2026 MLB Trade Deadline Buzz, Trade Tracker: Dodgers Acquire Reliever Seth Halvorsen

The 2026 MLB trade deadline is approaching, and there will be teams buying and selling – and plenty of rumors about both – before then. Here you’ll find the latest rumors, news and trades from across the league. July 20 Colorado Rockies general manager Josh Byrnes orchestrated a trade with his former team Monday, sending right-hander Seth Halvorsen to the Los Angeles Dodgers for two minor league players. Halvorsen is eligible to come off the 15-day injured list after being placed there earlier this month due to right shoulder inflammation. He is 0-1 with a 4.74 ERA in 21 appearances this season. As part of the deal, Colorado signed right-handed pitcher Nick Frasso and outfielder Landyn Vidourek from the Dodgers. Byrnes knows the Los Angeles farm system after spending more than a decade in the front office with the team. He left in December to team up with Paul DePodesta, the Rockies’ president of baseball operations, in an effort to turn around a franchise that is trying to snap a streak of three straight 100-loss seasons. Frasso, 27, was 1-0 with a 4.74 ERA with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. He was signed by the Dodgers in a deal with Toronto on August 2, 2022. Frasso was ranked as the 80th overall prospect in baseball heading into the 2024 season by MLB.com. He will report to Triple-A Albuquerque. Vidourek, a 2025 third-round pick out of the University of Cincinnati, is hitting .176 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in the minors this season. He will report to Single-A Fresno. Colorado drafted Halvorsen in the seventh round out of Tennessee in 2023. The 26-year-old is 3-4 in 75 career games with the Rockies and has 13 saves. The Rockies entered the day 23 1/2 games behind Los Angeles in the NL West. As the MLB trade deadline approaches, the race to October shifts from the field to the front office. The Atlanta Braves are one of the teams expected to be active, with pitching reportedly at the top of their wish list. Braves president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos will have a busy few weeks as Atlanta looks to maintain first place in the NL East. He said during a recent appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM that the team isn’t focused on just one need. “We’re definitely not a complete team,” Anthopoulos said. “I think we have the advantage of being a complete team, but we can add the rotation, the bullpen, the bats. Even though we all like to say ‘I need to get this’ or ‘I need to get that’… sometimes you just need to take what ends up being available to you.” Several big names have surfaced on the trade market, including Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, Minnesota Twins right-hander Joe Ryan and New York Mets closer Devin Williams. It’s unclear how aggressive the Braves will be at the deadline, but Anthopoulos isn’t ruling anything out. “It was pretty obvious that if there was a playoff caliber, we would jump on it,” Anthopoulos said. “But if there was a reliever, we’d jump on it. We see it all the time in the postseason with all the days off; not a lot of guys go deep in terms of starts. Having a deep bullpen is pretty important.” e.Anthopoulos looks ready for any outcome at the deadline. Whether the Braves don’t move or add a starter, reliever or bat, Atlanta has several avenues to improve its roster. “I just don’t think at the deadline we can say ‘We have to have this reliever’ or ‘We have to have this bat,'” Anthopoulos concluded. “We [need] literally anything that will make the team better – and I’m thinking right now that I just don’t know what’s going to materialize. Holmes, a two-time All-Star reliever who was converted from the bullpen to the rotation in 2025, produced a 3.53 ERA in 31 stats and 33 appearances last summer, and seemed to be building on that success to start. 2026. The White Sox have struggled to find a reliable fifth option in their rotation throughout the season, with only four pitchers reaching double-digit starts so far. Bringing in Holmes would go a long way toward shoring up Chicago’s middle rotation, and without significantly impacting the budget or preventing the White Sox from addressing other needs. However, rival teams have reportedly held up upgrades to the A’s in exchange for their outfielders, according to MLB Network. Tyler Soderstrom, Henry Bolte and Lawrence Butler have been the A’s three primary outfielders this year, while Denzel Clarke missed most of the season recovering from a bone bruise in his foot. Having so many options means the A’s could deal deep, and the fact that Soderstrom is locked in at least until 2030 with options until 2033 means he could provide a