Category: Baseball

The New York Yankees needed a jolt of energy offensively, and they got one by acquiring Luis García Jr. from the Nationals. It’s a deal with several layers because the uncertainty surrounding how they’ll handle García is directly tied to just how much of this breakout campaign he can carry over.

Originally a middle infielder, and not a particularly good one defensively, Garcia permanently moved to a first-base role in 2026 as the Nationals underwent some structural changes in their organization. As luck would have it, his production with the bat has ticked up in such a way to justify the move, currently leading the National League in slugging percentage at .560, already having blown past his career high in homers with 23.

Initially, García’s usage could be as straightforward as a platoon with Paul Goldschmidt at first-base/designated hitter. Yes, even in the middle of this highly productive campaign, Garcia has been subpar versus left-handed pitchers, at least poor enough that it makes sense for the Yankees not to give him a full-time role, particularly with how well the aging Goldschmidt still hits against southpaws.

With a fully healthy team, things get more interesting, as ideally that DH opening won’t be there. Should Giancarlo Stanton return this season, the Yankees would have to scramble to fit all of these hitters into a lineup, and barring punting defense, shifting Jazz Chisholm Jr. back to third, and squeezing García in at second, a healthy team means one of Ben Rice, García, and Stanton sitting. But even though Giancarlo Stanton is scheduled to take BP on Monday, the Yankees are clearly past the point of planning to have him healthy—it’s one of those “if we get him, that’s good; if not, we should be prepared” situations— and García’s acquistion reflects that mentality.

García got to this level as a legitimate power threat seemingly thanks in part to the work the coaching staff in Washington did with him. García was encouraged by the Nationals’ new coaches to work on improving his bat speed, and it paid off.

García has displayed an improvement of nearly a mile and a half per hour on his bat speed, going from a 72.4 mark he had in 2025—which was a career high—to a 74.0 this season.

From an approach standpoint, not a lot has changed with García. He swings a lot, and this newfound power hasn’t necessarily led to or stemmed from improved plate discipline. The former National still strikes out and walks at similar clips, with a 16.3 percent K% and 4.1 percent BB% in 2026 that are almost exactly in line with his career norms. García puts the ball in play a lot and always has, it’s just that now, he’s bringing power when he connects.

As is the case with basically any power hitter from the left side that moves to Yankee Stadium, it’s tempting to think about the potential fit with the short porch. García should certainly fit fine, though even in this breakout campaign, García isn’t your traditional massively pull-happy power hitter from the left side. Other lefties on the Yankees, such as Ben Rice and Jazz Chisholm Jr., have higher rates of pulled air balls than Garcia’s respectable and above-average 18.5%. That said, the move to Yankee Stadium can’t hurt.

It should be noted that this power surge has been massively concentrated in the past two months, as before the start of June, Garcia only had five long balls on the year. Then he racked up 11 in a single month in June, carrying that level on until this trade that sends him to the Bronx. García should bring real thump, but maybe not league-leading slug, as he’s done with the Nationals this year. That he might not be able to hit with quite this much power is probably reflected in the fact that the Yankees were able to acquire García without giving up any blue-chip talent.

Even if he regresses from where he’s been this year, García’s addition provides the Yankees with a solid left-handed bat to include in this rotation of starters at 1B/DH without having to sacrifice much. If he continues to hit close to or at his 2026 levels, then the Yankees just added a premium slugger to the heart of their order. It’s close to a no-brainer move, even if the defensive fit isn’t exactly seamless. García’s glove doesn’t have to fit perfectly if his bat plays as it has this season.

The Toronto Blue Jays traded starting pitcher Kevin Gausman to the Chicago Cubs last night for minor leaguers Brett Bateman and Ty Southisene. This morning, it is being announced that the Jays are acquiring starting pitcher Jose Soriano from the Anaheim Angels for minor leaguers Arjun Nimmala, Eddie Mitcheletti and Angel Rivero.

