2026 MLB trade deadline grades: Report cards for every deal
From the early deals that got things rolling to the last-minute flurry of trade deadline day activity, this is your one-stop shop for grades and analysis breaking down this year's biggest trades.
ESPN MLB experts Bradford Doolittle and David Schoenfield evaluate and grade the most significant moves below.
Biggest deals:
Clay Holmes to CHC | Adley Rutschman to BOS | Luis Arraez to PHI
Kevin Gausman to CHC | Luis Garcia Jr. to NYY | Tarik Skubal to LAD
Astros nab lefty Varsho from Blue Jays
Houston Astros get:
OF Daulton Varsho
Toronto Blue Jays get:
RHP Spencer Arrighetti
Astros grade: C+
The Astros have been vocal about their desire to add a left-handed-hitting outfielder and they get one in Varsho -- in a rare major leaguer-for-major leaguer trade. His attributes: Premium defense in center fielder and ... did we mention he's a good center fielder? Varsho hit for power in 2025, swatting 20 home runs in just 248 at-bats. This year, he seems to have tried to match the contact-oriented approach of his Toronto teammates -- he's striking out less often, but he's also hit just seven home runs without enough gain in other areas to offset the lack of power. His 86 OPS+ is worse than his career mark of 97.
There is also some disagreement on his defensive metrics. Statcast says he's still superb, ranking in the 87th percentile in outs above average. Defensive runs saved, though, say he's slipped to below average, at minus-2 runs -- remember, this is a guy who had back-to-back seasons of plus-27 and plus-28 in 2023 and 2024. Split the difference and we can guess that he's probably lost a step but is still good out there. At the minimum, he's at least a small upgrade over Taylor Trammell or Mitch Spence or Brice Matthews, who have all started for Houston in center since the middle of July. Even if Varsho is worth just one win over that group, that could be the difference between making the playoffs and not making them -- last year, the Astros lost a tiebreaker to the Tigers and missed the postseason.
Blue Jays grade: B
Is Arrighetti any good? At times during his three seasons in the majors he has been, most notably in August of his 2024 rookie season when he made five starts and had a 1.95 ERA with 47 strikeouts in and just 10 walks in 32 innings. That was the one month he was able consistently throw strikes. Most of the rest of his time in the big leagues, though, Arrighetti has battled injuries and control problems -- this season, he's currently on the IL with nerve irritation in his right foot and he's walked 50 batters in 87 innings, the highest walk rate of any pitcher with at least 80 innings.
Nonetheless, it's hard to argue against acquiring a pitcher who has had some major league success -- and has four more years of team control -- for a rental player who has produced less than 1 WAR. The Blue Jays earlier acquired Jose Soriano, so they're replacing the older guys in this year's rotation - many of whom did not work out (see Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Shane Bieber) -- for two younger, controllable starters for 2027 to go with Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage (and perhaps Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios). Now they just need to fix the offense.
Cubs keep adding arms, get Holmes from Mets
Chicago Cubs get:
RHP Clay Holmes
OF Tyrone Taylor
New York Mets get:
INF Jefferson Rojas
Cubs grade: B
Gotta love it. I'm pretty sure Jed Hoyer has my office bugged, because even as I was writing that the Cubs' deadline execution was more solid than inspiring, he was swinging more deals that I really like, addingRyan Zeferjahnto the bullpen, Holmes to (probably) the rotation and Taylor to his outfield mix.
Assuming he can overcome suspicions about shady new Chicago residents named Holmes, Mr. C.W. Holmes can be a versatile, impact addition to the Cubs' playoff pitching staff. And, sure, you assume that's as a starter. Holmes has excelled in that role for the Mets, when healthy. His 2026 season was waylaid by a Spencer Jones line drive that left Holmes with a fractured fibula, but he had a 2.45 ERA over nine starts before that. He threw 5 1/3 innings in a rehab outing over the weekend and should be ready for the big leagues soon.
The Cubs have spent much of the season scrambling for anyone to take the mound this season because of a flood of pitching injuries that somehow have not knocked them of contention. After Hoyer's deadline frenzy, the Cubs can now choose a playoff rotation out of a strong group that includes Matthew Boyd, Kevin Gausman, Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera and Holmes. If Holmes is the odd man out in October, well, this is a guy who had 30 saves for the Yankees just two seasons ago and threw 4 1/3 innings of shutout relief in the 2024 World Series. That list doesn't even include injured hurlers Ben Brown and Justin Steele, as well as earlier pickup Braxton Garrett.
Don't sleep on Taylor, who is a kind of ideal fourth or fifth outfielder. He can provide plus defense at all three outfield spots and has lit up lefty pitchers to the tune of a .900 OPS this season. He is an upgrade as a righty bench outfield option over the players the Cubs have cycled in that role this season, most recently Justin Dean.
The grade would be higher, except ...
Mets grade: B+
Dang, Jefferson Rojas is really good prospect. He was ranked the Cubs' No. 1 prospect overall by ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and No. 63 in MLB Pipeline's top 100. Just 21, Rojas has already reached Double-A, where he's hit .270/.339/.461 this season with 15 homers and 17 steals. He's not a high-level defender, though shortstop is currently his base position. But he has the kind of bat to start anywhere in the infield or as a super-utility player. From a valuation standpoint, this trade is a huge win for the Mets.
Is the David Stearns frenzy over yet? Has he traded away Steve Cohen's casino? It's not even finished! Nor, too, is the trade deadline, one that will take some time to untangle if you're a Mets fan comparing a roster from a week ago to right now. -- Doolittle
Brewers add May, Romero from Cards
Milwaukee Brewers get:
RHP Dustin May
LHP JoJo Romero
St. Louis Cardinals get:
OF Alexander Frias
OF Josiah Ragsdale
Brewers grade: C
In isolation, this trade is fine. The Brewers get a starter in May who is having a solid under-the-radar season and a quality lefty reliever. In the big picture though, May is not Tarik Skubal.
It's even possible that May turns into one of the best acquisitions at the deadline. He has had a better season than his surface-level stats (5-7, 4.38 ERA) indicate, with a 3.14 FIP, as he has allowed just seven home runs in 109 innings to go with 106 strikeouts and 35 walks. He still throws hard despite all the injuries he's had, with a fastball averaging 97 mph. It doesn't generate a high rate of swing-and-miss, however, so May does end up allowing a lot of hard contact (fifth percentile in hard-hit rate). The Brewers can hope that their excellent defense can turn a few of those hits into outs.
Given some of the injury issues in the Milwaukee rotation -- not to mention a desire to slow play Jacob Misiorowski down the stretch -- May might slot into a rotation with Misiorowski, Kyle Harrison (once he returns from the IL), Logan Henderson, Shane Drohan and Brandon Sproat. Still plenty of options for Pat Murphy to consider, so there's no guarantee May would even be part of a postseason rotation. I'm guessing Skubal might have been.
Cardinals grade: A
The Cardinals signed May to a one-year, $12.5 million contract and have now flipped him into two intriguing outfield prospects who are posting big numbers in the minors. Neither ranked in Milwaukee's top 10 prospects, but that's a testament to the Brewers' minor league depth, not a knock on Frias and Ragsdale.
Frias, an 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic, hit .441 in 32 games in rookie ball, earning a quick promotion to Low- A, where he's hit .236 with four home runs in 28 games. Still, he held his own as one of the younger players in the Carolina League. He's flashed exit velocities as high as 117 mph already, so there is big power potential here.
Ragsdale, meanwhile, is tearing up the minors after being drafted in the seventh round last year out of Boston College. A left-handed batter like Frias, Ragsdale is hitting .316/.441/.581 with 19 home runs and 31 stolen bases between High-A and Double-A. Credit the Brewers for helping Ragsdale unleash his power after he hit just five home runs in 56 games for Boston College. Both are legitimate high-upside prospects, two of the better talents who will be traded on deadline day. Well done, Chaim Bloom. -- Schoenfield
Chicago adds yet another pitcher inZeferjahn
Chicago Cubs get:
RHP Ryan Zeferjahn
Los Angeles Angels get:
C Moises Ballesteros
RHP Mason McGwire
Cubs grade: B-
The Cubs keep adding pitchers, and while it will be one of those 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzles to put together if all their relievers get healthy, Zeferjahn has a chance to make a real impact pitching in front of closer Daniel Palencia, when the latter gets healthy. Zeferjahn is a hard-throwing righty with nasty swing-and-miss stuff who is sometimes undone by wavering command.
Zeferjahn stood out every time he took the mound this season as he emerged from the chaos of the Angels' bullpen. The standout offerings in his arsenal are his four-seamer and sweeper, both of which have been almost untouchable this season. When he has gotten into trouble this season, it's often been with a sinker that is mostly new to his toolkit. He throws a lot of pitches for a power reliever, perhaps too many.
