hard-throwing 27-year-old recorded a 1-0 record, a 5.51 ERA and 20 strikeouts. He has fared significantly better at Triple-A, going 1-1 with a 2.17 ERA at that lower level. 

Trade Grade: C

They traded from a position of strength, getting rid of Thomas, who projects as only a platoon bat due to the incompetence he has shown against right-handed pitchers. In return, they acquired a former highly ranked pitching prospect who could help a bullpen that owns the worst ERA in the majors

Johnson’s electric arsenal consists of a high-90s four-seam fastball and a power slider. He has struggled to limit the walks, making him a natural fit for this walk-happy pitching staff. If the A’s can harness his stuff and help him throw more strikes, he could emerge as a late-inning weapon for this bullpen-needy club.

Opportunity Missed

The Green and Gold could have made more of an impact had starting catcher Shea Langeliers not suffered a torn meniscus. Given his multiple years of team control and elite all-around performance, Langeliers would have fetched the Athletics a return on par if not bigger than what the Boston Red Sox sent to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for mutli-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman.

Unfortunately, Langeliers’ potential season-ending injury took him off the market. It also likely contributed to the team keeping fellow catcher Jonah Heim, a free-agent at season’s end. 

Do you think the trade deadline moved the needle for the Athletics? Were you waiting for them to make a splashy move? What do you think the A’s World Series odds (currently set at +100000 by FanDuel) are? Weigh in below.

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While Yankees fans, in general, liked the addition of Luis García Jr. on Sunday — after all, who can say no to the third-highest slugging percentage in baseball — they were eager for more. To different levels, catcher, third base, a right-handed outfield bat, and the middle of the bullpen represented possibilities for real upgrades to the roster, and predictably, the fanbase had its eyes on the biggest fish in the sea.

Unfortunately, as the day ticked on, these fish went elsewhere — Luis Arraez to Philadelphia, Adley Rutschman to Boston, Clay Holmes to Chicago — while the only acquisition made in New York was me getting some books out of the library, until finally, at long last, the front office finalized a deal. They acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for a pair of prospects.

The New York Yankees today announced that they have acquired outfielder Heliot Ramos from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for minor league infielder Kaeden Kent and left-handed pitcher Henry Lalane.

— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) August 3, 2026

And the crowd went…mild.

Seriously. These were arguably the comments that were most optimistic about this move. The vast majority … well, this is supposed to be a family-friendly blog, so no, I’m not going to share too many. Let’s just say, this is on the tame side.

Not everyone was simply reacting to the Ramos move itself, though. Quite a few members of the community began to discuss the long-term implications, wondering what this means for Giancarlo Stanton’s long-term role on the team.

Side note: it’s going to be a lockout, not a strike. Let’s all remember that the work stoppage will be formallty instigated by the owners, not the players, as the CBA is expiring; they’re the ones to blame.

Still others — myself included — have begun to ask the question, “Where’s George Lombard Jr.?”

(The answer, I think, will be August 16th, at which point he will not exhaust rookie eligibility for a potential PPI draft pick ).

Now that we had some time to think about it, I turn the question back over to you. What do you think of the Heliot Ramos acquisition? Vote in our poll, and let us know in the comments’ section below!

Everybody called San Diego to ask about Mason Miller. Nobody got him.

The Padres spent Monday buying two starting pitchers instead. Miller is still in Southern California. Reid Detmers stayed with the Los Angeles Angels while the roster came apart around him. Trevor Rogers remained in Baltimore after the Orioles moved their franchise catcher. George Springer stayed in Toronto because his contract says he doesn't have to go anywhere. Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom and Corey Seager told the Rangers they weren't leaving Texas.

These were guys who came up in multiple rumors and who would have moved the needle for a contender, but they did not end up switching uniforms.

Here's the best players who were not traded at the 2026 MLB trade deadline:

TRADE DEADLINE WINNERS AND LOSERS: Dodgers, Red Sox and Phillies all in

RHP Mason Miller, San Diego Padres

Along with Tarik Skubal, the name that drew the most attention all deadline was Miller. It was never really going to happen. San Diego sat a game out of a playoff spot and getting Miller was going to cost top-100 prospects while gutting a bullpen the Padres think they need in October. A.J. Preller did a U-turn and bought instead, adding Robbie Ray and Casey Mize.

LHP Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels

The last big holdout on the board. The Angels traded Jose Soriano to Toronto and Logan O'Hoppe to Texas, then kept the lefty with two more years of club control. Reportedly teams found the asking price for Detmers wild. He has been terrific for two months, with a 3.18 ERA with 75 strikeouts over 65 innings in his last 11 starts. He stays to watch the Angels rebuild, again.

LHP Trevor Rogers, Baltimore Orioles

Baltimore traded Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward and Dean Kremer and hung onto the pending free agent who has been better than any of them lately. Rogers has a 2.21 ERA and a 51-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 10 starts. The Orioles are still within sight of a playoff spot, but their fire sale indicated they are not expecting October. They are building for next year.

OPINION: Loser mentality all the rage at 2026 MLB trade deadline

C Tyler Stephenson, Cincinnati Reds

Every contender needed a catcher and after Adley Rutschman and Liam Hicks, the Reds had the best option. The White Sox checked in, the Rays scouted him and so did the Yankees. He's hitting .256 with a .342 on-base percentage and a 108 OPS+ in 85 games. He's healthy and right-handed. It's surprising he is not heading to a contender.

SS Zach Neto, Los Angeles Angels

Everyone expected him to be heading to Boston to join the red-hot Red Sox. They went for a catcher in Rutschman instead. Neto is on pace for 20 home runs with a strikeout total to match and a minus-9 in outs above average that doesn't square with how the Red Sox like to prevent runs. The Angels traded Jose Soriano, Logan O'Hoppe and Ryan Zeferjohn. They held on to Neto.

George Springer, Blue Jays, DH

A full no-trade clause allowed Springer to say no. He had no interest in leaving Toronto. The Blue Jays sold Kevin Gausman, Jeff Hoffman and Daulton Varsho around him. Springer has played exactly one game in the outfield this season, which narrowed the field anyway.

Corey Seager, Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom, Rangers SS and RHPs

Texas was willing to listen. Its players were not. Jacob deGrom refused to waive his complete no-trade clause and told reporters he wanted to win in Texas. Nathan Eovaldi has full no-trade protection of his own. Corey Seager had a no-trade list of eight teams and apparently things never got far enough for the Rangers to ask.

So a front office that opened for business was told to shut it down by the players worth the most.

CJ Abrams, Nationals, SS

The Nationals weren't afraid to sell. Luis Garcia Jr. went to the Yankees for four pitchers. Foster Griffin went to Cleveland for four more players. Abrams was the one piece Paul Toboni wasn't going to move in his first trade deadline running Washington. He's just 25 and his upside keeps him in the nation's capital.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mason Miller, Jacob deGrom and more stars who stayed put at trade deadline