So we have got some of the rare buy-and-sell action from the Jays. At 4.5 games back of Wild Card 3 and 13.5 games back in the American League East, it makes sense that the Jays would deal Gausman, a 35 year old in the final year of a 5 year, $110 million deal. Gausman’s 4.38 ERA in 2026 is the first 4+ ERA he’s had in his time with the Jays, though his FIP of 3.51 and xERA of 3.95 are in line with what he put up last year, when he had a 3.59 ERA, 3.73 xERA and 3.41 FIP. Gausman was a stalwart in the Jays’ playoff run in 2025, allowing ten runs in five starts and a relief appearance covering 30.2 innings in the 2025 postseason, and gives the Cubs a veteran arm to help them down the stretch and that can bolster their playoff rotation.

The return for Gausman is not as impressive as I would have expected. Southisene is #10 on the Baseball America Cubs top 30 list, and Bateman isn’t on their top 30. Southisene is a 21 year old middle infielder who was a fourth round pick in 2024 and is slashing .306/.425/.372 between low-A and high-A this season. Bateman was an 8th round pick in 2023 out of the University of Minnesota, and has slashed .312/.430/.421 at AAA this season while playing primarily center field.

Having parted with a starting pitcher who was slated to be a free agent at the end of the season, the Jays are apparently replacing him with a starting pitcher who is under team control through 2028. Soriano, 27, is a righthander who had a dominating start to the season, allowing just one run in his first six starts. For the season he has a 3.29 ERA and 3.79 FIP in 123 innings over 22 starts. He’s making just $2.9 million this season, and is likely looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 million for 2027.

Soriano was reportedly generating a lot of interest, and the Angels were thought likely to deal him, though the expectation was that it would be a contender acquiring Soriano. Instead, the Jays were the top bidder, and while they are unlikely to be in the playoff mix this year, they do have someone they can pencil into their rotation for the following two years.

Nimmala, the Jays’ first round pick in 2023, is the prize of the deal, a 20 year old shortstop who has advanced to AA this year, and who is a consensus top 100 prospect who BA has as the top prospect in the Jays system. Micheletti was the Jays’ 8th round pick in 2024 out of Virginia Tech, and is a 24 year old outfielder slashing .251/.347/.454 in AA this year. Rivero is a 19 year old righthanded pitcher who put up a 2.36 ERA in 42 innings in the Gulf Coast League this summer. Neither of them are in the BA top 30 for the Jays.

On the lookout for bullpen help, the Phillies are going to make a move for a lefty to help out the group.

Brooks Raley to Phillies

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) August 3, 2026

Raley is a solid addition if it is done, giving them another left handed option that can supplant the options they have there currently.

More to come.

UPDATE: Here is the return for Raley.

The Phillies are sending RHP Luke Gabrysh and OF John Spikerman to the Mets for LH reliever Brooks Raley.

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) August 3, 2026

The Mets are trading left-handed reliever Brooks Raley to the Phillies, reports SNY MLB Insider Chelsea Janes.

In return, New York is receiving outfielder John Spikerman and right-handed pitcher Luke Gabrysh from Philadelphia.

Spikerman was ranked No. 27 on the Phillies' top 30 prospects list that was released before the season. Gabrysh was not in the top 30.

A plus defender who has 70-grade speed, the 23-year-old Spikerman was selected in the third round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He has a .754 OPS this season for A-ball Clearwater and High-A Jersey Shore, with his .423 OBP standing out. 

Gabrysh, 23, was taken in the 15th round of the 2024 draft. In two minor league seasons, he has a 4.17 ERA and 1.31 WHIP over 146.2 innings. He has spent all of this season with High-A Jersey Shore, striking out 89 hitters in 68.1 innings in 18 games (17 starts) this year.

The deal of Raley follows the trade of Huascar Brazoban to the White Sox early Monday morning and last week's trade of A.J. Minter to the Twins.

Like Minter, Raley was set for free agency after the season. 

Raley, 38, had been a mainstay for New York at the end of games since 2023. 

This season, Raley had a 1.96 ERA (3.10 FIP) and 1.08 WHIP with 40 strikeouts and just two home runs allowed in 41.1 innings over 45 appearances.

For his Mets career, Raley posted a 2.31 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 128.2 innings.