Parting with Ballesteros, who began the season holding down the heavy side of a DH platoon for the Cubs, is fairly painful. After putting up huge numbers last season for the Cubs and at Iowa, he has struggled in both places in 2026. He's only 22 years old, and the Angels are acquiring a lot of upside, enough to tilt the valuation of this deal firmly in L.A.'s direction. Still, Zeferjahn represents a potential impact pickup for Chicago.
Angels grade: B
After picking up Jacob Cozart from Cleveland earlier in the day, the Angels add yet another catcher in Ballesteros. Whereas Cozart's standout traits lean towards defense, Ballesteros is a hitter first and foremost at this point. Options are always nice. Anyway, interim general manager John Mozeliak continues to add prospect depth that the Angels have long needed.
McGwire, 22, is a ranked prospect with an interesting lineage -- he's Mark's son. Alas, he must never have watched those "chicks dig the longball" commercials his father appeared in because Mason is a pitcher, a 6-foot-4 righty with a pretty typical prospect arsenal. He could be an end-of-rotation type or a future reliever. -- Doolittle
Cubs acquire lefty Garrett from Marlins
Chicago Cubs get:
LHP Braxton Garrett
Miami Marlins get:
IF Jonathan Long
RHP Jace Beck
Cubs grade: C+
It's fine. This is a fair-value trade for a veteran starter with a lot to prove. Long was stalled out at Triple-A and Beck is a project lefty well down Chicago's prospect hierarchy. This is the sort of move a team trying to win in the present should make.
But let's drill down on that word "sort," because while the general idea of this kind of trade makes sense, the actual trade -- for Garrett -- carries a lot of uncertainty. He looked like a long-term rotation fixture for the Marlins with a breakout 2023 season (128 ERA+, 4.3 bWAR) but a shoulder problem clipped his 2024 season and he lost 2025 to internal brace surgery on his elbow. He made a couple of ineffective starts in the majors for Miami this season but has spent most of the campaign in Triple-A.
Garrett's performance in the bushes was really good -- a 2.27 ERA through July 18 -- but he gave up 13 runs over his last two starts. Given the overall picture, is this any kind of upgrade for the Chicago staff? Do they see Garrett as a reliever, a role he has seldom filled? I don't know! But in a deadline period that included the Cubs checking in on high-impact additions like Tarik Skubal and Jose Soriano, the sum of their work so far is more solid than inspiring.
Marlins grade: C+
Long, 24, is a well-rounded corner infielder who might help the Marlins right away. He's more of a professional hitter than a great athlete, one with more of a high floor than a high ceiling. He can be a contributor on a good team, though most of his value will come via the bat. Beck is a 6-foot-9 righty, already 25 years old, whose solid velocity plays up because of his ridiculous extension. He pairs a fastball with a splitter, a combo that could make him a productive reliever very soon if he can keep on top of his average command.
The trade is fine, but with each deal it makes, it's becoming apparent that Miami has as much of an eye on next season as this one, which is a little disappointing. -- Doolittle
Mets continue emptying pen, deal Weaver to Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates get:
RHP Luke Weaver
New York Mets get:
SS Sammy Stafura
Pirates grade: A
Weaver, when he's right, is a good enough reliever to help a team deep into October as a closer. That's exactly what he was for the New York Yankees in 2024, and despite his mediocre 2025, he's been pitching at that level of late for the Mets. He's probably not as good as his 1.84 ERA suggests, but the key indicator for Weaver has always been longballs. In 2026, he's been keeping the ball in the yard. With Weaver, it's usually about how he's been throwing lately. Well, since the beginning of May, he has allowed one earned run -- a 0.28 ERA over 30 appearances. Seems pretty good.
The addition of Weaver brings a murky Pittsburgh bullpen picture into focus. Weaver will anchor the back end with high-octane lefties (Mason Montgomery, Gregory Soto) and righties (Yohan Ramirez, Camilo Doval) matching up in front of him. Carmen Mlodzinkski has been really good as a multi-inning option, and he's stretched out enough that he can piggyback a short-work starter and pick up long saves.
It's an excellent mix, and if Paul Skenes can get rolling, the Pirates would be able to pitch with anyone in an October series. Of course, they have to get there first, and injuries to key hitters like Konnor Griffin and Ryan O'Hearn have made the task all the more difficult. That being the case, you have to love this approach from general manager Ben Cherington, staying aggressive and adding payroll for a fan base that deserves it.
Mets grade: C
Here's one you didn't have on your 2026 bingo card: The Mets are taking a lesser prospect back in a deal for a key veteran and in doing so, they are offloading the rest of Weaver's $22 million contract, which runs through next season, to of all teams, the Pirates. New York president of baseball operations David Stearns, by now, has almost completely emptied out the bullpen while deepening his organizational depth chart. Stafura is a good prospect, and the Mets probably win the valuation on this trade. Still, you have to wonder if they might have gotten a little deeper into Pittsburgh's prospect list had New York included some cash in the deal which, as of this writing, it apparently did not.
Stafura, 21, was a top-30 prospect for the Pirates after being picked up by them at last year's deadline from Cincinnati in the Ke'Bryan Hayes trade. Shortstop is his base position, but he can play all over, runs well and has average power. He could be a utility player, a regular if he improves his hit tool, or nothing. -- Doolittle
Red Sox send Orioles big haul for Rutschman
Boston Red Sox get:
C Adley Rutschman
C Jake Rogers
Cash
Baltimore Orioles get:
RHP Anthony Eyanson
RHP Kyson Witherspoon
OF Enddy Azocar
C Carlos Narvaez
Red Sox grade: C+
After his first two seasons in the majors, Adley Rutschman looked like ... well, it's not an exaggeration to suggest he looked like a potential Hall of Famer. He had produced seasons of 5.4 and 4.3 WAR, finishing 12th and ninth in MVP voting. Even while making All-Star teams in 2024 and 2026, he hasn't been quite the same player since, whether due to injuries or other factors.
That said, he's still a nice acquisition for a surging Red Sox team that ranks 25th in OPS from its catchers. Indeed, Rutschman is having his best offensive season since 2023, hitting .251/.331/.433 with eight home runs and 19 doubles in 67 games. Importantly, he's also under team control for another season.
His basic skill set has remained unchanged since his rookie season. He still has elite plate discipline with elite contact skills and an above-average walk rate. He just doesn't do as much damage on contact as you would like. His defensive metrics have also been outstanding this season, his best since his rookie year. Pitch framing isn't quite as important as it was prior to the ABS system, but it's still important and Rutschman has always rated plus in that department.
A couple hitches here to explain why this isn't a higher grade. Rutschman is currently on the IL with left wrist inflammation, his third IL stint of the season. He missed 10 days in April with knee inflammation and then another 10 days in June following a concussion. This is on top of a hand injury of some sort that hurt his offense in the second half of 2024 and injuries in 2025 that limited him to 90 games. The second hitch: After hitting .356 with a 1.067 OPS in April, he has hit just .218/.309/.362 since. The third hitch: The Red Sox gave up a lot in the deal.
I love the aggressiveness here from Craig Breslow in trying to get the Red Sox to a World Series, but I'm also not convinced that Rutschman is enough of an upgrade to justify what the Red Sox traded away.
Orioles grade: A
From a pure baseball standpoint, this could turn into a blockbuster for the Orioles, turning an injury-prone former star who is one season away from free agency into two excellent pitching prospects in Eyanson and Witherspoon and a good outfield prospect in Azocar. Especially with Samuel Basallo on hand ready to take over the regular catcher duties. He's not Rutschman behind the plate, but he has shown enough that the Orioles can be comfortable moving ahead with him as the starter.
The three players acquired were ranked second (Eyanson), fourth (Azocar) and fifth (Witherspoon) on Kiley McDaniel's postdraft top 10 prospects list for the Red Sox. Eyanson, drafted last year out of LSU in the third round, has a 1.69 ERA in Double-A while holding batters to a .152 average. Azocar is hitting .286/.341/.540 in Class A as a 19-year-old. Witherspoon was the 15th overall pick in last year's draft out of Oklahoma. This is a massive haul for a player who has a name reputation that exceeds his actual production in recent years.
So, I'll reluctantly give it an A grade, although you could easily justify giving this trade a failing grade, since it also signifies the end of an era that has ended in disappointment. Rutschman was the original face of the Orioles' turnaround, but the team has gone backward since that 101-win season in 2023. Logically, trading Rutschman (and Taylor Ward) makes sense, even if the Orioles are close to a wild card; it's not really a good enough team to believe it's capable of reaching the playoffs. Emotionally though, for O's fans? It still stinks. -- Schoenfield
Dodgers keep adding to pitching staff with Bubic trade
Los Angeles Dodgers get:
LHP Kris Bubic
Kansas City Royals get:
RHP Carlos Duran
Dodgers grade: B
While this isn't going to create the shock waves of the Tarik Skubal trade, it's another case of the Dodgers leveraging their deep resources, in this case, mostly money. Bubic, 28, is earning $6.2 million this season, and given L.A.'s position vis a vis the tax thresholds, his remaining prorated salary will cost what is a nontrivial amount for most teams. But these are the Dodgers, and not only is the money an afterthought, but this deal is worth it for them even though Bubic is injured and a few months away from free agency. Similar to when the Royals traded Danny Duffy to the Dodgers at the 2021 deadline, L.A. has picked up a talented-but-injured lefty who might never pitch for its team. Must be nice!
