2026 MLB trade deadline awards: Dodgers, Yankees, Mets, more
According to sources: Despite their superstar acquisition, the Los Angeles Dodgers have not clinched the World Series ... just yet.
This turned out to be a much more fascinating 2026 Major League Baseball trade deadline than we expected, with every team in playoff contention making at least one move -- and usually multiple moves -- to improve their rosters. OK, maybe not the Detroit Tigers or Baltimore Orioles, who decided to surrender on their declining playoff chances and trade away the two biggest names.
As ESPN's Jeff Passan wrote in his awards last year: Nobody does a deadline like baseball. And this one was one of the most interesting in years, even if it featured just one big superstar who was traded.
With a number of expected deals, as well as some more surprising ones, let's have some fun and hand out some awards in the wake of this year's deadline.
The David Cone Award: Tarik Skubal, Los Angeles Dodgers
Cone basically created the modern trade deadline -- well, more accurately, it was two Cone trades that led to the idea that every team in the playoff race should look to make at least semi-significant additions at the deadline. In 1992, Cone went from the New York Mets to the Toronto Blue Jays and helped them win the World Series. In 1995, he went from the Blue Jays (who had reacquired him in an earlier trade) to the New York Yankees and helped the Yankees reach the playoffs for the first time since 1981 (and then re-signed with the Yankees and helped them win the World Series in 1996).
Skubal, as the reigning two-time Cy Young winner, goes down as one of the all-time rentals. Here are the top five since Cone -- pitchers only, and only considering those heading to free agency (so no Justin Verlander in 2017, for example):
1998: Randy Johnson, Seattle Mariners to Houston Astros. Johnson went 10-1 for the Astros, but they lost in the National League Division Series to the Padres.
2008: CC Sabathia, Cleveland to Milwaukee Brewers. Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, including seven complete games in 17 starts, but the Brewers dropped the NLDS to the Philadelphia Phillies.
2010: Cliff Lee, Mariners to Texas Rangers. The 2008 Cy Young winner went just 4-6 with a 3.98 ERA with Texas but did help the Rangers reach the World Series, which they lost to the San Francisco Giants;he had three wins in the first two rounds of the playoffs.
2014: Jon Lester, Boston Red Sox to Athletics. Lester went 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA for the A's and then started the one-game wild card against the Kansas City Royals. The A's led 7-3 in the eighth inning, but Lester tired and the Royals eventually won in 12 innings.
2021: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals to Dodgers. In 11 starts for the Dodgers, Mad Max went 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He came up with a tired arm before the National League Championship Series, however, and the Dodgers lost to the Atlanta Braves in six games, with Scherzer making just one start.
So, there you go, baseball fans. Five rentals ... and no World Series titles. Heck, throw in David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015 (he went 9-1 with a 2.30 ERA but the Jays lost the American League Championship Series to the Royals) or Zack Greinke to the Los Angeles Angels in 2012 (they didn't even make the playoffs). That's 0-for-7 for the aces. Maybe you want to include Johnny Cueto, who was viewed as an ace when he was traded to the Royals in 2015 but went 4-7 with a 4.76 ERA and wasn't their No. 1 starter in the playoffs. They did win the World Series, so if we stretch the definition a bit to include him, that's 1-for-8.
The Philippe Petit Risk-Taking Award: Craig Breslow, Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox entered deadline day in third place in the American League East, five games behind the Tampa Bay Rays and 2 games behind the Yankees. Usually, it's the teams already in first place who swing biggest at the trade deadline, looking to put the finishing touches on a team headed to the playoffs. The Red Sox do appear headed to the postseason, but on Monday morning their odds of winning the division were just under 11%, according to FanGraphs.
Instead of taking a cautious approach, Breslow went all-in, something few general managers do in this era of prizing prospects like cherished family heirlooms, taking risks the way Petit would during his notorious high-wire walks. Breslow had already traded rookie pitcher Connelly Early for Curtis Mead, a deal most thought the Red Sox overpaid on. Then he traded three of his top five prospects for Adley Rutschman -- looking to upgrade the catcher position, where the Red Sox ranked 25th in OPS -- which is a shocking deal considering Rutschman has been on the injured list three times this season and has just a year-plus of team control. Then, Breslow traded former top prospect Marcelo Mayer to the Giants for lefty reliever Erik Miller.