Raley, who was initially acquired by the Mets in a trade with the Rays in December of 2022, underwent Tommy John surgery in May of 2024 and was re-signed by the team in April of 2025. 

It’s deadline day and the Phillies have reportedly made a deal.

BREAKING: The Philadelphia Phillies are acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez in a trade with the San Francisco Giants, sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 3, 2026

Landing Arraez has been rumored for a few days, but it appears to have come to fruition. Here is the rumored return.

Phillies are trading for three-time batting champion Luis Arraez of the San Francisco Giants and right-reliever Kaleb Kilian. The Giants will receive starter Ramon Marquez, the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect and reliever Marty Gair. https://t.co/iPGhXIEUgm

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) August 3, 2026

That’s a hefty package, but it’s the offensive upgrade they need.

More to come

Now that the dust has settled on the Luis Garcia Jr. trade, I wanted to highlight my two favorite pieces. Yovanny Cruz and Ben Grable are two relief prospects who project to be weapons in the Nats bullpen for years to come. If Paul Toboni wanted to, he likely could have gotten prospects that were higher ranked on public sites, but instead he centered the package around dynamic bullpen arms that can help the team soon.

In Cruz and Grable, the Nats got two arms who should factor into the 2027 bullpen plans, with Cruz being a plug and play option. Despite giving away Garcia, who leads the NL in slugging, this move was largely made with 2027 and 2028 in mind. It is no secret that the Nats have issues in the bullpen, and these two arms should help fix that.

First, I want to talk about Cruz, who will immediately slide into the Nats bullpen. Cruz has some of the most effortless velocity you will ever see. He can throw 100 MPH fastballs and look like he is just playing catch. That type of electricity is badly needed in the Nats bullpen.

I don’t know about you, but I am VERY excited to see more of Yovanny Cruz. After another solid outing tonight, he has 6 Ks over his first 4.1 IP

Boy oh boy is that an EEEAAASSSYY 101🔥 pic.twitter.com/BFdRhxoTvz

— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) July 1, 2026

Before this season, Cruz had a winding path through the minor leagues. He was in the Cubs organization from 2017 to 2023, not getting above High-A. After the Cubs gave up on him, he had single season stints with the Padres and Red Sox organizations before signing with the Yankees as a minor league free agent this offseason. This season Cruz suddenly started throwing way more strikes in the Yankees system.

As a result, he started dominating in AAA. Cruz posted a 3.53 ERA and 3.39 FIP in the minors this year. He struck out 33.1% of hitters while walking just 8.9% of them, which is very manageable for a reliever. In 5.1 big league innings, he walked just one batter and struck out six, posting a 1.69 ERA.

When you look at Cruz’s stuff, it is easy to see why he gets all these strikeouts. His fastball sits around 100 MPH, which is rare even in the modern game. The shape of the pitch is not great, which means the heater plays down slightly. However, it is still premium velocity which makes it an effective offering. I would argue his slider is his best pitch though. He throws it more than his fastball and hitters just can’t seem to touch the offering.

Four Pitchers. Just what the Nationals need!

Jack Cebert is the only arm from this group that projects to be a starter. He has been on fire since the All-Start break and now holds a 4.03 ERA, 27.4% K%, and 7.1% BB% this season. His arsenal consists of 5 pitches, including a trio… https://t.co/fXSbbKqMSSpic.twitter.com/q0npfWNKmz

— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) August 2, 2026

It is a 91 MPH bullet that just drops off the table. He has commanded the pitch well this season too. The final pitch of his arsenal is a splitter he throws about 5% of the time. It is a really intriguing pitch that the Nats could look to unlock further.

The fact Cruz is almost 27 and did not throw strikes before this year is somewhat concerning. However, we see pop up relievers fairly often. A lot of great bullpen arms take a while to figure things out. If this strike-throwing sticks, the Nats have a potential closer as soon as right now. 

