Posted 8/04/2026
We're under 50 games to go in the regular season for Major League Baseball, and it's crunch time. The trade deadline has passed, and many top contenders sought to make improvements to their rosters. There were several trades around the league, so we can't go into detail about them all, but a few marquee moves have massive postseason implications.
President of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs, Jed Hoyer, heavily prioritized pitching depth. The Cubs went out and got pitcher Kevin Gausman in a trade with the Blue Jays and pitcher Clay Holmes from the Mets.
At the time of this post, the Brewers were trying to keep the Cubs at bay with a 5 1/2-game lead. The Brewers fortified their pitching staff as well, acquiring right-handed starter Dustin May and left-handed reliever JoJo Romero from the St. Louis Cardinals to join Jacob Misiorowski. Misiorowski leads Major League Baseball starting pitchers with a stellar 1.58 ERA.
The Philadelphia Phillies made headlines by executing a blockbuster deal to acquire three-time batting champion and first baseman Luis Arráez, moving Bryce Harper to the outfield, while also acquiring right-handed reliever Caleb Kilian from the San Francisco Giants. The Phillies were second in the National League East, chasing the Atlanta Braves for first place. The Braves were seeking to shore up their defense with key additions, which include starting pitcher Tyler Mahle, reliever Brent Suter, and outfielder Lane Thomas.
The Red Sox were on the move in the American League East, climbing up their division, having won 28 of their last 35 games. The Red Sox added three-time All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman and catcher Jake Rogers from the Baltimore Orioles. The Red Sox are in pursuit of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays, with the New York Yankees standing firmly between them.
Liam Hicks will move 4 hours away from Miami to Tampa Bay as the Rays get him in a trade from the Marlins for three prospects, perhaps seeking to improve their already efficient offense prior to October. The Rays are leading the American League East and are making a push for the pennant.
The Cleveland Guardians, trailing the White Sox in the American League Central by three games, got Foster Griffin from the Washington Nationals. This might be great for both Griffin and the Guardians because the Nationals may not be able to battle back in the NL East and the Guardians get a solid player in Griffin who is having a great season. The Guardians also got outfielder Jo Adell from the Angels.
The biggest news may be that the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired two-time American League Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers also sent Casey Mize to the Padres, which may have Detroit fans a little curious about GM Jeff Greenberg's strategy at this point. The Dodgers have a wealth of talent in their bullpen and may have the best pitching staff in MLB by adding Skubal. He joins Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani, and Ohtani may not need to pitch.
