Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers and 10 Best and Worst Moves of 2026 MLB Trade Deadline
The 2026 MLB Trade Deadline has passed, and there's a lot to recap.
Two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal was traded to the two-time defending World Series Champion Los Angeles Dodgers to headline what was a crazy trading season.
Let's take a look at the 10 best moves of the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline.
10. Mariners acquire Taylor Ward from Orioles
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The Mariners resisted the urge to sell, even though they likely could have gotten a significant return for Randy Arozarena even as a rental.
Instead, they added, acquiring Taylor Ward from the Orioles. If Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez heat up down the stretch, the M's could wind up with a pretty formidable lineup. T-Mobile Park might not be the place for Ward to rediscover his power stroke, but he leads the American League with 87 walks, so he'll improve Dan Wilson's group.
The Mariners also only had to give up RHP Alex Hoppe, RHP Brock Moore and RHP Harrison Kreiling, none of whom are likely to keep president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto up at night.
9. Phillies acquire Brooks Raley from Mets
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The Phillies badly needed help in their bullpen as they try to get the ball from the starter to All-Star closer Jhoan Duran. Brooks Raley will give them that, as he had a 1.96 ERA in 45 games with the division-rival Mets.
Given some of the struggles from José Alvarado and Orion Kerkering, Raley might already be their second-best reliever. He is 38 years old, so the only concern might be how he holds up in September, and, the Phillies hope, October.
Outfielder John Spikerman and RHP Luke Gabrysh were the two prospects the Phillies sent to the Mets. Spikerman was the higher ranked prospect of the two, with MLB Pipeline having him as the 27th-best in the Phillies system entering the day.
8. Guardians acquire Jo Adell from Angels
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The Guardians could have opted for a rental bat, but instead they landed Adell, who is a year removed from hitting 37 homers and could very well find another level away from arguably the most incompetent franchise in baseball.
He's also not a rental, as the 27-year-old has one remaining arbitration year in 2027. When you couple Adell's arrival with the fact that Stevan Kwan hit .390 in July after struggling for much of the first half, Stephen Vogt's outfield could be significantly improved.
Catcher Jacob Cozart was dealt to Anaheim in exchange for Adell. MLB Pipeline says Cozart is now the No. 18 prospect in the Halos system, which is pretty modest.
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7. Angels make out well on return from Cubs for Ryan Zeferjahn
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The Chicago Cubs must really like Ryan Zeferjahn. Granted, he's under team control through 2030, and his 3.66 ERA in 45 games this season is serviceable. But they're betting big on being able to harness his 97 mph fastball and 13.1 K/9—while trimming his walks—and turn him into a late-game reliever.
From the perspective of the Angels, they're thrilled to get back Moisés Ballesteros. While Ballesteros only has a .688 OPS in the majors this season, he was the No. 55 prospect in baseball entering the year. The 22-year-old has a high ceiling at the plate, so even if he ends up more as a first base/DH type than a catcher, there's a lot to project with him offensively.
Additionally, the Angels also acquired RHP Mason McGwire, who, yes, is Mark's son. McGwire was an eighth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft and has a 3.64 ERA in 59.1 innings between Single A and High A this year.
6. Giants get Marcelo Mayer in return for Erik Miller
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Look, Marcelo Mayer has hit .223 with a .625 OPS in 114 games. Maybe he just doesn't have it. But he's a former first-round pick who is still only 23 years old and was one of the top 10 prospects in baseball ahead of the 2025 season. It felt ... early for the Red Sox to give up on him.
It would be one thing if the Red Sox moved him for a superstar. Erik Miller is a nice left-handed reliever, as evidenced by his 2.76 ERA over 38 games this year. He's also got three remaining years of arbitration eligibility.
It's certainly not hard to see the Red Sox winning this trade, so this is less a critique of them and more being complimentary of president of baseball operations Buster Posey taking a shot. It may not work, but if it does, it could prove to be the best deal of the deadline.
5. Angels get strong return from Blue Jays for José Soriano
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This isn't a dis of José Soriano, who has pitched to a 9-6 record with a 3.29 ERA across 123 innings this season. It makes sense that even if Toronto isn't going to be a postseason team in 2026, they were excited to acquire a 27-year-old righty that won't be a free agent until after the 2028 campaign.