The stuff is nasty and there are some tweaks to be made as well. With his poor fastball shape, I wonder if adding a sinker would help him out. A 100 MPH power sinker would make him even more devastating. That splitter also has a chance to be featured more, especially against lefties. Cruz should immediately slide into a high leverage role, and if he keeps throwing strikes like he has this season, he could be in that role for many years.

Unlike Cruz, Ben Grable is not quite big league ready yet, but his upside might be even higher. Grable may not throw 100, but his fastball is better than Cruz’s. He sits around 96, but gets over 20 inches of induced vertical break. That makes his fastball look like it is rising, making hitters swing under the pitch.

Grable has a nutty fastball. Sits 96 with 20-21" vertical break from a 6.2' release. 35% zone miss on it.

Cebert has strikes and chase with a sweeper-cutter combo that has a bunch of lift.

Data snapshow below. https://t.co/OSkY6mD17Ppic.twitter.com/bzQemZ4hk1

— Lance Brozdowski (@LanceBroz) August 2, 2026

It is a true unicorn of a heater and that pitch alone should carry him to the big leagues. What makes it even more special is Grable’s ability to command the pitch. Between High-A and AA, Grable is striking out 38.4% of hitters while walking just 6.8%. He has a 2.45 ERA and an even lower 1.86 FIP this season. The 24 year old is one of the best pure relief prospects in all of baseball.

There is some risk, most of it being health related. He had a couple elbow surgeries in college, including Tommy John and has an unusual arm action. However, he has been healthy lately and has a chance to be a big league closer.

To go with the plus-plus heater, Grable has a solid slider that is nothing special, but does enough to fool hitters sitting dead red. He will also mix in a curveball and splitter on very rare occasions. Grable throws the fastball 75% of the time though, and for good reason. Even though hitters know what is coming, they still can’t hit it.

Ben Grable has one of the best fastballs in the entire Yankees organization. It was dominant again last night, touching 97mph and striking out 5 in his 2 innings of work.

The Yankees 11th round pick last year now has 13 strikeouts in 5.2 innings this season pic.twitter.com/300XGbQtNE

— . (@HalToHell) April 16, 2026

As he gets to AAA and eventually the big leagues, he may need to mix in his other pitches slightly more. However, the fastball is good enough where he can throw it 65 to 70% of the time and have success. Ironically, his approach is similar to Nats assistant pitching coach Sean Doolittle, who also leaned heavily on his rising heater.

Grable could have a similar career to Doolittle as a fastball heavy closer with good command. As long as he stays healthy, I think he can be an elite reliever. He should be big league ready sometime next season. It is clear what Paul Toboni was looking for in this package, and if you wanted potential high leverage arms for Garcia, he did very well here.

There is only so much value in relief pitchers, so I am not sure this is the most upside rich package here. However, it matches the Nats needs very well and sets up the bullpen for the present and future. This organization was not going to let the bullpen be this bad again, and they showed that by getting two potential controllable relief weapons. Get used to Yovanny Cruz and Ben Grable because they should be in the Nats bullpen for a long time.

Good morning and happy trade deadline day! Last week, we heard one of the game’s most prominent insiders tell us that the Red Sox were “going to go big” at this year’s trade deadline. Yesterday, we got confirmation that the team is at least trying to do that, as Breslow has pursued Elly de la Cruz, a genuine star who would have represented perhaps the biggest trade deadline deal the Sox have ever consummated.

Of course, the de la Cruz deal did not materialize. That happens, especially when you’re talking about a player of his profile — young, great, not particularly expensive. And while we’ve been hearing rumors about players like CJ Abrams, Zach Neto, and Otto Lopez for weeks now, the failed de la Cruz pursuit reminds us that getting these deals over the line is hard. I mean, there’s a reason why no one was even considering de la Cruz as a possible option until yesterday.

This raises the question: how will you feel if the Sox don’t do something big today? Would it be a failure of the front office? A prudent move to hold onto prospects? Something in between, with the additional context that it might be a good thing not to rock the boat that’s currently carrying the hottest team in baseball?

Talk about trades that may or may not happen and whatever else you want in this space and, as always, be good to one another.