"I do think with the position that our team is in right now, the opportunity that we believe we have in front of us, it warranted being aggressive and meaningfully improving our outlook, and we're hopeful that we did that today," Breslow told reporters after the deadline.
Yes, the Red Sox had pitching depth to deal from, but going back to last offseason, the Sox have traded away Early, Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan, Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, Luis Perales and now Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon. (Breslow did get Jake Bennett back in one of the deals.) That's an incredible amount of major league and prospect pitching depth to trade away in a short period of time. It's probably the mentality expected of a former player: Win now, worry later. We'll see whether it pays off.
The Anti-Sam Presti Award: Scott Harris, Detroit Tigers
Presti is the general manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who built the 2025 NBA champions and always seems one step ahead of the rest of the league. Look at what he did this offseason, after the Thunder lost in the Western Conference finals to the San Antonio Spurs. First, he traded Luguentz Dort to the Atlanta Hawks in a three-way deal. A key under-the-radar aspect to the trade: The Spurs own Atlanta's first-round pick in 2027, so trading Dort to the Hawks should make Atlanta better while thus hurting the Spurs' draft position. Presti then signed forward Spencer Jones of the Denver Nuggets -- another Western Conference rival -- and while the Nuggets matched the offer, it meant the Nuggets' projected tax penalty would increase by $32 million unless they shed money (and players) in other trades.
Presti is simultaneously looking to improve the Thunder while also hurting his rivals. Meanwhile, Harris, Detroit's president of baseball operations, traded Skubal, his best player, while sitting just 2 games out of a wild card spot with 50 games still to play. Not only did he trade Skubal -- but he traded him to the Dodgers. Does Harris have an obligation to help protect the rest of the league from the Dodgers? Of course not. Could returning prospects Zyhir Hope and River Ryan make this a big win for the Tigers in the future? Yes. Should another team have stepped up and beat the Dodgers' offer? We wish.
Harris explained his rationale in trading away Skubal to reporters, saying that it didn't make sense to keep the current group of Tigers together: "I don't think, based on the way that we played over the first 112 games, that it made sense to do that. And so, once I came to peace with the answer to those questions being no, I thought it was in the best interest of this organization to make the trades that we made this week."
Harris also traded Casey Mize, who had a lower ERA with the Tigers this season than Skubal, to the San Diego Padres. At least he traded both players out of the American League. Still, it's safe to say: Nobody in MLB is playing a three-dimensional front office like Presti.
The A.J. Preller Award for Screw It, Trade the Prospects: A.J. Preller, San Diego Padres
Last year, Preller traded Leo De Vries, one of the top prospects in baseball, for reliever Mason Miller. The Padres went on to make the playoffs but lost in the wild-card series. This year, the Padres went on a run heading into deadline day, squashing rumors of a possible Miller trade, and instead dealt for Mize and Robbie Ray, two of the top starting pitchers available, to help a desperate rotation.
Included in those trades: No. 2 prospect Kash Mayfield, No. 7 Miguel Mendez and No. 11 Joniel Hernandez. One of the weakest farm systems just got weaker, but Preller had a simple explanation.
"We're trying to win," he told reporters on a conference call. "We don't apologize for it. We're trying to win championships. We're trying to get to the postseason and do it year after year."
It's a refreshing approach, or at least a different one in an era of groupthink, especially considering teams such as Detroit and Baltimore were in a position not all that different from San Diego and decided to punt. Preller goes for it. The rotation now has three legitimate playoff starters in Michael King, Mize and Ray, plus a seasoned playoff pitcher in Walker Buehler. Throw in the terrifying Miller-led bullpen and the Padres have a team built to win low-scoring playoff games. They can't outscore the Dodgers, but maybe they can outpitch them.