Bubic's shoulder malady has lingered, but Kansas City had hoped to get him back on the mound this season, so now the Dodgers will do the same. If he does end up on their active roster, it will almost certainly be as a reliever. Besides the fact that the Dodgers' rotation is overstuffed with superstars, there might not be enough time for Bubic to get fully stretched out anyway. But he can be an impact pitcher as a reliever, as he was for the Royals when he finally found himself in 2024.
Royals grade: D+
Duran has kicked around the Dodgers' system for a long time, though his only action in the majors was for the Athletics. He was dealt for Esteury Ruiz last season but was granted free agency after the campaign and re-upped with the Dodgers. He's a reliever with a standard four-pitch arsenal who keeps the ball on the ground with a mid-90s sinker, at least when that pitch isn't getting lit up. At 25 years old, he looks like a second-division reliever at best.
The Royals didn't have any leverage here at all, so the biggest gain is probably the money saved by dealing Bubic. The grade here is probably not reasonable, but after everything Bubic went through injurywise with the Royals and yet still became a quality big league pitcher and centerpiece of Kansas City's clubhouse, this feels like a sad end. The grade is more for the Royals being in this spot than it is any kind of honest valuation of the deal. Though if Bubic gets healthy, the Royals would lose that, too. -- Doolittle
Padres reel in Ray for rotation
San Diego Padres get:
LHP Robbie Ray
San Francisco Giants get:
RHP Miguel Mendez
SS Joniel Hernandez
Padres grade: B+
A little over a week ago, the Padres looked like they might have to punt on the 2026 season, sitting at 50-53 and stuck with an underperforming offense and a shaky rotation. That might have meant trading Mason Miller. Nobody really expected A.J. Preller to surrender, although winning eight of nine games heading into Monday made his decision easier. Preller did well to land one of the top starters available, considering the Padres have one of the weakest farm systems in the league. The Padres absolutely have to be all-in once again given their future payroll issues and aging stars.
Ray was 10-6 with a 3.08 ERA for the Giants, including a 1.09 ERA over his past eight starts. He has faced some weak lineups in that stretch but has allowed just one home run in 49 innings. That's a fluke. Ray is a fly ball pitcher and is usually prone to home runs. He still walks a lot of batters -- out of 122 pitchers with at least 80 innings, he ranks 115th in walk rate -- and his strikeout rate has dropped to his lowest since his rookie season in 2015.
In other words, he's more likely to pitch to his 4.36 FIP the rest of the way than his ERA, although at least he goes from one good pitchers' park to another. More importantly, the Padres were desperate to add somebody better thanJP Searsor Kyle Hart. Ray fits in behind Michael King as the new No. 2 starter.
Giants grade: B
The Giants get the Padres' No. 7 and No. 11 prospects via Kiley McDaniel's postdraft update. That sounds impressive until factoring in the lack of depth in the San Diego system. Mendez was already on the Padres' 40-man roster after a breakout season in 2025. He has a 4.79 ERA in 12 starts at Double-A and just returned after missing more than a month with a sore shoulder. He has been limited to just 35 innings, so it's hard to get a read on him, but he was an intriguing prospect heading into the season, occasionally touching 100 mph last year. He is a lottery ticket but a fun one.
So is Hernandez, a 17-year-old Cuban who was the Padres' top international signing in their 2026 class at $1.4 million. We might never hear from him again, but the Giants turned a pitcher with an expiring contract into two prospects with some high-upside potential. Sure, neither probably gets there, but I'd rather roll the dice on two players like this than three relief pitchers. -- Schoenfield
Intra-Florida trade sends Hicks to Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Rays get:
C Liam Hicks
Miami Marlins get:
IF Brayden Taylor
IF Adrian Santana
RHP Jacob Kisting
Rays grade: B+
What's this, a Rays catcher who can hit? Not to be too hard on current and recent backstops in Tampa Bay, but the organization's mania for pitch framing has too often left its offensive production from catchers in the toilet. Hicks might have been crowded out of the picture for every-day backstop duties in Miami, but he's a solid defender who's not great at controlling the running game but dominates the strike zone at the plate and has plus power on contact.
A lefty swinger who needs to be platooned, Hicks still has enough every-day utility to make a huge impact for the Rays right now and for the four controllable seasons he has remaining on his service time clock. You have to wonder if Tampa Bay is purposefully pivoting back to a little more offense at catcher because of the hit on framing value that catchers have taken due to the ABS (I've heard estimates of around 25% in some models).
The Rays are giving up three solid prospects from one of the game's deepest farm systems, but they win handily from a value perspective because of Hicks' controllable time, though of course this depends on how you rate the prospects. Still, this is a right-now win for a club trying to win right now. Speaking of which ...
Marlins grade: D+
I don't want to get too heavy-handed on the Marlins because it feels like a so-so return for Hicks, both in actual prospects and in opportunity cost. General manager Peter Bendix is a product of the Tampa Bay ecosystem, and you'd hope he isn't a little too comfortable dealing with his old team. In a trade market ripe with clubs looking for quality catchers, it feels like Bendix could have done better in terms of short-term help if he was intent on moving Hicks. Trading Hicks is defensible because of the emergence of Joe Mack, but Hicks would upgrade a number of catching situations across the majors.
Even if all that is wrong and the Marlins come out great in an accurate valuation of the deal -- Bendix obviously has a lot of insight into the players he just acquired -- I still don't like the trade. None of Taylor, Kisting or Santana is going to help Miami this season at the big league level. The last time I checked, which was just now, the Marlins have a reasonable shot at the playoffs. A good shot? No. But given the history of this franchise, it doesn't feel like a time to spin present value into future value. -- Doolittle
White Sox stay busy, add Doyle to outfield
Chicago White Sox get:
OF Brenton Doyle
Colorado Rockies get:
RHP Mason Adams
SS Carlos Vielma
White Sox grade: C
Now that Chris Getz finds himself in add mode for the first time as a big league GM, he can't stop trading. Nothing wrong with that, but at some point, you're giving away too much value for too little utility. This deal might not be that, since Doyle has three years of team control left beyond this season, which might offset the fact that Adams is a quality pitching prospect. Still, the addition of Doyle creates a glut of outfielders on the White Sox roster and if the outcome is that they end up demoting one of their cadre of standout rookies, it might be a case of Getz losing sight of the bigger picture a bit.
Zeroing in on how Doyle might be used in the near term, he would provide a worthy platoon partner for lefty-hitting Tristan Peters and would be one of the few center fielders who might actually upgrade the position defensively from what Peters, an All-Star as a rookie, has given Chicago this season. That said, Doyle's defensive numbers have fallen, as has his sprint speed, as he has dealt with a string of mostly soft-tissue injuries. He just returned to the Colorado lineup over the weekend after missing more than two months.
As for the notion of a center-field platoon, there was a clear need for Chicago. As good as Peters has been, he doesn't hit lefties at all. Doyle's platoon splits aren't at the lefty-mashing level, but he does have a career OPS over .700 against lefties, and while Coors Field caveats apply, he's clearly better against lefties than Peters.
Rockies grade: B+
As the Rockies continue their slow makeover, it will be fascinating to see what kind of pitchers the new front office continues to target. This season, they seemed to favor veteran starters with deep, varied arsenals. In Adams, they've found a younger version of that, if he continues to develop.
Adams was ranked as one of Chicago's top 10 prospects by MLB Pipeline and was in the top 20 at Baseball America. Already 26, he has been a slow mover in the White Sox system but has performed well in the hitters' haven of Charlotte since returning to Triple-A. Surviving tough pitching environments is of course a must for any Colorado pitcher. According to Statcast, Adams makes regular use of six different pitches and sits in the low 90s with his fastball. His four-seamer has been his best-performing pitch, but he also uses a sinker and sweeper that both produce worm-killing launch angles.
As for Vielma, who knows? He has put up a nice batting average in the Dominican Summer league but at 16, he's barely old enough to drive. So we'll see. -- Doolittle
Guardians trade for home-run-robbing Adell
Cleveland Guardians get:
OF Jo Adell
Los Angeles Angels get:
C Jacob Cozart
Guardians grade: B-
Adell's hack-tastic ways have never really gotten that much better, the most common way an elite hitting prospect fails to turn potential into consistent production. He has cut into his strikeout rate gradually, but after making progress in the walks department in 2025, he has cratered to a career-low rate so far this season. Thus far in 2026: 108 strikeouts and 16 walks. He's 27 years old, so at this point, he is what he is. But Cleveland ranks dead last in left-field OPS and 28th in center, so the bar for a marginal offensive upgrade in the outfield is as low as it gets.
