7/20/26

We have once again made it to July and that means chaos in the world of Major League Baseball. With the Trade Deadline rapidly approaching, teams are surveying the landscape of the league to see whether they should trade pieces of their future to help now, or punt on the season and trade valuable current pieces to build a contender in the future.

2026 is extra intriguing because of the amount of average teams in both the American League and National League. 23 of the 30 teams are either in a playoff position as of the All-Star Break or withing five games of a playoff spot. With terrific runs by Wild Card teams in recent years like the Phillies, Diamondbacks, and Rangers, teams are more confident in their chances if they can just sneak into the playoffs. The new format has given underdogs quite the boost in success rate and morale. With the deadline on Monday, August 3rd at 3pm Pacific Time, those decisions must be made ASAP.

Like last year, we will update this post with every MLB-level trade. We will also include links to articles about those trades and will update this post continuously until after the deadline on August 4th. So make sure to bookmark this page and check back frequently.

July 25th

• Washington Nationals acquire LHP Connelly Early from Boston Red Sox in exchange for INF Curtis Mead (Jeff Passan, ESPN)

It feels like the Boston Red Sox could have gotten more for the promising left-handed starter than they did. Washington does get a solid, MLB-ready starter to put into their rotation as they continue to improve and aren’t out of the wild card race yet in the National League. No, he is not MacKenzie Gore who they traded this last offseason, but Early has shown plenty of promise in just 34 appearances for the 24-year-old. It is a head scratcher to me as Boston now thins out their own rotation. Curtis Mead is enjoying the best season of his career with career-highs across the board. Right-handed bats are scarce at this deadline and if Mead can sustain this success, it will be a solid move for Boston. If he can’t, this will just be more ammunition for a Boston fanbase that is alreadynot happy with their front office.

July 23rd

• Pittsburgh Pirates acquire RHP Ron Marinaccio from San Diego Padres in exchange for cash considerations (Via Pittsburgh Pirates)

This move says quite a bit without being a massive blockbuster. For Pittsburgh, it shows that the Pirates are going for it to try to get to the postseason for the first time since 2015. While they likely won’t win the division, a wild card spot would be huge for the franchise as they try to turn the corner. The Pirates are 24th in bullpen ERA so this was on obvious hole. Marinaccio has taken a step back after four really good seasons, but is an upgrade and if Pittsburgh can get him back to what he has been in recent years, he will be a big arm in crucial innings down the stretch. This also shows that the Padres are open for business in the middle of a very disappointing season. Of course, the big question will be are they just going to trim the fat or is Mason Miller also available?

July 18th

• Chicago Cubs acquire SP Aaron Civale and cash considerations from Athletics in exchange for RHP Aiden Moffett (Jesse Rogers, ESPN)

It was clear and obvious that the Chicago Cubs needed to add starting pitching with Cade Horton out for the year and Justin Steele yet to throw off a mound this season. However, this feels like a supplementary move with a bigger splash coming later. Chicago gets an experience veteran in Civale who finished last season with the Cubs. Civale’s numbers are heavily skewed pitching in the ultra-hitter friendly Sutter Health Park in Sacramento. Away from that launching pad, Civale has a respectable 4.25 ERA in 42 1/3 innings this season and will be able to eat innings for the Cubs. The A’s have fallen way back in the AL West and while this isn’t necessarily a big sell move, does indicate they are willing to ship some pieces. Aiden Moffett is in his first minor league season and while he is striking out more than a batter per inning, does have an alarming walk rate at 34.1%, walking almost two batters per inning pitched.

July 15th

• Milwaukee Brewers acquire RHP Lance McCullers Jr. and LHP Colton Gordon, plus cash, from the Houston Astros in exchange for OF Jadyn Fielder

Lance McCullers Jr. is the big fish in this trade as the Astros cut ties with the injury plagued starter. He has made just 71 appearances since 2019 and 28 of those came in 2021. The veteran missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons and has made just eight starts this year with a right rotator cuff issue. He is ready to make his return and the Brewers are in need of pitching with Brandon Woodruff and Kyle Harrison on the IL and Jacob Misiorowski in his first full 162-game season. Colton Gordon is a typical Brewers guy that can start or come out of the bullpen and seems to be like a Quinn Priester or Chad Patrick that the Brewers can get the most out of. Son of Milwaukee legend Prince Fielder, Jadyn Fielder heads to Houston. Not quite the power hitter like his dad or grandfather, Cecil, were, Jadyn is very disciplined at the plate and has an OBP of .415 in Single-A this year. At just 21, Fielder won’t impact the Astros immediately but this trade was more about freeing up money for Houston.

elisportsnetwork.com