The We Made the Team Better but the Fans are Still Upset Award: New York Yankees
With Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger on the IL, the Yankees needed some power. They acquired Luis García Jr., who was only leading the National League in slugging percentage and is under team control for another season.
They also needed a right-handed batter, and they acquired Heliot Ramos, who has a lifetime OPS of .847 against left-handed pitching and is under team control through 2029.
They did this without trading away any of their top prospects, such as George Lombard Jr. (who was called up on Tuesday as Anthony Volpe was optioned to Triple-A) or Dax Kilby or Elmer Rodriguez or Carlos Lagrange.
"One of our first areas of need was to try to upgrade the offense in any way, shape or form while waiting for important players to come back off the IL," general manager Brian Cashman told reporters. "Ramos crushes left-handed pitching, García crushes right-handed pitching ... [manager] Aaron Boone has a better chance to match up than he did yesterday."
Well done, Cashman.
Or not. Because, you see, Yankees fans wanted a catcher at the deadline, as if the franchise could simply snap its fingers and acquire Yogi Berra, Thurman Munson or Jorge Posada. Then again, let's be nice here and cut Yankees fans some slack: It has been 17 years since they've won a World Series.
The Bad News Bears Team Defense Award: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies acquired Luis Arraez from the Giants, and since he said at the All-Star Game that he only wants to play second base, the Phillies plan to shiftBryson Stottto third base (he has played 15 innings there in the majors), Alec Bohm to first base (he has played 136 games there) and, incredibly, Bryce Harper to the outfield so Arraez can slot in at second.
Kudos to Harper for texting president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski the night before the trade deadline that he would be willing to move off first base, but Harper last played the outfield for eight games in 2022, and he last played regularly there in 2021 -- when he ranked 96th out of 100 right fielders in Statcast's fielding range runs saved. Five years later, you can't expect him to be better out there.
Now consider that the Phillies already ranked last in the majors in defensive runs saved. (Only Colorado has allowed a higher batting average on balls in play.) They have made themselves worse at second base, where Stott was playing Gold Glove-level defense this season, and almost certainly worse in the outfield. Cue Georges Bizet's "Les Toreadors."
The Go Full Kelly Leak Award: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
Speaking of the Bad News Bears and an outfielder who carried the team, does J-Rod own a motorcycle and smoke cigarettes, like Kelly Leak did in the movie? He might start if he ends up being flanked by Randy Arozarena and Taylor Ward in the outfield. The Mariners made a much-needed offensive addition in getting Ward from Baltimore, but they'll need to figure out how to configure their outfield.
Arozarena playing in left field this season has been an adventure -- and not in a good way. He's in the 16th percentile in Statcast's outs above average. Ward, also a left fielder, has been a little better, ranking in the 42nd percentile, so he probably moves to right field, but he hasn't played there since 2022. Or maybe Dominic Canzone, not exactly a Gold Glove candidate himself, plays right. (He has been the primary designated hitter.)
When in doubt, Julio, go after the ball in the outfield.
The Would Things Be Different if Isiah Kiner-FalefaHad a Bigger Lead Award: Toronto Blue Jays
A year after coming within an inch of a World Series title, the Blue Jays decided to spin things forward to 2027 in an interesting way. They traded would-be free agents Kevin Gausman(Chicago Cubs) and Daulton Varsho(Astros), which are typical deadline moves. But they also traded top No. 2 prospect Arjun Nimmala (and two others) for Angels starter Jose Soriano, who is controllable through 2028. Toronto traded Jeff Hoffman to the Minnesota Twins for three prospects and Adam Macko to the Rangers for infielder Josh Smith. For some reason, the Jays also acquired impending free agent pitcher Jameson Taillon, who leads Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in home runs, 25 (given up) to six (hit).
It's rebuilding without tearing things down. It's looking ahead to 2027 without completely throwing in the towel for 2026. The Blue Jays can envision a rotation in 2027 with Dylan Cease, Trey Yesavage, Soriano, Cody Ponce, Spencer Arrighetti and hopefully Jose Berrios. It was a creative approach to fixing the rotation. The offense will need to be addressed in the offseason, but the Blue Jays put themselves in position to be more competitive next year.