serious return. Whether the A’s will attempt to address their pitching needs in other ways so as not to lose that depth – depth that is currently being tested – is the question for July 19. The Reds are 16.5 in the NL Central and seven behind the final National League wild card spot, but aren’t ready to fully engage in selling this trade deadline. Instead, Cincinnati will look to trade players who are expected to become free agents after 2026, while leaving room open to add to the roster, according to the Athletic. To do that, mobile players like starting pitcher Brady Singer, third baseman Eugenio Suárez, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and catcher Tyler Stephenson would be helpful – all four are free agents after this summer. Singer has been on a roll lately after a rough start to the season, allowing five home runs in his last 45 innings after a disastrous and uncharacteristic 16 long balls in his first 51 innings. ERA in first two months at 6.18. Suárez is well behind last season’s 49-homer outburst, but has had enough recent success — and in a market notable for its lack of power bats — to catch someone’s attention as a change-of-scenery candidate. Stephenson doesn’t hit much in 2026, but he is a hitting catcher, which is rare in today’s game, and has a reputation as a positive contributor defensively. Lowe is very productive against right-handed pitchers, against whom he bats .269/.357/.505, but is unable to do much against lefties, limiting him to a platoon role. The Nationals have talked with other clubs about trading first baseman Luis García Jr., according to the Athletic, 26, is in the midst of a breakout season that has helped the Nationals move closer to an NL wild card. García’s best season at the plate before 2026 came in ’24, when he hit .282/.318/.444 with 18 home runs in 140 games. He’s already matched his wins above replacement in 2024, however, hitting .280/.313/.547 with a career-high 20 homers in just 91 games. but in the outfield and at second base as well, and he appealed to other clubs given the relative lack of powerful bats available on the market at that time. However, he is also under team control for 2027 in his final year of arbitration eligibility, so there are reasons for the Nats to want to retain their first baseman or charge a higher price for a deal. While the Nationals limit García against lefties, most opposing pitchers are right-handed and a team with one option. To face left-handers, he will have no trouble integrating his stick into the lineup. The biggest question holding up any potential trade is whether Washington decides to trade him — or keep the longest-tenured player on the roster — after their 6-2 win over Minnesota on Saturday. This will be the second tour for 31-year-old Civale. with Chicago depleted of pitchers after splitting the 2025 season between the Brewers, White Sox and Cubs. He is 5-7 with a 5.42 ERA in 16 games (15 starts) this season with the Athletics, who designated him for assignment Wednesday. Civale signed a one-year contract with the Athletics in February. 1-0 with one save and a 2.08 ERA in five relief appearances in 13 innings with the Cubs through the remainder of the 2025 regular season. He pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in one postseason relief outing, against Milwaukee. He is 48-51 with a 4.26 ERA over eight major league seasons with six teams. raked by wounds. Cade Horton is out for the season (Tommy John surgery), and Jameson Taillon (hamstring), Edward Cabrera (hamstring/abductor) Ben Brown (neck) and Justin Steele (elbow) remain sidelined. Moffett, 22, is 1-2 with a 9.67 ERA and one save in 17 games in relief for the Arizona Complex League Cubs and Single-A Myrtle Beach this season. The Red Sox have been climbing the standings of late, winning 11 straight games to move to .500 and into third place in the AL East. Boston is now in possession of a wild card spot, with a +39 point differential that suggests that, even with the injuries the team has suffered, they have also had some bad luck on the court thus far. “fluid,” with the Red Sox keeping their options open – if they falter over the next two weeks, there’s always room to deal players like closer Aroldis Chapman, starter Sonny Gray or even try to win by moving first baseman Willson Contreras, who remains under team control through 2028 thanks to a deal signed with the Cardinals – Contreras is hitting .285/.378/.547 with 21 home runs if Boston. However, the team could continue to be successful, so the team could instead add to that core rather than break it, plus wait for injured key pieces like last year’s AL Cy Young finalist Garrett Crochet or outfielder Roman Anthony to return for the July 17 stretch. The Mets were debating