Deadline day always brings a little bit of everything, and this one already has enough moving parts to keep the market busy all the way to 6 p.m. ET.
The biggest question in Detroit is whether the Tigers are done after sending Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers on Saturday. That deal, which sent the two-time Cy Young winner south, brought back right-hander River Ryan and outfielder Zyhir Hope, both viewed as big league-ready or close to it.
Detroit also promoted top prospect Max Clark a day before the Skubal move. Even after all that, reporting after the trade has pointed to a Tigers club that may not be headed for a full teardown.
The Skubal deal moved them under the tax line, opening the door for a compensatory pick after the first round if they make a qualifying offer to Casey Mize. Right-hander Jackson Jobe is also working his way back from last year’s Tommy John surgery.
If Detroit is still trying to stay in the race, the possibility of additions is suddenly on the table too.
Anaheim is another club worth watching closely. The Angels have already dealt two players with multiple years of club control, right-hander Chase Silseth and catcher Logan O’Hoppe, and they scratched José Soriano from his Saturday start while openly tying that decision to how close the deadline is.
That leaves the key question: will owner Arte Moreno finally allow interim GM John Mozeliak to move the kind of controllable talent he has resisted trading for more than a decade, across several front offices? It would be a surprise to see that kind of autonomy granted with an interim GM in place, though it’s possible Moreno has already decided Mozeliak is staying on, or simply trusts his experience enough to hand him the reins anyway.
Boston, meanwhile, has already made one eye-opening move and may not be finished. The Red Sox sent young left-hander Connelly Early to Washington for Curtis Mead, a deal that caught a lot of people in the industry off guard.
Mead then fractured his wrist almost immediately, and that pushed Boston right back into the market for an infielder, with shortstop looking like the priority. The Sox have checked on Miami’s Otto Lopez and the Angels’ Zach Neto, but they have been reluctant to put elite prospects such as 20-year-old shortstop Franklin Arias in play.
The question now is whether Boston finds a lower-profile target or decides it has to pay a bigger price, maybe with Arias or right-hander Anthony Eyanson. They could also finally thin out their long-talked-about surplus of lefty-swinging outfielders.
Texas has gone in the opposite direction from where it seemed headed a few days ago. The Rangers were moving toward adding help and already dipped into that lane with the Silseth and O’Hoppe trade from the Angels.
But they have not won since last Tuesday, and after being swept by the Astros over the weekend, they slid from first place to 2.5 games back. Money is tight, and now the front office is at least considering a shift toward shedding salary instead of adding to it.
There are enough recognizable names to make that possible without calling it a total teardown, but it would be a major change from where the club stood just one week ago.
Washington has already been active, but the Nationals still have plenty left to sort through. They’ve moved controllable players Mead and Luis Garcia Jr. already, with Mead going to Boston and Garcia heading to the Bronx.
Now the focus turns to other possible deals, especially CJ Abrams. There’s interest, and the price is high on the infielder, who has already set a new career best with 28 home runs.
The Nationals will also listen on lefty Foster Griffin and several veteran pieces, including innings eaters Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas. Griffin’s future is still an open question too: he could be traded, extended, or perhaps even land a qualifying offer after the season.
And then there’s the part of deadline day nobody ever really escapes: the surprise names. Hunter Greene is drawing strong interest, but will the Reds actually move him?
Are Randy Arozarena and George Kirby staying in Seattle? Could Texas go beyond rental pieces like Joc Pederson and try to move Jacob deGrom or even Corey Seager?
The Red Sox want a shortstop, after all. Detroit could also pivot again and add one of the controllable arms still out there.
San Francisco has a chance to do something unexpected by moving one of its pricey underwater contracts - Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, or Matt Chapman. Then there are the Rockies, who are asking a lot for Hunter Goodman, and the Marlins, who are doing the same with Lopez or Xavier Edwards.
And all of that sits alongside Mason Miller and the ever-present deadline wild card A.J. Preller, the Padres’ president of baseball operations.
There are a lot of moving pieces, and plenty of them can still go sideways before the clock runs out.
In Other News...
Red Sox Eye One More Deadline Move To Fix A Lingering Problem
The Nationals may find themselves back in familiar trade territory with Boston, which has already struck twice with Washington over the past nine months. Those earlier deals brought Jake Bennett and Curtis Mead to the Red Sox organization, and now the connection is resurfacing as the deadline approaches and Boston keeps searching for help in a spot that has lingered as a problem.
Luis Garcia Jr. is the latest Washington name drawing attention, and his strong season has only added to the appeal if the Red Sox decide to push again. Any talks would come with real moving parts, with names such as Jarren Duran or Patrick Sandoval floated as possible centerpieces, but nothing has been finalized yet as both sides weigh whether this is the kind of upgrade worth making late in the process. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Just Made A Surprising Bet On Their Pitching Future
The Nationals have spent plenty of time talking about building the roster from the mound out, and Paul Toboni just put that philosophy into action with a move that says as much about the future as the present. In a trade with the Yankees, Washington targeted pitching depth and brought in four right-handed arms, a package aimed at strengthening a staff that still needs help and, in particular, more relief options that can move quickly.
Luis Garcia Jr. had been one of Washingtons more productive bats this season, so parting with him was no small call. But the return fits the organizations broader timeline, with Jack Cebert, Yovanny Cruz, Ben Grable and Jake Bird giving the Nationals a mix of pitchers at different stages of readiness and potential roles, the kind of bet teams make when they think the next wave on the mound matters more than the lineup today. [Read more 🡒]