With that said, the Angels probably aren't going to be a good team during the remaining arbitration seasons of Soriano. So interim general manager John Mozeliak moving him now made sense, especially since the Angels were able to acquire shortstop Arjun Nimmala, who MLB Pipeline says is now their No. 2 prospect. The 20-year-old is the 43rd-best prospect in all of baseball, so he now becomes a building block for the Angels.
Los Angeles was very active at the deadline, and finally seem to have an adult in the room with Mozeliak. Owner Arte Moreno would be wise to remove the interim tag and keep him around.
4. Orioles do well in trading Adley Rutschman
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This is a situation where we aren't knocking the Red Sox for trading for Adley Rutschman, who was an All-Star selection for the third time this season and is still only 28 years old. When he returns from a left wrist injury, he could very well develop into a key cog for the Red Sox. Plus, he has one more arbitration year in 2026.
Still, Rutschman hadn't developed into the superstar he once seemed destined to be with the Orioles. Baltimore has Samuel Basallo (although he's currently on the injured list with shoulder inflammation) and also got back Carlos Narváez to hold things down.
Most importantly, the O's landed the No. 49 prospect in baseball in RHP Anthony Eyanson. President of baseball operations also landed 19-year-old outfielder Enddy Azocar, who is now the seventh-best prospect in their system.
It's a disappointing end to the Orioles tenure of Rutschman, who appeared to have franchise icon potential his first two and a half seasons. But Baltimore did well in return for him.
3. Guardians acquire Foster Griffin from Nationals
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In case you haven't watched many Washington Nationals games this season, Foster Griffin has been one of the best stories in baseball. After a three-year stint in Japan, he returned to the majors on a one-year, $5.5 million contract. He made his first All-Star team in 2026, and has a 12-3 record with a 3.06 ERA in 22 starts.
In Foster, the Guardians have landed a pitcher who can both help them get to the postseason and be a factor in October. Some combination of him, Parker Messick, Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee could make the Guards a force to be reckoned with in a wide-open AL playoff picture. That's on top of adding Adell and Nathaniel Lowe to their lineup.
None of the four prospects the Nationals got in return for Griffin — LHPs Will Dion and Josh Hartle, RHP Kendeglys Virguez and outfielder Nick Mitchell — are top 10 in their new team's system, so the Guardians don't appear to have given up a ton for one of the best rentals in the sport.
2. Cubs land multiple impact arms
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Seeing as we make the rules, we're folding the pickups of Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes into one.
Edward Cabrera (left hamstring strain) and Ben Brown (stress reaction in neck) are currently on the injured list, while Matthew Boyd is a major injury risk in the rotation. The Cubs needed to land impact pitching and they did it.
Kevin Gausman comes over from Toronto with a 4.38 ERA in 23 starts this season, but a 3.95 expected ERA and 3.51 FIP that lead you to believe positive regression could be coming.
Meanwhile, Clay Holmes is close to returning from a fractured fibula that's sidelined him since mid-May. He's got a 3.26 ERA across 218.1 innings with the Mets as a starter, plus a past history as a reliever that could allow him to thrive out of the 'pen in the postseason.
Gausman is set to become a free agent after the season, while Holmes is likely to opt out of the final season of a three-year, $38 million contract. So both are rentals, but they've set the Cubs up to be a team you don't want to see in October.
1. Tarik Skubal, Los Angeles Dodgers
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What else?
As they look to become the first MLB team to three-peat since the Yankees did so from 1998-2000, the Dodgers landed arguably the top pitcher in the sport. He's proven to be healthy since returning from a NanoScope procedure on his elbow. We don't know what the statuses of Shohei Ohtani (the pitcher), Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow will be in the postseason, but just the chance to have Skubal and reigning World Series MVP Yoshinobu Yamamoto at the top of the rotation was too tantalizing to pass up.
There have been mixed opinions about whether the Tigers got enough back for Skubal, landing outfield prospect Zyhir Hope and RHPs River Ryan and Brady Smith. The bottom line is the Dodgers just landed a bonafide ace in Skubal, and MLB Pipeline says they still have three of the top 19 prospects in baseball with outfielder Josue De Paula (No. 4), outfielder Mike Sirota (No. 11) and outfielder Eduardo Quintero (No. 19).
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