whether to sell or buy while waiting for players to get healthy, but now New York has decided it’s time to sell a significant number of pieces. According to SNY and the New York Post, the Mets have gone into sales mode and are making the majority of their roster available. SNY reported that everyone on the roster except star outfielder Juan Soto, rookies Carson Benge and AJ Ewing and right-handed starters Christian Scott and Nolan McLean are available for the right deal. He’s signed through 2031 and is owed $170.5 million after 2026. As SNY notes, he’s not actively being shopped, but he’s also not included on the list of untouchable players — New York signed him to a “win-now” extension, and the Mets failed to achieve that during his peak years. As for Bichette, the third baseman and shortstop signed a three-year, $126 million contract as a free agent this offseason, and he hit a disappointing .253/.297/.372 in his first season away from Toronto. Pending free agents like starting pitcher Freddy Peralta could be attractive at the deadline, especially since he was only signed to an $8 million team option for 2026. Reliever Luke Weaver has been excellent, but if the Mets shift gears, he’s the type of free agent. player who is dealt at the deadline to a contender willing to pay to improve his bullpen now. July 16 The Athletics went from being an AL West title contender, or at least a wild card spot, to 41-55, in just a few Maines only. As the trade deadline approaches, general manager David Forst told MLB.com his team needs to “start playing better baseball quickly.” Forst said, “Unfortunately, it’s been colored a lot by the way we’ve played the last three weeks. A lot of the first half we did a good job. We were in first and hung with the Mariners and Rangers until June, and I thought we had better baseball in front of us.” Presumably, if the Athletics don’t turn things around, the team that’s already eight games out of first and 6.5 behind for a wild card, even in an American League where being below .500 is not the end of playoff hopes, will be looking to sell. The A’s roster is young enough with enough talent to try to fill out for 2027, but the problem is also that they have little to sell, with pending free agents like utilityman Jeff McNeil (.226/.290/.302 in 85 games) and Jeffrey Springs (6.08 ERA in 19 starts) part of the reason the A’s are struggling early. July 15 Could the team with the best bullpen ERA in the American League trade for the National League leader in saves? The New York Yankees “love the idea” of acquiring San Diego Padres star Mason Miller, according to the New York Post. Miller, who is under team control through 2029, was a 2026 All-Star, the reliever’s second honor in what is only the right-hander’s fourth season at the big league level. In 39 ⅔ innings this season, Miller sports a 0.91 ERA, a 0.78 WHIP, has totaled 72 strikeouts, 2.2 wins above replacement and a 458 ERA; he’s 25-of-25 in save situations. He would join a Yankees bullpen that is second overall in MLB in ERA (3.10), tied for second in WHIP (1.19) and fourth in opponent batting average (.225). Miller was acquired by the Padres from the Athletics at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. The Yankees are in possession of the AL’s No. 1 seed (54-42), while the Padres are three and a half games back of the NL’s third seed (48-48). The Astros are finalizing a trade to send Lance McCullers Jr. to the Brewers, according to MLB. McCullers has a no-trade clause in his current contract, but waived it to move from Houston to Milwaukee. Left-handed pitcher Colton Gordon is the reported returner, according to the New York Post. The move is a game-changer for McCullers in terms of potential, as the Astros sit in fourth place in the AL West, three behind the division-leading Rangers and 1.5 behind a wild card spot thanks to a rough start to the year for Houston, while the Brewers are second in the majors with 59 wins, five games ahead of the second-place Cubs. Both teams are in contention, but the Brewers have already thrived, while Houston has been outscored by 47 points this season despite being close to a playoff appearance. McCullers made eight starts in 2026, posting a 6.86 ERA in 39 ⅓ innings. Although he missed at-bats, whiffing just under 10 batters per nine, his control suffered and he was prone to playing long balls over the past two years, after two seasons away from the game recovering from multiple elbow and forearm strains, as well as a pair of surgeries. This season, McCullers has suffered from shoulder inflammation that has kept him on the IL since May 16. The Brewers are trying to get McCullers back into the form that made him a valuable member of the Astros’ pitching staff before the