Yankees, Cubs and the Most Desperate Teams at 2026 MLB Trade Deadline

All 30 MLB teams will be looking to accomplish some goal in advance of Monday's trade deadline, but a few are going to be far more desperate than the others.

The Chicago White Sox would like to upgrade their pitching staff, but the Chicago Cubs need to do so.

The Tampa Bay Rays could use another bat in their lineup, but the Seattle Mariners need one.

And if the New York Yankees are going to put an end to what is nearly the longest World Series title drought in franchise history, they need to win the deadline.

What we believe to be the most desperate teams heading into the deadline are presented in alphabetical order by location.

Atlanta Braves

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Bryce Elder

With both the Phillies and the Marlins cooling off considerably in July, Atlanta's desperation level isn't quite as high as it was a few weeks ago.

At any rate, its lead in the NL East has crept back up to six games after nearly a month of teetering on the brink of blowing what had been a 10-game lead over Memorial Day weekend.

However, while winning the NL East feels a bit more assured than it did in late June, winning the NL East isn't exactly the ultimate goal here.

The Braves want to win the World Series, and it's hard to see that happening if they don't make considerable improvements to this starting rotation.

Case in point: There are 180 pitchers who have logged at least 30 innings as a starter this season, and the Braves have just one (Chris Sale) who ranks top 100 in FIP.

Grant Holmes and Bryce Elder have been serviceable regular season arms. But starting either one in the postseason—let alone back-to-back in Games 2 and 3 of a Wild Card Series against whichever team ends up as the NL's No. 6 seed—is a terrifying proposition for Braves fans.

Atlanta doesn't need to win the Tarik Skubal sweepstakes, but it does need to do more to upgrade this rotation than simply welcome AJ Smith-Shawver back from his Tommy John surgery rehab.

Chicago Cubs

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David Peterson

Between the active roster and the IL, the Chicago Cubs employ 13 players who will be free agents this offseason.

That list includes outfielders Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ and Michael Conforto, catcher Carson Kelly, starting pitchers Shota Imanaga and Matthew Boyd and relievers Trent Thornton, Hoby Milner and Caleb Thielbar, each of whom has provided positive value while logging at least 30 innings pitched or 180 plate appearances.

That isn't to say it's now or never for the North Siders, but there definitely is an urgency to capitalize on this window before it closes.

And that means adding pitching.

Starting pitching. Relief pitching. They need it all.

The Cubs just DFA'ed Jameson Taillon a few days ago, and he ranked third on the team in innings pitched (with a 5.92 ERA and 6.74 FIP).

Colin Rea is second on that IP list, but he has a minus-0.2 bWAR with a 4.67 ERA and 4.87 FIP—and only became part of Chicago's rotation when Cade Horton landed on the IL.

A dozen different Cubs have recorded at least one save, but Jacob Webb is leading the team with five. On a related note, Webb is also leading the team in blown saves with four, and had just seven saves in 247 career appearances prior to this season.

To their credit, they took a buy-low flyer on David Peterson about a month ago, and it has mostly panned out. He did get lit up for 10 earned runs in one of his five starts, but he has a cumulative line of 23.0 IP with five earned runs allowed in the other four. Even Meat Loaf would have to agree that four good starts out of five ain't bad.

Peterson, though, is questionable at best to make an October start, provided the Cubs hang on and make the postseason. They need bigger additions than that, presumably eying up the likes of Tarik Skubal, Robbie Ray, Sandy Alcantara and Reid Detmers.

Milwaukee Brewers

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Brandon Sproat

Milwaukee is probably the least desperate of these desperate teams. Not only do the Brewers have a six-game lead in the NL Central, but they have a 12.5-game cushion above the wild-card cut line. And with one of the lower budgets in the sport, there's only so much buying they could justify.

But they need starting pitching if they are serious about beating the Dodgers this time around.

Jacob Misiorowski has been nothing short of awesome, starting to run away with the NL Cy Young race. But Brandon Woodruff is done for the year. Quinn Priester isn't coming back, either. We'll see when Kyle Harrison gets back from the IL and whether he can lock back in as the strong No. 2 that he was through the first half. And the Lance McCullers Jr. acquisition from a couple weeks ago certainly wasn't what Milwaukee hoped it would be.

With Logan Henderson and Shane Drohan both pitching reasonably well as of late, Milwaukee is in better shape than the Braves or Cubs. But the Brewers as currently constructed would be considerably outclassed in the starting rotation department in a postseason series against the Dodgers or Phillies, or in a World Series against the Yankees.

New York Yankees

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Since mid-June, the Yankees have been, well, mid.

They went from 46-28 with a +123 run differential to 15-18 with a minus-34 run differential since.

Injuries haven't helped matters, with Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos Rodón and now Cody Bellinger all on the IL. But surviving the inevitable annual clash with the injury bug is just part of life for an MLB team.

What those injuries have accentuated, however, is the lack of production that New York has gotten out of the likes of Austin Wells, Ryan McMahon, Trent Grisham and Will Warren.

At least with Anthony Volpe back in the mix, they've had the luxury of reducing McMahon's playing time. And though Warren and Ryan Weathers haven't been great in the rotation, they ideally won't be needed once Rodón and Clarke Schmidt return.

Catcher is a clear problem that needs to be addressed externally, though. Moreover, this outfield without Judge and Bellinger has been exposed as a major weakness. Making at least one addition in that area feels close to a necessity.