Adell has the capacity for 30-to-40 homers, and on a Guardians team with plenty of walks and not nearly enough power, his type of profile kind of works. He has always been a lot more efficient with runners in scoring position, and if Cleveland can get some of those chronic walkers on the bags ahead of him, he has the kind of extra-base potential to unlock something in the oft-stagnant Cleveland attack. Also, it's always intriguing to see if a onetime elite prospect who has plateaued might figure something out once he gets some fresh voices in his head.
It's worth a shot, but the return here, Cozart, is not nothing. That in itself represents progress for a Cleveland organization that, for all its good points, is far too passive when it comes to the trade deadline. This deal suggests that, for once, the brain trust is giving a little more weight to short-term needs.
Angels grade: B
The Angels got some good production from Adell, but he hasn't reached the ceiling of a player who arrived in the majors with elite tools. The return here is solid given Adell's so-so track record and one season of remaining team control beyond 2026. Cozart gives the Halos another quality catching prospect to go with Juan Flores and the younger Marlon Quintero. The numbers are important because the Angels have only stopgaps behind the plate at the big league level.
Not to get ahead of ourselves, but Flores is the highest rated of the trio -- and as a righty hitter, he and the lefty-hitting Cozart would complement each other nicely, someday. Cozart is a lumbering 6-foot-3 catcher with raves for his defensive skills and intangibles as a take-charge guy and son of a college coach. He deepens the Angels' system and, at 23 years old, should help the big league club sooner rather than later. -- Doolittle
M's upgrade outfield in deal for Ward
Seattle Mariners get:
OF Taylor Ward
Baltimore Orioles get:
RHP Alex Hoppe
RHP Harrison Kreiling
RHP Brock Moore
Mariners grade: B
One of the frustrating things about the way front offices operate is waiting until the trade deadline to fix a clear problem area. The Mariners have known since the end of May that they needed a right-handed bat, but it took until now to finally acquire one. It might be too late, with the Mariners entering Monday at 55-58 and three games behind the Astros in the AL West.
For much of the season, the Mariners were challenging the record for lowest batting average in a season against left-handed pitching. They've improved of late and even passed the Blue Jays in OPS against southpaws, but Ward is a clear upgrade for an offense that ranks 28th in runs scored. Ward has just seven home runs, after hitting 36 last year for the Angels, but his .383 OBP is better than that of anyone on the Mariners, with only Randy Arozarena even in the vicinity.
Speaking of Arozarena, the Mariners now have two left fielders. Given Arozarena's generally atrocious defense, he's probably not moving to right field. Except Ward isn't exactly a Gold Glover either and hasn't played any right field since 2022. The Mariners are already a bad defensive team, so maybe one of them DHs andDominic Canzonenow plays right field on a regular basis even though he's the regular DH. Either way, the Mariners will live with the defense since it means getting Victor Robles or Rob Refsnyder out of the lineup.
Orioles grade: D+
Given the lack of hitters available, especially right-handed ones, it's a little surprising the Orioles didn't do better here. It's also a little surprising the Orioles traded Ward anyway, since they're right behind the Mariners at 54-58 and just 2 games out of a wild card.
Hoppe is a 27-year-old rookie with a good fastball (98 mph) and a high ERA (5.79). He might be something, but has never had big success as a professional, with a 4.57 minor league ERA. Moore is another reliever, a late bloomer who pitched for NAIA Menlo College before transferring to Oregon. He's already 26 and is in Double-A, with a fastball that has hit triple digits. He overwhelmed Class A hitters but has had less success in Double-A. Kreiling is just returning after Tommy John surgery delayed his pro career after getting drafted in the 17th round.
It's essentially the going rate for a deadline deal, a couple of high-velocity wild cards for a rental player. Maybe they pan out. The question is more why the Orioles believed it necessary to trade Ward in the first place. -- Schoenfield
Phillies get reliever Raley from rival Mets
Philadelphia Phillies get:
LHP Brooks Raley
New York Mets get:
RHP Luke Gabrysh
OF John Spikerman
Phillies grade: B-
This is a pretty standard deadline pairing of two fringy prospects for an experienced reliever on an expiring deal. Raley, 38, has been around the block, but this deal ends a three-plus-year run for the Mets during which he's been one of the better southpaw relievers around. His 1.96 ERA this season sparkles but isn't fully supported by his 3.10 FIP. Indeed, Raley's K-BB% (14.7%) is the lowest it has been since he returned from the KBO a few years ago.
Still, Raley gives the Phillies another productive, experienced lefty to pair with Jose Alvarado in leverage situations. This deal, along with Dave Dombrowski's earlier pickup of Caleb Kilian from the Giants, gives the Phillies playoff-caliber depth for the stretch run and beyond.
Mets grade: C+
It's hard to nitpick this kind of trade from the standpoint of the subtracting team because you're invariably talking about wild-card prospects whose value is entirely dependent on who's doing the valuations.
Spikerman, 23, is probably the bigger name here as a speedy outfielder with some center-field capability and an advanced command of the strike zone, albeit with an in-progress ability to make consistent contact. His ceiling is limited by a below-average power profile but as a fast switch-hitter who grinds at bats and offers plus defense, he has the makings of an ideal fourth outfielder type.
Gabrysh, 23, is a project, currently working as a starter in High-A. He has solid strikeout rates but has a long, long way to go in the command department. His 4.5 walks per nine innings don't seem that bad until you note that he has also hit 14 batters, so he too often plunks hitters before he can get to ball four. He has also allowed 11 homers, a sign that when Gabrysh misses, he's as apt to do so in the meat of the strike zone as he is when plugging a batter in the ribs. Indeed, a project. -- Doolittle
Braves build bullpen with Suter
Atlanta Braves get:
LHP Brent Suter
Los Angeles Angels get:
INF Nacho Alvarez Jr.
Braves grade: C
One can imagine the hyper-efficient Suter sprinting to the airport right now to join the Braves, both to re-enter the realm of high-stakes games and to preserve as much time as possible, as he's wont to do. He gives Atlanta an upgrade for a second bullpen lefty behind Dylan Dodd, has playoff experience from his days in Milwaukee and Cincinnati, and has been having a representative season. Suter is a salve for any bullpen thanks to his ability to work more than one inning and bounce back quickly. The grade here is tepid since Suter isn't a big needle-mover and Alvarez was only recently rated as one of the Braves' top prospects. Alex Anthopoulos' gaze is firmly fixed on the present.
Angels grade: B-
It's a no-brainer move for the Angels, who in the past haven't always pulled off the no-brainers. So under John Mozeliak, at least that much is an improvement. The fit for Alvarez isn't obvious, but given his limited athleticism and uncertain defensive profile, that's kind of always been the case for him. Still, Alvarez can hit, and while he hasn't had a great 2026, at least since some good work for Mexico in the WBC, the Angels have plenty of runway for a batter of his ilk. If it doesn't work, all Los Angeles gave up was a 36-year-old reliever on an expiring deal. -- Doolittle
Phillies add three-time batting champ Arraez
Philadelphia Phillies get:
2B Luis Arraez
RHP Caleb Kilian
San Francisco Giants get:
RHP Ramon Marquez
RHP Marty Gair
Phillies grade: B+
Stop me if you've heard this one before: Dave Dombrowski has traded one of his better prospects for a veteran who can help his 26-man roster right now. You've got to love the chutzpah of the guy, at least until he moves on to his next gig and you are left with the aftermath of what he has wrought.
Arraez is baseball's best hitter for average, a contact/line drive machine who, now that we know he's staying in the National League, is positioned for a fourth career batting title. He is exactly what he has always been, with the possible added bonus of providing above-average defense at second base. (This depends on what fielding metrics you're looking at.) He will provide a completely different look for the Phillies atop the lineup, though old-school types might prefer him batting second behind the speedier Trea Turner.
Either way, Arraez balances the lineup for a team that has struggled in the average and OBP departments and has been too reliant on homers to score. His presence should bump Bryson Stott over to third base andAlec Bohmto the bench, or at least to the short side of a third-base platoon. Don Mattingly has all kinds of matchup options with Arraez on board. This also means we get to see a team that features Kyle Schwarber and Arraez in its lineup. They are very much bizarro-world versions of each other when it comes to offensive approach. Sometimes you wonder if Dombrowski does this stuff on purpose.
Kilian, 29, is a journeyman reliever in the midst of his best season, at least in the majors. He has picked up eight saves as an occasional closer for the Giants. He deepens a top-heavy Phillies bullpen, has a low service time counter and should see middle- and high-leverage opportunities down the stretch.
The prospect value being sent away is non-trivial, but this is what Dombrowski does. His alacrity is not just in character, but it's timely, as the Phillies' grasp on a wild-card slot has been slipping away of late. This, as much as any club currently in the chase, is very much a win-now team.