injuries, when he had the lowest home run and walk-off rate in the AL and signed a five-year, $85 million extension with Houston. McCullers is in the final year of that deal, which pays him a total of $17.7 million this season. Padres general manager AJ Preller doesn’t yet have a trade deadline strategy, according to MLB, because it all depends on how the team performs before the deadline. Whether the Padres will be buyers or sellers is a question that will be answered by San Diego’s post-hiatus success, or lack thereof, and that’s according to Preller himself. “We’re going to approach the process with an open mind to see what’s out there and see what can help our club,” Preller told MLB. “We’re going to be open-minded about whether it’s about acquiring players or looking at the possibility of going another direction. All of those things are on the table.” San Diego’s offense has only recently started working as expected, with slow starts from third baseman Manny Machado and outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. ultimately undone, but the team is 48-48 at the All-Star break, 12.5 back in the NL West. However, the Padres are only 3.5 out of a wild card spot and have underperformed to get there, making it a good idea to stick with this team and even add some enticing prospects over the next few weeks. Closer Mason Miller, who represents both sides of this particular coin, was asked during his All-Star Game press briefing about the possibility of being traded, again, at the deadline, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. While it’s unclear whether the Padres would consider trading closer than they spent so much to acquire last summer from the Athletics, the fact that Miller is both as productive as he is and remains under team control — he’s in the first year of arbitration and won’t be a free agent until 2030 at the earliest — are two reasons to keep him and restock the farm system with him. July 14 Willson Contreras is not leaving…The Boston Red Sox first baseman revealed that he has informed the front office that he will not waive his no-trade clause, according to WEEI. Contreras, who is in his first season with the Red Sox, has a club option for the 2028 MLB season as part of his five-year, $87.5 million contract and has a no-trade clause in the deal. In 88 games this season, Contreras, 34, has totaled 20 home runs, 61 RBIs, 3.5 wins above replacement and a career-high 159 OPS+, while boasting a .285/.379/.542 slash line. Contreras, who reached the second round of the 2026 Home Run Derby, is an All-Star for the fourth time in his 11-year career. While Boston is 46-48, it has won nine straight and 14 of its last 16, putting it just a half-game behind the American League’s third wild-card seed. The Rays are looking for a serious deadline upgrade to bolster their chances in the AL East. According to multiple reports, Tampa Bay is targeting Tigers ace and two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. USA Today reports that the Rays “plan to be aggressive buyers at the deadline,” with Skubal as their top target. While Skubal has already missed time this season recovering from surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, he has made six starts with a 3.62 ERA and a 44/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio since his return. Skubal is a free agent after the end of the season and has the remainder of a record $32 million arbitration salary due over the final two-plus months of the 2026 campaign. Part of the Rays’ aggressive plan at the deadline includes Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte. However, as with Skubal, the willingness to part with a star player depends on whether his current team is still in the race: the Tigers are 3.5 behind an AL wild-card spot, the D-backs 2.5 behind, through July 13. Marte has an added complication, in that he is under contract through 2030, with an $11.5 million player option for 2031. There are “multiple teams” interested in acquiring Spencer Steer from the club. Red, according to USA Today. Steer, who plays first base, third base and the outfield, is 28 and is batting .247/.328/.421 this season. Steer isn’t a free agent until 2029, so he’s not rented, but instead is arbitration eligible — his salary for 2026 is $4 million. While not an impact bat, Steer has been league average offensively most seasons of his career and has been very effective against lefties (.269/.356/.478) during his career. The Reds are in last place in the NL Central, 15.5 games behind the Brewers, and also eight behind a wild-card spot: Only three other teams are further from the playoffs at the All-Star break, and Cincinnati’s second-closest, the Nationals, are four games ahead in the wild-card standings.