Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Several teams approached the 2026 MLB trade deadline with clear goals but left the market disappointed.
- Each franchise faced criticism for either standing pat or misjudging their needs in a high-stakes summer window.
- The Dodgers' aggressive upgrades highlight how the gap between contenders and pretenders can shape both October hopes and league-wide tensions.
The 2026 MLB trade deadline is officially complete, and boy, what a deadline it was. A Tarik Skubal blockbuster kicked things off, and several surprising trades were completed on deadline day. We even got a Reid Detmers fakeout, as he was reportedly traded ... only for that to be fake news.
Some teams, like the Los Angeles Dodgers (obviously), crushed the deadline. Others did not. With that in mind, here are the biggest losers worth highlighting with the deadline now in the rearview mirror.
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves have an 8.0-game lead in the NL East and a roster capable of giving the Dodgers a run for their money when healthy, but Alex Anthopoulos did relatively nothing to give them a boost. Sure, Lane Thomas, a veteran outfielder who crushes lefties, was a good addition. Tyler Mahle should eat innings at the back of their rotation, and Bruce Suter is a fine second lefty out of the bullpen. But the Braves had a chance to swing big and didn't take it.
Their most pressing need was acquiring a playoff-caliber starter, and Anthopoulos did not do that. What's worse is that the Dodgers, of course, acquired Skubal. Atlanta got better on the margins, but only fell further behind their primary competition at the deadline. That's a problem that'll likely catch up to them in October.
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds traded Nathaniel Lowe and Caleb Ferguson and, uh, that's about it. The Reds, a team that's been one of the National League's worst since April and that sits 5.5 games back of a playoff spot with six teams in front of them, did not make an effort to improve their postseason odds and did not do any sort of major selling. That is a shame.
I'm not here to say they should've traded Hunter Greene, but what's the plan with Brady Singer? Are they going to give him a qualifying offer? What about Eugenio Suarez? Is there a reason guys like Tyler Stephenson and Brock Burke are on this team? The Reds had a slew of veterans on expiring contracts and elected to hold onto most of them despite their place in the standings. That's indefensible.
Texas Rangers
As underwhelming as it was to see the Reds only make two relatively minor trades, at least they made two deals. The Texas Rangers traded Josh Smith and Josh Stephan to the Blue Jays for Adam Macko, and that was it. The Rangers did no buying or selling of note.
I understand that Texas is in a weird spot coming off a disappointing road trip, but the Rangers needed to pick a direction. If they felt this season was salvageable, they should've made moves to bolster their lineup and bullpen. If they felt they were better off playing for the future, they should've made deals accordingly. Not trading Jacob deGrom, an owner of a full no-trade clause, is one thing, but the Rangers had other deals they could've made yet didn't.
Brian Cashman
The New York Yankees made some impactful moves at the deadline. Heliot Ramos should really help their lineup against left-handed pitching, and Luis Garcia Jr. is an even bigger upgrade against righties. With that being said, the perfect team fit, Adley Rutschman, wound up in Boston, and the Yankees still have the same holes they entered the deadline with.
Not only did Brian Cashman not add to the bullpen, but he weakened it, trading Yovanny Cruz to the Nationals in the Garcia deal and shipping Camilo Doval off to Pittsburgh. Cashman also did not add a single catcher, letting guys like Rutschman and Liam Hicks go by the wayside while not getting the Reds to part with Tyler Stephenson. The Yankees are still good and added valuable controllable assets, but they didn't address their weaknesses much, while the Rays and Red Sox unequivocally got better. That is a problem. Cashman has avoided the pink slip for longer than most Yankees fans would like, and cries for his firing will only grow louder after his deadline showing.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Milwaukee Brewers are consistently in the postseason because they're constantly planning ahead. They refrain from making consequential win-now moves that could make them World Series favorites and instead aim to build depth that can help them win enough to make the playoffs now and in the future. We saw that at this year's trade deadline, as the Brewers passed on Skubal and settled on a much lesser haul.
They're a better team now than they were last week with Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Antonio Senzatela, but the Dodgers, the team that embarrassed Milwaukee in last year's NLCS, landed the big fish. The Brewers could have acquired Skubal, given themselves a legitimate shot with arguably the two best starting pitchers in the sport right now and still held onto top prospect Jesus Made. Refusing to do that, while not making a major move (and even overpaying for May and Romero, in my estimation), is a bad look.
Detroit Tigers
Trading Skubal is a totally fine decision that I, too, would've made. I don't even think the return was all that bad. With that being said, the Detroit Tigers elected to trade him 48 hours in advance and then didn't make another move of consequence until right at the 6:00 p.m. ET deadline, when they sent Casey Mize to the Padres.
The Tigers opted to trade Skubal and Mize, their two best pitchers, and even got good returns for both, but did not move on from Gleyber Torres or Kenley Jansen — players who could be free agents this offseason. Why bother selling if you're only going to go halfway? Why keep rentals if you won't attempt to buy at all? If the Tigers were going to be inactive all this time, they should've held onto Skubal longer to try and get more.
Dodgers haters
The last thing any Los Angeles Dodgers hater wanted to see was Skubal ending up in Los Angeles, yet that's exactly what happened. The team that's won back-to-back World Series titles and was already clearly favored to three-peat acquired the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner. What's worse is that the Dodgers traded arguably their fourth-best outfield prospect, Zyhir Hope, as the headliner to get him. In other words, L.A. traded for the best player to move at the deadline and didn't even feel it.
That's the worst-case scenario for any Dodgers hater. They're in an outstanding position to win another World Series title and they were able to hold onto the very best prospects in a very good farm system. The Dodgers trading for Kris Bubic on top of it feels like them just rubbing salt in the wound of every hater out there.
MLB fans
This trade deadline was a lot of fun. Several big names, from Skubal to Rutschman to Luis Arraez among others, were moved. Virtually every team made at least one trade of note. I can't help but think about the negatives here, though.
First of all, those hoping to see the Dodgers fall are extremely disappointed. They could very well bow out before hoisting another Commissioner's Trophy (it's really hard to win it all, even as the best team), but does anyone really think this team is going to do anything but win a World Series with Skubal in tow?
Second, and perhaps more importantly, those hoping that a lockout wouldn't happen have to be disappointed. Again, the Dodgers' odds of three-peating only improved, while the teams with the best chance of knocking them off just let the back-to-back defending champions land the back-to-back AL Cy Young winner. It's without question that MLB owners will use the Dodgers landing Skubal as fuel to push for a salary cap, a cap that the players' union has repeatedly said it will not accept. No matter whose side you're on, a world in which there's a lockout is one MLB fans do not want to live in.
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