Editor's note: Follow along for live rumors, trades and news during MLB's trade deadline day on Monday, Aug. 3.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who have been desperately searching for a right-handed hitting outfielder, instead pivoted and are acquiring the finest left-handed infielder in the game.

The Phillies are trading for three-time batting champion Luis Arraez of the San Francisco Giants and right-reliever Caleb Kilian, a person with direct knowledge of the trade told USA TODAY Sports. The Giants will receive starter Ramon Marquez, the Phillies’ No. 4 prospect and reliever Marty Gair.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity since the trade has yet to be announced until physicals are complete.

Arraez, a three-time All-Star, is hitting .324 this season with four homers, 47 RBI and an .801 OPS. And although he’s left-handed, he still rakes against lefties, hitting .315 with a .341 on-base percentage, .441 slugging percentage and .782 OPS.

Really, he’s exactly the type of hitter the Phillies are looking for: someone who is dramatically different than what they have in place. Instead of slug, he is contact. Instead of home runs, he brings singles. Instead of strikeouts, he gets on base, striking out just 21 times all season.

Arraez will play second base in Philly, and the Phillies are planning on moving Bryson Stott to third base and Bryce Harper to right field.

The Phillies also acquired Mets left-handed reliever Brooks Raley and are still are searching for another veteran starter.

Luis Arraez contract

Arraez will be a free agent at the end of the season, unless the Phillies decide to extend his contract. The second baseman is on a one-year deal. He signed for $12 million with the Giants on February 10, 2026.

Luis Arraez age

Arraez turned 29-years-old near the beginning of the 2026 season. He will turn 30 in April 2027.

Luiz Arraez MLB career and stats

Arraez is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder who's nickname is "La Regadera," which is Spanish for "The Sprinkler."

He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Minnesota Twins on May 18, 2019. He is in his eighth MLB season having previously played for the Twins, Miami Marlins, Padres and Giants.

Arraez became a four-time All-Star, two-time Silver Slugger Award-winner and three-time batting champion.  He has a career batting average of .318 with 40 home runs and 348 RBIs. His career slugging splits are .363 OBP/.417 SLG/.780 OPS.

Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Luis Arraez traded to Phillies: Giants send hit machine to Philadelphia

Newsday | Erik Boland: The Yankees finally added a bat on Sunday, trading away pitchers Jake Bird, Yovanny Cruz, Jack Cebert and Ben Grable to the Nationals in exchange for infielder Luis García Jr. The 26-year-old used to play second base, but now he is mostly a 1B/DH. Controllable for one extra year after 2026, he is hitting .283/.313/.560 with 23 home runs, 76 RBI, and a 134 wRC+ this year.

NJ Advance Media | Adam Zagoria: The Yankees were one of the teams engaged in talks with the Detroit Tigers to trade for star left-hander Tarik Skubal. The Dodgers, once again, got the prize, completing a deal for the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner. Reports indicated that the Yanks had a chance to bring in the ace without including George Lombard Jr; maybe Detroit preferred Zyhir Hope as the headliner, or perhaps New York wasn’t aggressive enough. Perhaps we will never know.

New York Post | Greg Joyce Speaking of Skubal, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he wasn’t surprised to see him go to the Dodgers. “Not shocked,” the skipper said at Wrigley Field. “You knew Skubal, it seemed like he was available the last few days. So not shocked, knowing the system the Dodgers had.” The Tigers ended up choosing the Dodgers’ package of Hope and pitchers River Ryan, and Brady Smith.

MLB Trade Rumors | Connor Byrne The San Diego Padres, according to a report from Bob Nightengale, rejected a trade offer from the Yankees in which the Bombers would have acquired top lefty reliever Adrián Morejón and the Friars would have gotten Will Warren. After another dominant relief appearance on Sunday, Morejón dropped his season ERA to 3.00 in 60 innings, with a 2.37 FIP and 70 strikeouts.

The Athletic | Brendan Kuty: The Yankees are expected to remain active in trade talks until Monday, 6 pm ET. Kuty identifies their six most attractive (and realistic) trade chips, and all of them are currently on the major league roster.

