By Tim Clark / / Column, Tim's Two Cents
Two

The trade deadline in Major League Baseball is always a nice jolt of excitement as the season heads for the home stretch. If your team is a contender you hope for that acquisition that puts your team over the top. If your team is out of the race, the trade deadline may be the final time you pay attention to what your favorite team is doing.

2026 could be a bit different.

As it stands now, one week out from the deadline, there are only six teams that for sure will be sellers at the deadline. Take a look at the standings as of Monday. The Angels, Royals, and Athletics in the American League, and the Rockies, Giants, and Mets are currently the only sure fire sellers this year. Most years it is much more of a 50/50 split between buyers and sellers.

There are other teams that may look to sell, but certainly aren’t out of the playoff picture. Cincinnati doesn’t feel like a contender. Neither does Toronto, Detroit, or Baltimore, yet they are all within five and a half games of the final wildcard. Then there is Miami, who just snapped a 12 game losing streak last night, and may feel like they are better off selling.

Will the Tigers go for it and keep Tarik Skubal, or will they throw in the towel and trade Skubal for a huge haul of prospects? The Orioles have several interesting pieces that teams would certainly be interested in, but do the O’s now consider themselves “in it”? Many teams would bite on pitcher Sandy Alcantra, but could the Marlins convince themselves they are contenders and keep him?

Those are just some of the questions that could either make this trade deadline pop or fizzle.

To make things more murky —and this is true most years— many teams will be seeking help from a similar player pool as other buyers.

The Pirates and Phillies will both be seeking help for porous bullpens, for example.

Speaking of the Pirates and Phillies, what might we expect at the deadline from our Pennsylvania pennant chasers?

The Phillies, as always, will be more willing to add to their existing payroll. The Pirates certainly have more intriguing prospects to add to a potential deal.

Phillies

I think a guy who would be a perfect fit to help the Phillies in the outfield, where they always seem to be searching for somebody, is Taylor Ward. Ward is currently on a one year contract with the Orioles, so he would be a rental ala Harrison Bader. Ward only has 7 home runs this year, but hit 98 in his previous four seasons in Anaheim. He is a plus 2.4 WAR guy, and would surely be an upgrade from the revolving door of right fielders the Phillies have been trotting out there this year.

The bullpen, as it is with most teams, is an area the Phillies would like to improve. With less sellers this year, beating other teams to the punch may be the winning strategy. I would be stunned if the Phils don’t look for better middle relief help.

The final question for the Phillies is whether they will try to find another starter. Their top three in the rotation are lights out. However, they have no real fifth starter and the fourth starter —Aaron Nola— has a near 6 ERA. In the playoffs the top three will be plenty, but getting to the playoffs without a competent fourth and fifth starter could be problematic.

Pirates

Bullpen. Bullpen. Bullpen.

The Pirates have one of the most putrid bullpens in baseball. Manager Don Kelly plays Russian roulette every time he chooses who to come into a game from the bullpen. The Pirates must add to the bullpen. Period.

The Bucs really need a closer, which will be really tough to come by. Hometown boy Mason Miller’s name keeps getting floated out there. San Diego would require a mint to pry baseball’s best closer away. The Pirates have their own Mason right now. Mason Montgomery is currently the de facto closer, and he has closer stuff. The Pirates will more likely look at adding guys like the Mets Luke Weaver, the Angels Kirby Yates and Ryan Zeferjahn.

I would not rule out the Pirates looking for a left handed starter. I think it is quite plausible the Pirates move to a six man rotation down the stretch to monitor innings for their young arms.

I think the most interesting possibility is if the Pirates would ponder trading one of their starting players to get a higher end player in return. I know some Pirates fans are clamoring for the team to trade O’Neil Cruz. I assume those fans are on drugs. The Pirates have waited three plus years for Cruzto realize his potential, and he was doing just that when he got injured. The two players the Pirates should be willing to,part with are Brandon Lowe and Spencer Horowitz. Lowe has slowed considerably the last month and a half, and there are too many first basemen on this roster.

The results of x-rays on rookie phenom Esmerlyn Valdez could change the idea of trading one of their power bats. Valdez was hit by a pitch last night, continuing the Pirates fantastic luck.

This year’s trade deadline could have one more thing factor in. Or maybe not. Will the fact that it is likely baseball has a lockout for at least part of next year while the players stubbornly fight against a salary cap affect teams decisions?

Either way, the Bucs and Phils should be two of the teams actively working the phones.

The question is whether there will be enough sellers to go around.

Tweet of the Week

This tweet is spot on, and it emphasizes my disdain for Penn State AD Pat Kraft. More on this again this week on my Musings podcast.

 


The Weekly Shiny Penny

No brainer. The squirrel is most definitely the shiny penny, with an honorable mention to u,pure Bill Miller for shouting out the grounds crew!

 

 

A Penny For My Final Thought… 

 What to expect on my podcasts this week…

  • ACC football preview(and Notre Dame). I’m guessing I will have commentary on the North Carolina fiasco.
  • Jackson Koivun the latest young stud on the PGA Tour.
  • More on my disdain for Pat Kraft.
  • Lebronmania…ugh.
  • Much, much more on the Pirates, Phillies, and the trade deadline.
Just my two cents…