Welcome to the 2026 Trade Deadline Roundup. All trades will be added to this article as they are reported.

 

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July 25

Boston Red Sox acquire IF Curtis Mead ($11.4M*) from the Washington Nationals in exchange for LHP Connelly Early ($30.4M)

The first major deal of Trade Deadline Week looks a bit lopsided by our estimation. It's worth noting up front that, due to a manual error, we incorrectly had Mead listed at 3.4 years of team control remaining rather than 4.4. At 4.4 years, his value jumps to $19.2M, making the deal closer, but still a clear overpay.

The other clear caveat is Early's health. The lefty was placed on the Injured List in early July due to elbow inflammation. Maybe it's a non-factor; every pitcher has a sore arm from time to time, and it doesn't always lead to further complications, let alone surgery. Or maybe Boston shopped him around and found that teams were scared off by his medicals. We'll never see those medicals, so we'll never have the full picture.

That aside, based off the data we do have, Early's remaining 5.4 years of control appear to be more valuable than Mead's 4.4. One obvious factor is that additional year for Early. Another is that Early entered the 2026 season as a consensus top 50 prospect in baseball. Mead was a top 50 prospect too, but back in 2024. Since his 2023 debut, he bounced between the majors and minors for three different organizations and posted a 77 wRC+ across his first 488 plate appearances in the big leagues.

Mead was DFA'd by the White Sox in March and flipped to Washington in a minor deal. Since, he's torn the cover off the ball. His underlying metrics and batted ball data support his performance, but just given the lack of track record, some skepticism is fair. He also isn't a good defender, likely a first baseman primarily. And he's out of options, a huge factor for a player in his circumstances. He's 25, so there's a chance the Red Sox are getting multiple years of a breakout slugger in his prime, but there's plenty of room for things to go wrong.

As for Early, the lefty looks like an easy back-end starter. Even if that's all he ever is, that has considerable value; fourth and fifth starters routinely sign free agent deals for $10M+, and Early will be making significantly less than that for at least the next few years. Even if you don't see upside for a #3 starter (or better), it's reasonable to view him as a more valuable player than Mead, especially in a pitching-starved market. The Red Sox specifically, though, may not miss him much, given the depth of pitching in their system.

Rejected by the model as an overpay by Boston.

 

July 22

Kansas City Royals acquired RHP Nate Pearson (-$0.4M) from the Houston Astros in exchange for RHP Max Martin (not in system)

Accepted by the model.

 

July 20

Los Angeles Dodgers acquire RHP Seth Halvorsen ($0.2M) from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for OF Landyn Vidourek ($1.7M) and RHP Nick Frasso ($0.2M)

Halvorsen throws hard, but has no idea where the ball is going. That, along with his two remaining options after this year, make him look like a prime candidate for the Dodgers to develop into a weapon. But this isn't the Rockies of old; they picked up a pair of interesting players in exchange for Halvorsen. Frasso is in his last option year, but he was once a notable prospect, and might just need an opportunity he would never have gotten in Los Angeles. Vidourek is far away, but his power and speed are real.

Accepted by the model.

 

July 18

Chicago Cubs acquire RHP Aaron Civale (-$0.8M) from the Athletics in exchange for RHP Aiden Moffett (not in system)

Similar to the Peterson deal, albeit on a smaller scale, the injured Cubs go to the scrap heap desperate for any pitching depth they can find. It's worth mentioning that Civale fared much better outside of the hitter-friendly confines of Sacramento.

Accepted by the model.

 

July 15

Milwaukee Brewers acquire RHP Lance McCullers Jr. (-$5.8M), LHP Colton Gordon ($1.0M) and cash (~$5.0M) from the Houston Astros in exchange for OF Jadyn Fielder (not in system)

This was ultimately a salary dump, with Milwaukee cutting McCullers on July 26. The deal amounts to the Brewers paying about $2 million and a lottery ticket prospect (albeit one with big league bloodlines) for a depth lefty in Gordon. Houston, up against the luxury tax, opens up a bit of budget space and makes room on the roster for pitchers returning from injury.

Accepted by the model.

 

July 10

Pittsburgh Pirates acquire IF Jacob Gonzalez ($0.7M) and LHP Brandon Eisert ($0.0M) from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for LHP Jaden Woods ($0.6M) and a Round A Comp Balance Pick ($5.0M)

In the days leading up to the draft, it became clear the Pirates were determined to trade their competitive balance pick, and by our estimate it looks like they lost a lot of leverage in doing so. Eisert and Woods are your run-of-the-mill depth lefty relievers, leaving Gonzalez as the headliner of the deal. The 2023 first-round pick struggled through the minor leagues, only twice putting up even a league-average batting line. But in 2026, something clicked, and Gonzalez torched Triple-A pitching to the tune of a 168 wRC+. This forced him back onto the White Sox radar, and the team gave him his first crack at the big leagues, during which he more or less held his own.

But with a crowded young infield and rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami nearing a return from the injured list, Chicago no longer had room for Gonzalez. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, was desperate for infield depth in the wake of another injury to shortstop Konnor Griffin. The two sides lined up, and though our model values the draft pick higher than Gonzalez, it's more than possible the latter's 2026 adjustments have improved his outlook to the point that he can now have a lengthy big league future ahead of him.

Accepted by the model as a moderate overpay by Pittsburgh.

Minnesota Twins acquire RHP Tommy Nance ($0.0M) and international bonus pool space from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for IF Ryan Sprock ($0.8M)

Accepted by the model.

 

June 30

Texas Rangers acquired RHP Ben Peoples ($2.1M) from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for C Ben Hartl (not in system)

Accepted by the model.

Boston Red Sox acquire 3B Brett Harris ($0.0M) from the Athletics in exchange for RHP Ben Hansen (not in system)

Accepted by the model.

 

June 27

Athletics acquire RHP Hayden Juenger ($0.7M) from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for C Owen Carapellotti (not in system)

Accepted by the model.

 

June 24

Chicago Cubs acquire LHP David Peterson ($0.3M) from the New York Mets in exchange for IF Cole Mathis ($4.8M)

Having fallen out of the race early and having moved the struggling lefty back and forth between the bullpen and rotation, the writing was on the wall for the Mets and Peterson. As a rental, New York no longer had a need for him, and managed to net an interesting prospect in Mathis (a former secound-round pick) despite Pererson's down year. Health has been a major issue for the Cubs rotation in 2026, and the Peterson addition of more of one to stop the bleeding than a true trade deadline upgrade.

Accepted by the model as a moderate overpay by Chicago.

 

June 20

Chicago Cubs acquired RHP Jayden Murray ($0.2M) from the Houston Astros in exchange for 1B Cameron Sisneros (not in system)

Accepted by the model.

 

June 18

Atlanta Braves acquire C Joey Bart ($1.0M) from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for RHP Hunter Stratton ($0.0M)

Accepted by the model.

 

June 15

Kansas City Royals acquired RHP Connor Seabold ($0.0M) from the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for RHP Denis Samudio (not in system) and cash considerations

Accepted by the model.

 

June 11

Philadelphia Phillies acquire OF Derek Hill ($1.3M) and international bonus pool space from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for OF Dylan Campbell ($1.6M) and IF Jose Colmenares (not in system)

It's subjective, but we're calling this the first move of the 2026 trade season. It was the Phillies' first step in upgrading their biggest weakness, the outfield, by adding a solid defender with decent splits against left-handed pitching. Chicago originally acquired Hill off waivers from the Miami Marlins.

Accepted by the model.