Giants grade: A
Arraez was on an expiring deal, and while Kilian was a useful performer in the Giants' lackluster bullpen, folding him into the trade is more than worth it for a prospect of Marquez's caliber. Ranked as a top-five Phillies prospect at both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America, he's a 20-year-old righty enjoying a standout 2026 season that includes a 1.68 ERA across two levels. He should be bumped up to Double-A sooner than later. He has a good fastball/changeup combination and above-average command, giving him a low-risk profile that should make him a viable big-league starter. Marquez's ceiling will be determined by how well he develops a quality breaking pitch that right now his arsenal lacks.
Meanwhile, Gair, 22, represents exactly the kind of flier you want to take on a player at the deadline. He hasn't shown up on prospect rankings yet, but his numbers are fascinating, a kind of homage to Nuke LaLoosh from "Bull Durham." A 6-foot-6 righty who reaches triple digits on his fastball, Gair has struck out 15.1 batters per nine innings over 54 games as a professional but walked eight per nine during that same stretch. His control has ticked up this season, so maybe he could be a future bullpen option in San Francisco.-- Doolittle
Jays snag Soriano from Angels
Toronto Blue Jays get:
RHP Jose Soriano
Los Angeles Angels get:
SS Arjun Nimmala
OF Eddie Micheletti
RHP Angel Rivero
Blue Jays grade: C+
The Blue Jays traded Kevin Gausman to the Cubs on Sunday night and now replace him with Soriano, but while they're straddling both sides of deadline dealing, this trade is more about 2027 and 2028 than 2026. Soriano comes with those two additional seasons of team control, which is why the Jays were willing to include Nimmala, their No. 2 prospect. Nimmala has fallen behind JoJo Parker on the Blue Jays' shortstop depth chart, but the 2023 first-round pick is still a top-50 or so overall prospect in the sport, a valuable talent to give up for an inconsistent pitcher such as Soriano.
In March and April, Soriano was the best starter in the majors when he went 5-0 with a 0.24 ERA through his first six starts. Since then: the same old Soriano, walking too many batters and more hittable than you might expect for a pitcher with his stuff. He has a 4.64 ERA over his past 16 starts.
Still, you can see why the Blue Jays are looking to the future. Gausman was going to be a free agent, as will Shane Bieber, Max Scherzer and Patrick Corbin, not that they'll miss the latter three (they've combined for a 6.08 ERA). The Jays can now plan on Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage and Soriano for the 2027 rotation, with Cody Ponce and Jose Berrios returning from injury. The Jays have had success in turning the talented-but-erratic Cease into a Cy Young contender this season, so maybe they can do the same with Soriano. And, hey, you never know, the Jays are still one nice winning streak away from getting back into the wild-card picture.
Angels grade: A-
Finally, the Angels might be admitting that they need to commit to a full rebuild. Let's see if Zach Neto is next to go. This type of deal is the right approach for an organization that hasn't had a winning season since 2015. Soriano's trade value was only going to go down the longer the Angels kept him.
Nimmala, playing the entire 2026 season at 20 years old, is hitting .265/.365/.453 and has held his own in 33 games in Double-A, with a .279/.355/.451 line. The numbers don't blow you away, but he's one of the youngest players in Double-A and has projectable power with impressive exit velocity readings in the minors. He has the arm strength and footwork to stick at shortstop. The biggest issue is his hit tool, but he has made strides this year after hitting .224 in A-ball in 2025.
Considering that top-50 prospects are rarely traded at the deadline, getting Nimmala for Soriano is a nice coup for the Angels. The other two prospects are throw-ins at this time, a Double-A outfielder and a 19-year-old in rookie ball, but let's call this a win for the Angels -- something they haven't had in a long time. -- Schoenfield
White Sox acquire reliever Brazoban
Chicago White Sox get:
RHP Huascar Brazoban
New York Mets get:
RHP Zach Franklin
RHP Gabe Davis
White Sox grade: B
Brazoban is a 36-year-old reliever with two career saves at the big-league level. He's also a perfect fit to slide into the opening created in the Chicago bullpen by Saturday's night's trade for Luis Castillo, which sent Seranthony Dominguez to the Mariners.
Brazoban put up a 2.61 ERA and 3.37 FIP over 45 appearances for the Mets in a mostly high-leverage role, though his leverage index is middling in part because of his six appearances as an opener. He is the kind of pitcher for whom the term "effectively wild" was coined.
Brazoban features a heavy sinker he throws at 96 MPH which is all but impossible to get into the air. He mostly pairs that with a change-up that he tunnels well with the sinker which induces a lot of whiffs and groundballs. The downside that as hard as his stuff is to square up, he has a hard time keeping it in the strike zone and can work himself into trouble with walks.
Still, at 36, and after 15 years of professional baseball playing in more places than are named in that Johnny Cash song, Brazoban has never been better. He's good right now and he fits a role the White Sox needed to fill for a right-now playoff push.
Mets grade: B
The Mets are in serious offload mode, and David Stearns is collecting prospects as if he were trying to corner the market. At the time of this writing, New York had already added seven prospects in the deals for Freddy Peralta, A.J. Minter and Brazoban, more than twice as any other team. And Stearns is just getting started.
Davis is the bigger name here -- no pun intended. But Davis is indeed big, a 6'9" righty whose fastball touches 100. He's got some injury history and command issues but scouting write-ups suggest he could fill out and possibly add even more velocity. He's been a starter so far in the minors, where he's posted a 5.81 ERA in 18 outings since being drafted last year. Chances are, he'll end up in the bullpen. He's a project, but an exciting one.
Franklin has a lower ceiling as he features a 93 MPH four-seamer that so far has been routinely lit up in the minors, where he has 3.46 ERA over four seasons with a good strikeout rate and 22 saves. According to Statcast, Franklin has good results on his splitter and slider since reaching Triple-A, so if the Mets can do something with that fastball, they might have someone with whom they can work.-- Doolittle
Giants trade Mahle to Braves
Atlanta Braves get:
RHP Tyler Mahle
San Francisco Giants get:
RHP Anthony Molina
Braves grade: C+
The Braves really didn't give up anyone in this deal, tossing in Molina because the Giants are going to need somebody to throw baseballs from the mound after whatever they do before the deadline. In effect, Atlanta is taking on remainder of Mahle's expiring deal as the Giants seemingly look to make their payroll as lean as possible.
Mahle, 31, is in his 10th big league season by the calendar, but he has been so bedeviled by injuries that he has averaged about only 16 starts per season. He's already at 18 this season but his 77 ERA+ is his worst yet. Knowing Alex Anthopoulos, Braves GM and president of baseball operations, Mahle will not be the only No. 4 and 5 starter targeted by Atlanta -- Anthopoulos likes to have options. The Braves often find success with pitchers like Mahle -- see Martin Perez -- so it's worth watching what, if anything, changes when he arrives in Atlanta.
We're at the point of the schedule when the healthy version of the Atlanta rotation we thought we'd might see isn't likely to come together. The problem worsened this weekend when Reynaldo Lopez hit the IL because of a sore knee. The Braves could really use a big-time No. 2 to slot behind Chris Sale, but those options are dwindling. Still out there are solid possibilities like Casey Mize and Jose Soriano but in the meantime, Anthopoulos is making sure he has enough depth to get through the season.
Mahle helps the regular-season part of that plan, at least. As for the playoff part of the agenda -- well, there's still some time until the deadline.
Giants grade: C-
The Giants weren't likely to get much of a prospect for Mahle, but they could have gotten more on the upside front, some 18-year-old with arm talent. Molina, 24, is a fringe big leaguer with good fastball velocity and no proven record of missing bats as a big leaguer. So it's hard to not see this move as a pure salary dump. Maybe the Giants think they can help Molina turn the corner? You never know where a quality reliever will come from. -- Doolittle
Cubs bolster rotation, get Gausman from Jays
Chicago Cubs get:
RHP Kevin Gausman
Toronto Blue Jays get:
OF Brett Bateman
INF Ty Southisene
Cubs grade: B
The Cubs are rumored to be chasing any kind of pitching help. While that might suggest a quantity over quality approach, they'll be in great shape if they can keep bringing in hurlers as accomplished as Gausman.
Gausman is as steady as they come, a good bet to reach 31-33 starts and 180 or more innings with an ERA+ about 10% better than the league. He's not on the same plateau he was a few years ago, when he contended for a Cy Young Award, but he has been basically the same pitcher the past three years, albeit one who has suffered from a BABIP spike in 2026. Good news for that BABIP: Gausman will now have baseball's best team defense behind him.
Gausman offers innings stability to a pitching staff that has been rocked by the injury bug but nevertheless has a nifty playoff rotation shaping up if their luck changes. Gausman, Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga and Edward Cabrera are a formidable quartet -- and the Cubs might not be done adding.
Is it as sexy as landing Tarik Skubal? It is not. But it's an upgrade to a club that can reasonably hope to be playing past the first week of October. If that happens, Gausman would be in the postseason with his fifth different club and looking to get back to the World Series after helping Toronto get there a season ago.