The Mets are trading relieverHuascar Brazobán to the Chicago White Sox, according to reports early Monday morning by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic and ESPN's Alden Gonzalez.

New York is receiving right-handed pitchers Gabe Davis and Zach Franklin, per the reports. Davis is Chicago's No. 18 overall prospect, as ranked by MLB Pipeline.

Davis, 22, was a fifth-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft. The White Sox promoted him to Double-A Birmingham at the end of May after he started his 2026 season with a 2.63 ERA and 1.06 WHIP in eight starts for High-A Winston-Salem. Through 10 Double-A starts, he has an 8.31 ERA and 1.85 WHIP.

Franklin, 27, has spent the year with Triple-A Charlotte. In 33 games, he has a 1.13 WHIP, two holds and five saves in six opportunities.

Acquired by the Mets as part of a 2024 trade with the Miami Marlins, Brazobán carved out a nice role in New York. The 2026 season has been his best as a pro with the right-hander pitching to a 2.61 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 51.2 innings.

Brazobán also proved to be a versatile reliever for the Mets, starting six games this year in an opener role while also pitching in high-leverage spots late in games as well.

The Yankees have scouted outfielder Heliot Ramos "for more than two weeks," according to Sunday's report by the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser, with the outfielder among the San Francisco Giants' potential trade chips entering Monday's 6 p.m. deadline.

Slusser mentioned Ramos, 26, as a player "who could go via trade" with the Giants at 47-65 exiting this weekend.

The Philadelphia Phillies have also scouted Ramos in the same timespan as New York, according to Slusser.

While primarily playing left field, Ramos is slashing .264/.304/.424 with nine home runs and 34 RBI through 74 games this season.

He logged a career-high 157 games in 2025 and slashed .264/.304/.424 with 21 home runs and 69 RBI.

In 121 games for 2024, Ramos slashed .269/.322/.469 with 22 home runs and 72 RBI.

He made his MLB debut April 10, 2022, and played in 34 games with the Giants through the 2023 season.

San Francisco selected Ramos -- a product of Leadership Christian Academy in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico -- with the No. 19 overall pick in the first round of the 2017 MLB Draft.

The Yankees landed a bat with Sunday's trade for infielder Luis Garcia Jr. but could be in the outfield market, among other areas, since All-Stars Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger remain injured.

LOS ANGELES — Dave Roberts never feels good after getting swept, but Sunday might have been an exception. How else can you really feel less than 24 hours after finding out the your team just traded for Tarik Skubal?

"That's a silver lining, I guess," Roberts said after the Los Angeles Dodgers' 8-4 loss to the Boston Red Sox.

Moments after Saturday's 3-2 loss, ESPN's Jeff Passan dropped his biggest bomb of the trade deadline: the Dodgers were acquiring Skubal from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handed pitchers River Ryan and Brady Smith. The price was steep — Hope and Ryan are MLB Pipeline's No. 25- and 68-ranked prospects, while Smith was No. 17 on the Dodgers' top 30 prospects list — but not one that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman couldn't afford.

And after spending almost all of July downplaying his pursuit of the reigning back-to-back American League Cy Young winner, Friedman said negotiations started picking up on Friday before he eventually pulled the trigger on Saturday night, adding the best pitcher in baseball to a rotation that (when healthy) consists of 2025 World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani.

"As we've talked about a lot, whenever there's a star-level player that is available that can really shift championship odds, those are the moments that we'll be more aggressive," Friedman said. "... With the core we have right now, with the way they go about their preparation to do everything they can to win a championship, when we can add to that and enhance our chances, we're going to be aggressive to do so."

Friedman has shown the willingness to do this before, like in 2017 when he traded for Yu Darvish or when he traded for Manny Machado the following year. Both of them ended up contributing to pennant runs. In 2021, he landed Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals in a blockbuster deal.

This year, as Roberts put it, "it was Skubal or nothing."

Tarik has arrived. pic.twitter.com/CxNR10B1tG

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 3, 2026

The Dodgers' clubhouse had mostly cleared out when news broke of the trade. Edwin Díaz was on his way back home when he saw it on social media and began talking about it with his driver. Jack Dreyer was watching the drone show on the field with his wife and daughters when he felt his phone start buzzing nonstop.