The This Year Isn't Last Year Award: Minnesota Twins
Remember the Twins' deadline last year? They traded Jhoan Duran, Carlos Correa, Griffin Jax, Louis Varland, Harrison Bader, Willi Castro, Ty France, Harmon Killebrew, Rod Carew and Tony Oliva in an all-time day of roster dumping.
They could have done something similar this year. They could have traded Joe Ryan and Ryan Jeffers and Trevor Larnach and gotten some very nice prospects in return. But they didn't. Instead, they added. Nothing too big, but at least they're trying a little: They got relievers Jeff Hoffman and A.J. Minter and starter Dean Kremer. Hoffman and Minter should help a bullpen that has ranked in the bottom third in ERA in the majors this season.
Of course, the frustrating part here is that the Twins entered the year with a bullpen that clearly projected as one of the weakest in the league. It has essentially been completely overhauled since Opening Day. Maybe if the pen had been better addressed in the offseason, the Twins would be leading the division instead of hoping their deadline moves didn't come too late.
The moves will add about $8 million in payroll for the rest of the season. No, this is hardly the Dodgers in action, but for the Twins, it's a rare decision to add some salary instead of pinching pennies.
The AL Central Team of the Day Award: Cleveland Guardians
Nice job, Twins ... but not as nice as the Guardians, who added All-Star left-hander Foster Griffin, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, outfielder Jo Adell and reliever Craig Yoho. Hey, maybe teams do want to beat the Dodgers!
In honor of the Guardians making some significant moves at the trade deadline, we're even creating this special AL Central award just for them. Place it on the shelf right next to that 1948 World Series trophy.
OK, that was a cheap dig there. These moves might actually help. Griffin's 3.5 WAR was the highest of any player traded at the deadline. Lowe should be an upgrade at first base or DH, two positions where the Guardians rank in the bottom third of the majors in OPS. Adell is a low-OBP right fielder but has some power and has crushed lefties with a .910 OPS. Yoho is the kind of reliever the Guardians will probably turn into a high-leverage arm. They even got Blake Perkins as a defensive replacement/pinch-running specialist. That's an excellent day of transacting.
The This Doesn't Look Like 2021 Award: Atlanta Braves
Let's see here ... Tyler Mahle, Brent Suter, Lane Thomas, Bailey Falter, Duncan Davitt, Tyler Uberstine. Yep, that was the Braves' 2026 deadline haul -- a far cry from general manager Alex Anthopoulos' infamous series of deals in 2021 that brought in Jorge Soler, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario and Adam Duvall, leading to a World Series title. (Rosario was the NLCS MVP and Soler the World Series MVP.)
So, what happened? The Braves certainly could have used a starter with a better rest-of-season projection than Mahle, or an outfielder with better numbers than Thomas.
With a thin farm system, it seems like Anthopoulos didn't want to pull off a bigger deal that might have involved one of his top prospects.
"A few years ago, we could have gotten one of the elite starters in the game, but Drake Baldwin would have been going out the door," Anthopoulos told reporters. "That's not to say those are easy decisions. You'd like to get deals done. But there's certain asks you say yes to, and those are the deals that you do. And there's certain ones you say no to."
With a comfortable lead in the NL East, there wasn't necessarily a reason to do anything risky, but Atlanta's rotation lacks a strong No. 2 starter behind Chris Sale.
The Breaking Up the Worst Team Money Could Buy Award: New York Mets
Gone: Clay Holmes
Gone: Luke Weaver
Gone: Freddy Peralta
Gone: Brooks Raley
Gone: Huascar Brazoban
Gone: A.J. Minter
Still here: Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, Marcus Semien, Mark Vientos, Kodai Senga, Devin Williams, Sean Manaea and Luis Robert Jr.
That group of eight players is making a combined $161.8 million in 2026 and had produced minus-4.9 WAR as of deadline day. Heck, throw in Juan Soto and Francisco Lindor, and you're paying $257 million -- more than the Opening Day payrolls of all but four other teams -- and you're still in negative WAR.
Also gone: Mets fans' joy.
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