Blue Jays grade: C+
Given Gausman's status as a 35-year-old hurler on an expiring deal, and his midrotation level of performance this season, the Blue Jays did well to land a pair of non-elite hitting prospects who have a real chance to eventually help them at the big league level.
In fact, MLB Trade Values has this deal as a clear win for the Blue Jays, based on its model for figuring surplus value, but that judgment is predicated on how you evaluate Bateman and Southisene. Across the different prospect outlets, there's no clear consensus on how the two should be rated. Southisene is generally in the 10-20 range among Cubs prospects, while Bateman is 10-15 spots lower.
Less important than the rankings are the traits this pair possesses at the plate. While Southisene is an undersized, righty-hitting infielder and Bateman a lefty-hitting center fielder, they share some commonalities on the strengths and weaknesses ledger when it comes to offense. Both are disciplined, high-contact swingers with some speed. Both hit the ball on the ground and have little to no power. As such, they are both projects and unlikely regulars.
But you never know. The Blue Jays have built their big league offense around contact-first hitters while coaxing more bat speed and power out of them, so Southisene and Bateman might simply fit the profile of the kind of hitter Toronto thinks it can develop. This is the how these kinds of trades are supposed to work for teams turning the page toward next season.-- Doolittle
Yankees nab slugging infielder Garcia from Nats
New York Yankees get:
1B/2BLuis Garcia Jr.
Washington Nationals get:
RHP Yovanny Cruz
RHP Jake Bird
RHP Ben Grable
RHP Jack Cebert
Yankees grade:B+
How many baseball fans would know that Garcia entered Sunday leading the National League with a .560 slugging percentage? Not many. Garcia's transformation as a player has been wild, entering the league in 2020 as a light-hitting middle infielder and now morphing into a power-hitting first baseman. With Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger both on the injured list, the Yankees were desperate to add offense after ranking 26th in the majors in OPS in July (although still posting a winning record at 14-11). As has been Brian Cashman's approach in recent trade deadlines, the Yankees acquired a player in Garcia who is under team control through 2027.
One thing that hasn't changed about Garcia is he rarely walks, so though he's hitting .283, his on-base percentage is a mediocre .313. The power surge in 2026 has kind of arrived out of nowhere, as he had five home runs through May before blasting 18 across June and July. As a left-handed batter who pulls the ball a lot -- 21 of his 23 home runs have gone to right field or right-center, his power will certainly play at Yankee Stadium. Is Garcia's power for real? The metrics say he has been pretty legit, with Statcast expected numbers of a .290 average and .511 slugging. Maybe a little over his head, but he's definitely learned to launch the ball more in the air with a hard-hit rate in the 78th percentile.
The one issue here: Where will he play? The Nationals booted him off second base because of his poor range there and he has played only first base in 2026. The Yankees have Ben Rice and Paul Goldschmidt at first base and DH, plus Giancarlo Stanton will eat into DH at-bats if or when he returns. That probably leaves second base for Garcia, with Jazz Chisholm Jr. moving to third base or the outfield, both positions he has played. No matter what happens, it's a defensive downgrade somewhere for the Yankees, so while Garcia is obviously a nice pickup, it's hard to give this an "A" grade, even though the Yankees didn't give up one of their top 10 prospects.
Nationals grade:C-
The Nationals' losing streak reached five games Sunday, essentially moving from playoff pretenders to noncontenders. After making a widely praised trade in sending Curtis Mead to the Red Sox for Connelly Early, the Nationals understandably went out for more pitching help and cashed in on Garcia's career season, but it's hard to know if Paul Toboni hit a similar home run here.
Maybe he did. Cruz has reached the majors and throws 100 mph. He's also 26 with an injury history and, until this season, an inability to throw the ball across the plate often enough. Grable is another reliever, an 11th-round pick last year out of Indiana as a fifth-year senior who has had a big breakout in the minors with an upper 90s fastball that has huge induced vertical break, leading to 56 strikeouts in 36 innings. He also sat out two seasons in college because of elbow injuries, including Tommy John surgery. Cebert is actually the highest-ranked prospect in the group, a starter who has reached Double-A. Bird, you probably know about: journeyman reliever with a 5.93 ERA with the Yankees.
The Nationals certainly need to remake their bullpen, so maybe this helps, but while they lead the majors in runs, that's because Mead and Garcia were providing big production at the infield corners. Brady House andAndres Chaparrowill get a run at those positions the rest of the way, but the Nationals might heading into the offseason looking for ... offense.-- Schoenfield
Rays add Peralta to rotation
Tampa Bay Rays get:
RHP Freddy Peralta
New York Mets get:
2B Emilien Pitre
RHP Gary Gill Hill
OF Aidan Smith
Rays grade: B-
The Tampa Bay rotation has been effective, ranking fifth in the majors in ERA, but there were some obvious concerns as to why it needed another starter:
- Shane McClanahan is on the injured list because of back tightness, although he's expected to miss only a couple of starts (and this could've been an excuse to back off on his innings, since he had sat out the past two full seasons).
- The rotation ranks 22nd in innings, with reliever-turned-starter Griffin Jax already at a career high in innings pitched.
- They've already been using Casey Legumina as an opener for Ian Seymour the past couple of turns through the rotation.
So even if Peralta is just a fourth or fifth starter in this rotation, the Rays needed someone who could deliver some innings and help relieve some of the stress on the bullpen while providing insurance to the workloads of McClanahan and Jax. Of course, Peralta hasn't been very good with the Mets, going 5-9 with a 4.99 ERA. But he's also one season removed from winning 17 games with a 2.70 ERA for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2025.
Though that was a career year, maybe the Rays can help him rediscover the feel for his changeup. Batters hit .173 against it last year but are hitting .280 against it in 2026. As a result, Peralta has struggled against left-handed batters, giving up 13 home runs and an .811 OPS. There's no guarantee he'll pitch better, although the Rays have a good track record of improving or fixing pitchers. Just check out three-fifths of their rotation, as Jax and Drew Rasmussen were relievers before coming to the Rays, while Nick Martinez turned into an All-Star this year for the first time after signing with Tampa Bay.
Mets grade: C+
Bottom line: The market for short-term acquisitions doesn't usually provide big dividends these days, and Peralta's ERA didn't help. None of the prospects the Mets got were in Kiley McDaniel's midseason top 10 for the Rays, although Gill Hill and Smith have been top-10 prospects in the past.
Pitre now appears to be the most promising of the three, a 23-year-old from Quebec whom the Rays drafted in the second round in 2024 out of the University of Kentucky. He's hitting .308/.438/.447 with five home runs and 32 stolen bases in the minors, including .323/.451/.492 in 37 games after a promotion to Double-A. The left-handed batter has one stat that especially stands out: a 70-40 strikeout-walk ratio, suggesting a great eye to go with excellent contact skills. That's an old-timey type of ratio. We'll see if it translates to major league production given the lack of power. Gill Hill has seen his strikeout rates decline as he has climbed to higher levels, and Smith, after a strong season in Single-A in 2024, is struggling at the plate in his second year in High-A. -- Schoenfield
Dodgers win sweepstakes for Skubal
Los Angeles Dodgers get:
LHP Tarik Skubal
Detroit Tigers get:
OF Zyhir Hope
RHP River Ryan
RHP Brady Smith
Dodgers grade: A
Let's consider this from the Dodgers' overall big league level of talent, measuring the period from 2023 to the present. The Dodgers have the hitters ranked Nos. 2, 7, 15, 25, 30 and 33 by wins above average, per Baseball Reference. (That's Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Kyle Tucker, Max Muncy and Will Smith.) They have the relievers ranked Nos. 14, 28, 32 and 38 by ERA+. (Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia and Edwin Diaz.) Their rotation, also by ERA+, has Nos. 2, 4, 5, 7 and 24. (Skubal, Ohtani, Blake Snell, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Tyler Glasnow.) It is very much an All-Star roster -- stuffed with potential Hall of Famers who are all producing at a high level.
It's amazing, it's an abomination, and it has become a rallying cry for the owners in the CBA talks. And it's very bad news for anyone hoping to topple the Dodgers this October and prevent what now feels increasingly like an inevitable three-peat.
Skubal is the best pitcher in the sport, going to the best team in the sport, and the worst of it for non-Dodger fans is that the team you were hoping would land Skubal did not get him.
For Bradford Doolittle's full grade on the deal, read here.
White Sox land Castillo in deal with M's
Chicago White Soxget:
RHP Luis Castillo
Seattle Mariners get:
RHP Seranthony Dominguez
OF Nolan Jones
C/LF Boston Smith
White Sox grade: C+
Castillo is a big-name acquisition for a White Sox rotation that has been rolling out struggling rookie Noah Schultz (6.15) and veteran Erick Fedde (4.13 ERA but a 5.34 FIP) as its back-end starters, so even a clearly declining Castillo with a 5.06 ERA looks like at least a minor upgrade.