"And then I saw it and it was like, 'wow,'" Dreyer told USA TODAY Sports. "Super pumped, like very excited obviously. Any time you can go out and get a talent like that to bolster the pitching staff leading into the end of the season and the postseason, it's really exciting."

When Miguel Rojas walked into the clubhouse, he noticed most of the guys on their phones, showing each other their screens as news quickly spread about their newest teammate. Rojas was surprised at first, but in a way, he really wasn't.

Just a few days prior in a position players meeting, Roberts emphasized his focus on wanting to win this year. 2024 and 2025 no longer matter; the Dodgers are all-in on trying to become the first team in National League history to three-peat.

"It's a statement from this organization to the rest of the league and the world that they're not just satisfied with what happened the last couple of years," Rojas said. "... And for the front office to go out there and land that punch is really impressive."

Freddie Freeman hit a walkoff grand slam on a bum ankle in Game 1 of the 2024 World Series. Shohei Ohtani played that same series on a dislocated shoulder. Yoshinobu Yamamoto threw two complete games in the 2025 postseason, one of them in Game 2 the World Series, then threw 96 pitches in Game 6 before taking the mound again one day later and closing out the Blue Jays.

So when Friedman makes a move like trading for Skubal, that tells the clubhouse that he's just as committed to winning as they are. He's willing to do whatever it takes to put the team in the best position to win a championship. Just like they are.

"I think that speaks to the culture of the Dodgers," Dreyer told USA TODAY Sports. "Not only do we have really good players, but we have the best front office. We have the best scouts, the best player development. The best at every single level. So, it doesn't really matter who you are within the organization; as long as you know your role and do it to the best of your ability, you belong here."

Dreyer added that he's looking forward to seeing how Skubal goes about his preparation and the learning opportunity that comes with watching his routine behind the scenes.

Skubal arrived at Dodger Stadium during Sunday's game and emerged in the dugout before the sixth inning, dapping up his new teammates and acquainting himself with Roberts as he wore the interlocking LA hat for the first time. He'll likely make his debut Tuesday, Aug. 4 in Chicago.

Tarik, meet your new teammates! pic.twitter.com/BSoWUNPsJv

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 3, 2026

The Dodgers are on pace to win more than 100 games for the third time this decade. That was the case without Skubal. With him now in the fold, and both Snell and Glasnow nearing returns from their respective injuries, they seem more primed than ever to make their push for history in October.

Legendary Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke asked Roberts if he feels unbeatable.

"We gotta play well," Roberts said. "Baseball's baseball. We gotta play the games, but I like our club."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'It was Skubal or nothing': Dodgers react to bombshell trade for Cy Young winner

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Padres fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

The San Diego Padres came out of the All-Star break and “got their teeth kicked in,” according to second baseman Jake Cronenworth. The Padres dropped two out of three to the lowly Kansas City Royals and then went to Atlanta where they dropped three out of four to the Braves. For a team needing to play well enough to convince team ownership to invest at the Trade Deadline it was not the return to play anyone wanted to see. San Diego then went to Miami and the Padres pulled off a three-game sweep of the Marlins before returning home to host the Colorado Rockies.

In this week’s Padres Reacts Survey, Gaslamp Ball wanted to know if San Diego had done enough to sway the minds of the Friar Faithful about what they should do at the trade deadline. Well… the answer was a resounding “No!” To be fair, we do not know if those who responded wanted to buy, sell or stand pat but whatever their stance was they are unchanged.

The question was asked prior to the results of the homestand so if asked again on the eve of the MLB Trade Deadline the response might be different. The Padres have won eight of their last nine games and have pulled within a game of the final Wild Card spot in the National League. The offense has been much improved from where it was to start the season, and the pitching has been cobbled together with the Pitching Chaos approach. This may or may not be the team to challenge the Los Angeles Dodgers in for the NL crown, but that may be a question for next week depending on what happens by 3 p.m. PST on Monday.

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