RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesTypically, the period surrounding Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is supposed to go like this: Big-spending teams surround their less-successful prey, inspecting the cupboards for ingredients to their championship stew, taking whatever they may please.
For the less fortunate, there is little to do beyond capitulate, accepting the second-tier prospects and future platoon players the big boys offer, and then the cycle repeats itself one year from now.
Yet in 2026, several teams simply aren’t cooperating.
Are you tired of trade deadline gridlock? Well, the later date – Aug. 3 – has plenty to do with it, as every year the average fan forgets the most vigorous action occurs in the final 36 hours. There’s another culprit, though: Competitive balance, or, as some might cal it, mediocrity.
And that’s kept nearly two dozen teams within whiff of a playoff berth. Several simply aren’t supposed to be here. And with that in mind, we present five teams ruining the trade deadline by daring to compete:
Minnesota Twins
Projected preseason record (per USA TODAY Sports’ win totals ) : 65-97
Current pace : 80-82, one game out of wild card spot
Attractive assets : OF Trevor Larnach, C Ryan Jeffers, SP Joe Ryan, DH Josh Bell
Outlook : It’s been a year since the Twins held an estate sale, of sorts, at the deadline and dealt away half a roster. The offseason did little to replenish what was left, but Larnach’s outstanding season and a dreadful American League has brought them into the heart of the pack. An awful final week could change things, and it’s possible the Twins could sell a little (making the Yankees’ Ryan Jeffers dreams come true, say) and buy a little. But this wasn’t supposed to happen.
Washington Nationals
Projected preseason record : 62-100
Current pace : 81-81, one game out of wild card spot
Attractive assets : SS CJ Abrams, SP Foster Griffin, 1B Luis Garcia, OF Jacob Young
Outlook : The season’s biggest surprise, Washington already pulled off a fairly big swap, though the Curtis Mead-Connelly Early deal was more a deft bit of roster-balancing for this slug-heavy, pitching poor bunch. This rebuild is way ahead of schedule and likely messing with the Nationals’ new brain trust, a bit. Can they really trade Abrams now that he’s an MVP candidate? His value might never be higher, but with two years of control remaining, they can revisit that in the winter or next deadline.
Chicago White Sox
Projected preseason record : 67-95
Current pace : 85-77, two-game lead in AL Central
Attractive assets : OF Andrew Benintendi, OF Randal Grichuk, RP Seranthony Dominguez
Outlook : Who invited these guys ? As you can see by the above assets, the trade market isn’t missing much with the White Sox on the buy side of things. That only makes their rise all the more remarkable: Nineteen of 26 players on the roster entered this season with less than three years of service time, 13 of those with less than a year. Now, the big question: How aggressively will Chicago buy? Not very, but an expected doormat fighting for limited resources makes the market so untenable for buyers.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Projected preseason record : 74-88
Current pace : 83-79, tied for final wild card
Attractive assets : 2B Brandon Lowe, LHP Gregory Soto, 1B/OF Ryan O'Hearn
Outlook : Sorry, folks: This looks like the year it comes together for the Pirates, who are aggressively seeking bullpen help to augment a rotation that keeps them in almost every game. So no Lowe, no Ryan O’Hearn, and certainly no Paul Skenes for the vultures to descend upon. This time it’s the Pirates making moves.
St. Louis Cardinals
Projected preseason record ; 68-94
Current pace : 81-81, 1 1½ games out of wild card spot
Attractive assets : OF Lars Nootbaar, SP Dustin May, RP Ryne Stanek
Outlook : Chaim Bloom’s finest work on behalf of the Red Sox might have come this past offseason, when he traded them Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras as the Cardinals’ re-tooling became reality. But the clubhouse did not buy into that narrative, sitting in playoff position most of this season and still lurking. Come Aug. 3, the Cardinals very likely will be in full sell mode. But their continued contention keeps another team on the sidelines as the clock ticks down, and St. Louis is far likelier to add/drop rather than hold a yard sale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five teams ruining the MLB trade deadline – by winning too much
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