The good news for the White Sox: They acquired someone who might help this season as they make a playoff push -- ahead of schedule -- without sacrificing any of their top prospects. All they had to give up were some nonessential players on their roster and their No. 15 overall prospect, according to MLB.com. Oh ... and take on the rest of Castillo's $24.15 million salary this season and the $24.15 million next season. That financial burden will be felt for a pitcher with an ERA on the wrong side of 5.00, but the White Sox, with so many minimum-salaried players, can afford to take on Castillo.
The question is how much Castillo has to offer. His strikeout rate has dropped from 29% during his first season in Seattle in 2022 to a career-low 19.4% this season. He no longer has a big swing-and-miss offering, and he has lost feel for his once-lethal changeup to the point where it's now his fourth offering, behind his fastball, slider and sinker. Without an effective changeup, left-handed batters have slugged .537 with an .890 OPS off him. Yes, he'll fill out the rotation for the rest of the season, but this isn't a pitcher you want to start in a playoff game.
Mariners grade: B
This is ... fine. With a six-man rotation and Kade Anderson in the minors, the Mariners didn't need Castillo. He has clearly lost effectiveness this season, even with a fastball that still averages 95.3 mph. The big win for the Mariners is trading the money Castillo will make next year. They don't need him, and that clears some money to spend elsewhere (well, presumably, you never know).
And Smith is an intriguing prospect, hitting .291/.448/.589 with 22 home runs in the minors, most of that in High-A before a promotion to Double-A. He's hitting even better there, with a 1.146 OPS and eight home runs in 22 games. He has power, draws walks and strikes out a lot as he works deep counts, looking for pitches he can drive. He might not be a catcher in the long run, but he runs well enough that he has played a little bit in the outfield and he's athletic enough that he played some shortstop at Wright State.
Does this trade help the Mariners in 2026 as they desperately try to avoid plummeting out of the playoff race? No, because Dominguez is a mop-up-caliber reliever, and Jones has spent the season in the minors, with those two included in the trade primarily for payroll purposes. But between the payroll relief for 2027 and Smith's under-the-radar potential, it's a good deal for the Mariners.-- Schoenfield
Braves bring in Thomas, Falter from Royals
Atlanta Braves get:
OF Lane Thomas
LHP Bailey Falter
Kansas City Royals get:
RHPLucas Braun
LHP Carter Holton
Braves grade C-
At some point late in the Braves' lost 2025 season, lead exec Alex Anthopoulos started to acquire just about every veteran with a recognizable name who popped up on the DFA/waiver market. The reason was never clear, though nothing was lost in the frenzy and all information you are able to glean on a player is useful information. None of those acquisitions moved the needle forward, including the pickup ofHa-Seong Kim, who, for a time, seemed slated to be Atlanta's every-day shortstop this season.
Though that strategy seemed intriguing as a response to a bad campaign, the fact that this move feels like one of those is less enthralling. After all, the Braves are in first place and in a spot to bolster their roster for the stretch run and the playoffs. Thomas fills a need for a right-handed-hitting outfielder who could work as a platoon partner withMike Yastrzemski. But Thomas is limited, and it feels like even in a market light on righty hitters, Atlanta might have done better with a more well-rounded performer. And maybe the Braves will -- Anthopoulos often takes a crowdsourcing kind of approach to filling roster holes.
Falter has been unplayable as a big leaguer since Kansas City added him last year in a trade with Pittsburgh. He has been decent in a swing role for Triple-A Omaha and has a lot of big league experience, though not much of it has been paired with above-average production.
This deal might make more sense when we have the full context of Atlanta's deadline approach. For now, it's uninspiring.
Royals grade: B-
Virtually nothing has gone right for the Royals this season. That's certainly true for everything that has happened during the regular season, but it applies to their offseason as well. The Royals entered the hot stove part of the calendar with a clear need for an outfield upgrade and they ended up with Thomas, whose slash line over the past three seasons is .224/.305/.380. He's better against lefties -- hence the Braves' interest -- but the Royals needed more of a full-service contributor.
This deal is a solid pivot now that the white flag has been unfurled. The Royals aren't really dealing from a position of strength, but in Braun and Holton, they have added a couple of solid pitching prospects for two players they did not need to retain. Braun, 24, is a command-over-stuff righty who fits the general mold of the kind of starter (Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo)who has worked well for Kansas City. He has been pitching well for Gwinnett and should help the Royals sooner than later, if not immediately.
Holton is a lefty with some injury baggage, but he was a second-round pick out of Vanderbilt just a couple of years ago. His development is well behind schedule because of the injuries, but the baseline talent is there. He'll add depth to a Royals system that needs more at the upper levels.-- Doolittle
Pirates get hard-throwing Doval from Yankees
Pittsburgh Pirates get:
RHP Camilo Doval
New York Yankees get:
C Omar Alfonso
OF Luis Cruz
Pirates grade: C-
The Pirates recently parted ways with occasional closer Dennis Santana and apparently missed the kind of high drama his appearances tended to produce. Doval has been, if nothing else, a human tightrope. His stuff is hard and heavy at elite levels, headlined by a 98 mph sinker that produces loads of ground balls if he manages to get it near enough to the strike zone to induce a swing.
His problem is mind-numbingly poor command that leads to both a scourge of free passes and meatballs that end up on the wrong side of the fence. But Doval does have success on his résumé. He led the NL in saves during an All-Star campaign in 2023 and, when he joined the Yankees, it was an open question as to whether he or Bednar, also acquired at last season's deadline, might seize the ninth-inning role.
Pittsburgh has had success with righting the ship of veteran relievers -- Santana had been one of them -- so maybe they can get Doval back on track. But for a club with little margin for error, Doval is maybe a bit too erratic to provide the immediate boost the Pittsburgh bullpen needs.
Yankees grade: B
For the Yankees' big league roster, this is a matter of addition by subtraction, because as good as Doval has been at times during his career, he just wasn't getting it done in pinstripes. For his 66 games in New York, he finishes with two saves, a 4.63 ERA and minus-1.1 bWAR. Presumably, New York will now seek better high-leverage options to support the back of its David Bednar-led bullpen.
In offloading Doval, the Yanks pick up a legit catching prospect in Alfonzo, a 22-year-old who is part of a family of backstops that includes his father and brother. He is ranked in the top 30 at both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline with grades that paint the picture of a solid defender with a good arm, decent offensive potential with average power and painfully little foot speed. A lefty hitter, he could potentially hold down the heavy side of a catching platoon if he continues to progress. Alfonzo is not a right-now solution for the Yankees' catching woes, however.
Cruz, 18, is raw in body and experience. An outfielder, he's listed at 6-foot-2, 155 pounds and is in his second season in the Dominican Summer League after signing with the Pirates in January 2025. His numbers suggest a young hitter with good bat-on-ball skills, for what the numbers are worth at that level. He has yet to homer as a professional. He is one of many wild-card prospects we'll see moved around the deadline. -- Doolittle
Brewers and Guardians make two-for-two swap
Milwaukee Brewers get:
C Bo Naylor
RHP Codi Heuer
Cleveland Guardians get:
RHP Craig Yoho
OF Blake Perkins
Brewers grade: C
A "C" grade in trade evaluation isn't any different than one earned in a classroom. It denotes a perfectly acceptable, average performance. There isn't much surplus value being exchanged here and so there is little reason to nudge the rating for either club too far away from the "C" baseline.
Naylor was a touted catching prospect, expected to possibly outshine brother Josh once he hit the majors. But he has never hit, and while he remained in Cleveland after his brother moved on, the Guardians are now out of the Naylor business altogether. His defensive numbers have jumped all over the place in the bigs, but he is more or less what his scouting reports previewed -- an above-average receiver who could stand to do a better job of controlling the running game. His offense has been a cipher.
Heuer is a journeyman righty who, like every player in this deal, has been up and down from the minors this season. Both he and Naylor were immediately assigned to Triple A Nashville by the Brewers when the deal was announced. He lacks a standout weapon like Yoho's changeup, but he does possess above-average velocity and elite extension. That intrigues you because the Brewers are apt to work magic with veteran bullpen acquisitions. To wit: Earlier this season, they plucked Joel Kuhnel from the Athletics, and while he didn't turn into Rollie Fingers with Milwaukee, he did suddenly add 3-4 mph to his fastball as if the Brewers flipped an invisible switch.
This trade may be just about creating roster space for players returning from injury. Perkins has been a solid role player but Milwaukee has a glut of outfielders. The Brewers could use more depth at catcher. At the same time, there could be something else brewing here, pun intended. One of Milwaukee top prospects, Jeferson Quero, is a catcher in Triple A and would be a fine component of any kind of splash trade for a frontline pitcher. Stay tuned.
