We’ll be dropping one final iteration of our top (remaining) trade candidates for today’s 6pm ET deadline this morning. Look for that early on, and in the meantime, here are some of the many key storylines to follow on 2026 Deadline Day.
1. Will the Tigers really stop at Skubal?
The Tigers moved on from two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal on Saturday, sending the ace southpaw to a Dodgers club that is leaning even harder into its supervillain reputation. Detroit netted some big league-ready players (or close to it) in righty River Ryan and outfielder Zyhir Hope. They also called up star prospect Max Clark just a day before the Skubal trade. Reporting post-Skubal has suggested the Tigers may not actually conduct a fire sale at this point. The Skubal trade dropped them under the tax line, so they can now recoup a comp pick after the first round if they make a qualifying offer to Casey Mize. Righty Jackson Jobe is on the mend from last year’s Tommy John surgery. If the Tigers indeed look to remain competitive, might they even make some additions to the roster?
2. How serious are the Angels?
The Halos traded two players with multiple years of club control (righty Chase Silseth, catcher Logan O’Hoppe) and scratched José Soriano from his start on Saturday while directly acknowledging that decision was due to the trade deadline’s proximity. Will owner Arte Moreno give interim GM John Mozeliak the green light to finally trade the type of controllable players he’s staunchly resisted dealing for the past decade-plus (under several different GMs along the way)? It’d be a modest surprise to finally give the front office the autonomy to do so while an interim GM is in place, but perhaps Moreno has already made up his mind about retaining Mozeliak moving forward. (Or perhaps he simply trusts Mozeliak’s experience enough to grant him that power even in the absence of a long-term commitment.) We’ll find out today.
3. Can the Red Sox get another infielder?
Boston surprised a good many onlookers in the industry by trading young left-hander Connelly Early for Curtis Mead amid Mead’s post-hype breakout in Washington. Mead, of course, fractured his wrist almost immediately after the swap, putting the Red Sox right back in the market for an infielder — ideally a shortstop, it seems. They’ve tried on Miami’s Otto Lopez and the Angels’ Zach Neto but been unwilling to put elite prospects like 20-year-old shortstop Franklin Arias on the block. Is there an under-the-radar target they could pursue? Will they instead cave and bite the bullet on someone like Arias or right-hander Anthony Eyanson? And, will the Sox finally subtract from their long-publicized glut of lefty-swinging outfielders?
4. Are the Rangers changing lanes?
The Rangers looked poised to add pieces late last week and even began moving in that direction with the acquisition of Silseth and O’Hoppe from the Angels. They haven’t won a game since last Tuesday, however, and were swept by the never-say-die Astros over the weekend, dropping Texas from first place to 2.5 games back. The Rangers don’t have much money to make additions. Rangers brass is at least contemplating the idea of pivoting to shed some money from the books. They’d have plenty of big names to put on the block, even if it’s not a full tear-down, but this would mark a radical turnaround from their direction just one week ago.
5. Will the Nationals make a big splash?
The Nats don’t appear committed to a full deadline sell-off, but they’ve moved controllable players Mead and Luis Garcia Jr. already, the former to Boston and the latter to the Bronx. The Nats have several other names to consider moving — most notably including CJ Abrams. There’s plenty of interest but understandably a high asking price on the infielder, who’s already established a new career-high with 28 home runs. Will a team blow the Nationals out of the water with an offer to pry two-plus years of Abrams away? Washington will also be fielding offers on lefty Foster Griffin and a series of more complementary veterans (including innings eaters Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas). Will Griffin move, sign an extension, or perhaps receive a qualifying offer at season’s end?
6. Deadline surprises!
No deadline comes and goes without some late-developing drama. There are plenty of ostensible long-shot names on the trade market. Will the Reds move co-ace Hunter Greene amid strong interest? Are Randy Arozarena and George Kirby staying put in Seattle? Would the Rangers go beyond rental players like Joc Pederson and try to move Jacob deGrom or even Corey Seager? (The Red Sox want a shortstop!) Could the Tigers pivot even harder and add one of the controllable arms mentioned here? Will the Giants pull off a stunner and succeed in moving one of their pricey underwater contracts (Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman)? Can anyone meet the Rockies’ asking price on Hunter Goodman or the Marlins’ ask on Lopez or Xavier Edwards? There are so, so many threads to unravel in the next 11 hours — and that’s without even mentioning Mason Miller and the perpetual deadline wild card A.J. Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations.