With the Major League Baseball trade deadline arriving on August 3, 2026, front offices across the league are weighing high-stakes deals. Analysts have proposed blockbuster packages for stars like Tarik Skubal and Mason Miller, while contending teams scramble to address roster gaps before the stretch run.
The 2026 MLB trade deadline is only one week away. This year’s deadline is 6 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 3, and one thing is certain: a lot of prospects will be traded. Lots and lots. There always are. Even with seemingly few teams cemented as sellers, prospects for MLB player trades will be plentiful over the next week. With less than two weeks to go before the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline, deal discussions are heating up as teams are making a final decision whether they’re going to buy, sell, do both or even hold. For those teams well positioned to make a playoff run, it’s a good time to take a realistic look at who they could acquire ahead of the deadline.
Tarik Skubal Trade Scenarios and Contender Pursuit
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal remains the crown jewel of the trade market as front offices evaluate whether the franchise will sell or buy.
How do you block out all the speculation as the trade deadline approaches?
a reporter asked Skubal after he pitched in a 7-0 rout of the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, July 18. I mean it's all out of my control,
Skubal said. Those questions should be asked towards our front office, not me. You know, I don't I don't control any of that.
If the Tigers decide to trade Skubal, I would like to see either the Rays or the Brewers be the team that lands him because while both teams are already very good, acquiring an ace like Skubal would give them a legitimate chance to get to the World Series this year. The Rays have a deep enough farm system to make a deal of this magnitude, and it would be a huge statement by their new ownership group if they could pull it off.
President of baseball operations Matt Arnold
President of baseball operations Matt Arnold has been working the phones and has checked in on the likes of Tarik Skubal and Mason Miller. If the Rays can’t land Skubal, a pivot to the Angels for Detmers makes a lot of sense. He is controllable through 2028 and has been a steady presence in the Halos rotation all season, with a 4.05 ERA and 136 strikeouts in 120 innings.
San Diego Padres Closer Mason Miller Emerges as Bullpen Target
Red Sox dealt left-hander Connelly Early to the Nationals
With the Trade Deadline less than one week away, teams around Major League Baseball are holding discussions with one another, trying to figure out the best moves to make for both the short and long term. With one notable deal already in the books – the Red Sox dealt left-hander Connelly Early to the Nationals for infielder Curtis Mead – the action is underway, but with so many teams still trying to figure out whether to buy, sell or stand pat, there’s much more to come in the next six days.
Infielders and Bats Draw Attention Across Both Leagues
Luis Arraez – 2B, San Francisco Giants
The MLB Trade Deadline is officially one week away. We already have one impact trade under our belts, and rumors are swirling around plenty of players across the league, so we asked the Rotoworld Baseball staff to vote on which players they felt were most likely to be moved at the deadline and what it might do to their rest of season value. Players Most Likely to be Traded at the MLB Trade Deadline Luis Arraez – 2B, San Francisco Giants (9 votes). Nine staff members voted for this article, and every single one picked Arraez to be shipped off at the deadline. The reasons are pretty obvious. For starters, the Giants are not a contender, and Arraez is signed to a one-year, $12 million deal. He remains one of the best contact hitters in baseball and is slashing .327/.363/.451 on the season with four home runs, 50 runs scored, 40 RBI, and eight steals. What’s more, he has taken his defense to a whole other level this season, not just becoming a competent fielder, but posting an Outs Above Average at second base of 11. That’s one of the better marks in the league. Now, he does have a -1 Defensive Runs Saved, so not all metrics indicate he is a great fielder, but he’s certainly a far better one than he’s ever been. He’s unlikely to bring back a major return for the Giants since he will be a two-month rental.
It is unlikely a prospect as good as Leo De Vries, who went to the Athletics in the Mason Miller trade last summer, will be dealt at this year’s deadline. De Vries is one of the two or three best prospects in baseball and it is very rare that a player like that gets moved. Plenty of good prospects will be traded, just probably not one of the very best in the game. With that in mind, here are 10 prospects who could get traded over the next week because they’re blocked with their current team, or because other clubs will come calling about them. Alcántara, originally acquired by Chicago from the Yankees in the Anthony Rizzo trade, has been capital-B Blocked the last few years by Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ian Happ, and Seiya Suzuki. Happ and Suzuki will be free agents after this season and that will clear a lane for Alcántara, though it’s also not a good enough reason to make him untouchable. The 24-year-old has performed in Triple-A the last few years but has swing-and-miss issues.
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