Guardians grade: C+
The Guardians stubbornly prize elite defense behind the plate even with any concerns about hitting and while Naylor has the tools to be an above-average defensive catcher, he wasn't in the class of Patrick Bailey or Austin Hedges. With utility-guy-who-can-catch David Fry around and Cleveland trying to find a role for prospect Cooper Ingle, moving Naylor makes sense. Heuer wasn't doing much to help their big league bullpen and in Yoho, they add a solid role player whose off-speed stuff can complement Cleveland's deep relief staff.
Perkins can run the bases, defend and is a switch-hitter whose offensive production is lacking. In other words, he's a consummate Guardians position player. The plus on Cleveland's grade is for Yoho's fit, but for the Guardians, this feels like a low-level deal meant to squeeze a little more utility out of the 40-man roster spots beyond those 26 who are currently active. -- Doolittle
Twins acquire starter Kremer from Orioles
Minnesota Twins get:
RHP Dean Kremer
Baltimore Orioles get:
OF Jhomnardo Reyes
Twins grade: C-
The Twins are off to an aggressive start during the deadline period, adding Kremer to their rotation one night after picking up lefty A.J. Minter to bolster their bullpen in exchange for two infield prospects. Minnesota's system has lost three prospects -- and Reyes was the highest-rated of the three.
Kremer is under team control beyond the rest of the season, which is probably why he merited the better return. (That controllable season is the last of his arbitration-eligible campaigns, so who knows what that might mean under the next CBA.) Assuming the status quo regarding arbitration, Minnesota would have some stability for the back of its rotation. Kremer is on the books for $5.75 million this season and, barring a strong finish, won't have a case for a big raise this winter.
The reluctant grade is a result of Kremer's season, which has not been at a level that would aid the Twins' playoff push. In seven starts, he's 1-4 with a 6.50 ERA and 6.24 FIP, the latter a result of his alarming rate of three homers allowed per nine innings. Kremer is better than that, but he has been a persistently just-below-average producer for his career.
Perhaps the Twins see something in Kremer they think they can work with, and, to be sure, the bar for upgrading the bottom of their rotation is pretty low. I'm willing to write off a certain amount of value disparity in a deal if the team in add-mode has boosted its short-term probabilities enough. I'm just not sure the Twins have done that.
Orioles grade: B+
The Orioles have seen plenty of Kremer, and though some might see this move as the start of a deadline subtraction, that remains to be seen. Kremer hasn't been very good. If the Orioles, a team that had a 16% shot at the playoffs in my odds at the beginning of the day, want to hang in, they expect to get Chris Bassitt back soon to fill out the rotation. Or maybe they'll trade him too.
Either way, the chance to pick up a really quality prospect in Reyes, 18, for a pitcher who wasn't helping was too good to pass up. Baseball America had Reyes ranked 12th in a very good Minnesota system, and MLB Pipeline had him 24th. He's a lanky corner outfielder with plus power and a big arm, and though he's a high-risk/high-reward kind of prospect, his raw ability is worth the gamble.
We don't know Baltimore's deadline approach just yet -- add, subtract, both -- but this deal works for the O's in any context. -- Doolittle
Twins acquire reliever Minter from the Mets
Minnesota Twins get:
LHP A.J. Minter
New York Mets get:
IF Bruin Agbayani
IF Billy Amick
Twins grade: B+
Minnesota looked like a team ready to bolster its roster with its recent play, and the rhetoric coming out of the team's brass suggested the Twins would be adding to it. This is the first evidence of this happening. In nabbing Minter, 32, Minnesota adds an experienced lefty who has pitched in numerous big games in recent years. The Twins also addressed the weakest part of their roster -- a no-name bullpen that's kept manager Derek Shelton scrambling all season.
Minter is an impending free agent who has been sharp after returning to big-league action after a long injury absence. He had been out since April of last season due to a torn lat muscle that had to be surgically repaired. He suffered a couple of setbacks during his rehab earlier this season, finally appearing for the Mets on May 26. He proceeded to rack up 14 scoreless appearances, allowing his first run on July 3. Overall, Minter has a 2.35 ERA over 23 innings. Despite allowing just two walks against 20 strikeouts, Minter's FIP is 4.02 because of the four homers he has allowed since his scoreless streak ended.
Red flag? We'll see, but Minter doesn't throw as hard as he used to and relies increasingly on locating his cutter/four-seamer/changeup combo -- which he's done superbly for most of this season. The walks are evidence of that, while the homers are evidence of his reduced margin for error. Still, Minter is a reliever many contenders would have loved to add, and the Twins beat them to the punch by sending the Mets two non-elite infield prospects from their deep system.
Perhaps as much as anything, this deal sends a strong signal to Twins fans and players alike: Minnesota is in it to win it.
Mets grade: C+
This is what teams out of contention do. Minter would be a pivotal player if the Mets were in the race, but they aren't, so he's a short reliever on an expiring contract whose performance could be exchanged for future value. The level of that value, generally speaking, isn't going to jump off the page in a deal such as this. Neither Agbayani nor Amick are top prospects, both missing Baseball America's most recent Mets' top 30, while sliding into the bottom third of MLB Pipeline's top 30.
Agbayani comes from a family with a penchant for baseball heroics. His father, Benny, starred for the Mets during their 2000 run to the World Series. More recently, his sister, Ailana, lifted the Chicago Bandits into the championship round of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League with a game-winning hit. Bruin, 19, is a lanky, left-handed-hitting infielder who, in limited action, has shown good strike zone command and little power.
Amick, 23, is probably the higher rated of the two. A second-round pick out of Tennessee in 2024, he ranks in the top five of the Texas League in homers and RBIs, but his .217 average illustrates his difficulty in making consistent contact. A corner infielder with an iffy defensive profile, he'll likely have to hit his way to New York.
Sexy? No, but at least Mets fans can enjoy the Agbayani family connection. Regardless, this deal is just the start of the exodus from a Mets clubhouse that is going to look very different in a few days.-- Doolittle
Red Sox get infielder Mead in swap with Nats
Red Sox get:
IF Curtis Mead
Nationals get:
LHP Connelly Early
Red Sox grade: C
Perhaps this is giving short shrift to pre-Statcast evaluators, but this feels like a deal that would never have happened before the advent of tracking metrics. In a nutshell, Early's Savant page features a lot of blue and gray bars (bad) while Mead's have a lot of pink and red (good). Surely it's more complicated than that, but this is a good way to think through a deal that just doesn't work very well for Boston in a more traditional model of trade-related valuation. The machinery at Baseball Trade Values, for example, sees Boston as getting fleeced.
It's easy to understand the rationale. Early is a promising lefty, a consensus top-50-to-75 prospect entering the season, who has a 126 ERA+ over his first 21 big league starts. Even on the traditional stats line there are concerns, which we'll get into below, but that's still a valuable pitcher with loads of team control remaining. Mead was once a top-50-to-75 prospect himself, but that was several years and three teams ago. His 2026 season (137 OPS+, 2.0 bWAR) represents a breakout, but he was below replacement level entering the season.
The blue bars on Mead's Savant page are telling: He can't really field or run. But his long-tantalizing bat has come alive for the Nationals this season. With this deal, Boston is banking on that breakout being sustainable. Mead has evolved in measurable ways, which we can see in standard measures (vastly improved strikeout and walk rates, a spike in isolated power) and in more Statcasty ways. For instance, now that we have measures for bat speed and stance, we can see that Mead has adopted a more upright approach and now stands closer to the plate at the very back of the batter's box.
This last bit is crucial: With the changes, Mead's swing decisions have not only improved, but he's become even more of a flyball-heavy pull hitter with the home run results to show the tweaks have worked. A reminder: Fenway Park has long been a haven for righty pull hitters who get the ball in the air. Statcast's observations, which give us the ability to make smaller-sample judgments than those used in a typical valuation model, tell us Mead very much fits that mold.
The Red Sox are hoping Statcast is right because even if they have good rotation depth (which they do), Early is a lot to give up for someone with Mead's track record. And if Early was available, you have to wonder what other righty masher Boston might have been able to land.
Nationals grade: A-
Even if Mead's breakout proves to be real, the Nationals have plenty of offensive firepower to carry on -- and besides, his production was found money for Washington. Mead was a late-spring pickup for a low-level prospect after he was DFA'd by the White Sox. That turn of events seemed dire for Mead at the time, though we now know that the White Sox position group had moved beyond stop-gap solutions.
There is really no reason to not like the addition of Early to a rotation that needs help, now and going forward. He has been out for nearly a month with elbow inflammation that ironically got him removed from a start against the Nationals on June 30. He has resumed throwing and could return later in the season.
Either way, this is a big-picture addition for the Nats, and Early's promise, not to mention his years of team control, make this more than worth the value of Mead's bat-only profile. As mentioned, Early's Savant page doesn't inspire anyone. His command wavers, leading not just to too many walks but far too much hard contact. Early has coughed up 15 homers this season, a 3.8% rate of longballs allowed that would be one of baseball's 10 worst if he had enough innings to qualify.
But did we mention the career 126 OPS+, the top-50-75 prospect ranking and the years of team control? Yeah, it's worth a shot.-- Doolittle
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