Catching the Rays atop the AL East is also a must, as the Yankees have never made it to the World Series as a wild-card team. And they are desperate to do something about the fact that they haven't won a World Series since 2009.

Philadelphia Phillies

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Justin Crawford

Big Threes are all the rage in NBA conversations, but the Phillies have arguably the best Big Six in MLB right now in Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler, Jesús Luzardo, Jhoan Duran, Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber.

Beyond that, though?

Trea Turner and J.T. Realmuto have both come to life in July after a rough first three months, but Brandon Marsh has simultaneously fallen off a cliff. Harper has also struggled this month, and Schwarber isn't homering like he used to, resulting in an offense that hasn't even averaged 4.0 runs per game in July. They need bats, preferably of the outfield variety.

And while the Phillies have gone 43-17 in games started by Sánchez, Wheeler or Luzardo, they've gone 14-34 in those other games, as the No. 4 and No. 5 spots in this rotation have really held them back. They might not need anything beyond their terrific trio once the postseason begins, but they might need an upgrade to make sure they, in fact, make the postseason.

Bullpen needs are also rather dire here, with Brad Keller—who had been their primary set-up man—lost to a season-ending UCL injury while José Alvarado has a bloated 5.85 ERA as one of the team's other top options for holds.

It's a lot. They probably won't be able to fix it all. But they have to try, because this window as a World Series contender isn't going to stay open forever.

Pittsburgh Pirates

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Gregory Soto

Dating back to 1993, the Pittsburgh Pirates have had a .500 or better record in just four out of 33 seasons.

They made the playoffs in each of 2013, 2014 and 2015. But unless you want to count the Wild Card game against the Reds in 2013, this franchise has not won a postseason series since the 1979 World Series.

To put it lightly, opportunities haven't exactly grown on trees in Pittsburgh.

This is one of them, though, reaping the rewards of an aggressive (by their standards) offseason as Brandon Lowe, Jake Mangum and Ryan O'Hearn play major roles in what has been one of the most potent offenses.

They need bullpen help, though, if they're going to pull this off.

The Pirates recently gave up the ghost on Dennis Santana, designating him for assignment to free up a roster space for Ron Marinaccio. Every close game has been an adventure with this bullpen, though.

Each of the six Pirates with at least three holds has also blown at least two saves. Closer Gregory Soto takes the cake with five blown saves scattered among his 13 successful conversions.

Are they desperate enough to land Mason Miller?

If not, can they at least pilfer the Mets' bullpen for a couple of their quality arms?

Seattle Mariners

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Cal Raleigh

The Mariners have had one of the better pitching staffs this season, allowing fewer than 4.0 runs per game. Emerson Hancock has been one of the breakout stars of the year, and Andrés Muñoz has locked back in as one of the best closers in the game over the past six weeks after a rough start.

All Seattle has to show for that great pitching staff, though, is a losing record in their quest to make it back at least as far as the ALCS for a second consecutive season.

The lineup simply has not shouldered its share of the load.

Most of that onus falls on Cal Raleigh, who has gone from a 161 wRC+ last year to a 71 wRC+ this year. Among players with at least 300 plate appearances, he ranked fifth-best in the majors last year, but presently ranks fifth-worst.

Of course, they're not going to replace him. They just kind of have to hope and pray that the Big Dumper's light bulb eventually comes back on. Same goes for Josh Naylor, both of whom are signed through 2030.

But they can upgrade elsewhere by adding right-handed bats to the mix at 3B, RF and DH.

Maybe they can get Seiya Suzuki from the Cubs in a rare buyer-with-buyer swap?

Jo Adell if the Angels are willing to trade within the division?

Or, wait a minute. Wait just a minute.

Bah gawd, is that Eugenio Suárez's music?

Now that he's starting to homer again, could he be the missing piece of this offense that they hoped he would be last year?

Perhaps they can swing even higher than that with their loaded farm system, but at least one splash for this lineup is a must.

Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres

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Tarik Skubal

Whereas the other seven teams on this list are each desperate to buy something, the Tigers and Padres are desperately trying to figure out the right course of action.

The Tigers entered Wednesday at 3.5 games back in the wild-card race and 5.0 games back in the AL Central. The Padres have no hope of catching the Dodgers in the NL West, but they are 1.5 games back in what is presently a seven-team race for the final two NL wild-card spots.

If the Padres are buying, they need starting pitching, as this rotation has been a mess aside from Michael King. Another bat wouldn't hurt, either, but Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill have all come around in a big way after a collectively slow start to the season. (San Diego had the lowest-scoring offense in MLB through June 16, but has been top five since then.)

If the Tigers are buying, they're one of the only teams that probably doesn't need to upgrade its rotation. Another southpaw reliever would be good, though, and adding some offense in the outfield/DH spots would be a must.

But if the Tigers sell, we all know Tarik Skubal is the biggest name out there. Casey Mize and Gleyber Torres are also impending free agents who would fetch a pretty penny on the open market.

And if the Padres sell, Mason Miller is arguably the 1B to Skubal's 1A among trade block candidates. They could also move left-handed reliever Adrián Morejón (maybe to the Tigers?) before he hits free agency, could definitely get something nice for Ty France's .877 OPS and might even put King up for grabs, even though it's generally a challenge to trade guys with player options.

Basically, these are the two dominoes who will determine just how wild this deadline gets.