Deadline Dust Settles: Dodgers Take Skubal, Red Sox Bet the Race on Rutschman
Roughly 50 deals landed around Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET cutoff — and the AL East, where Tampa Bay leads New York and Boston, just became the sport's best story.
The 2026 MLB trade deadline passed Tuesday at 6 p.m. ET, and it delivered. MLB.com's deal tracker counted nearly 50 trades on Monday alone, headlined by two moves that reshape both pennant races: Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers and Adley Rutschman to the Red Sox.
The headliners
Los Angeles struck first, landing Skubal from Detroit on August 1 for a prospect package of outfielder Zyhir Hope and right-handers River Ryan and Brady Smith, then adding left-hander Kris Bubic from Kansas City. Yahoo Sports' deadline grades gave the two-time defending champions an A+, noting they simply "got the best player on the market."
Boston's answer came Monday: Rutschman, plus catcher Jake Rogers and cash, arrived from Baltimore for a package built around right-handers Anthony Eyanson and Kyson Witherspoon, catcher Carlos Narváez and outfielder Enddy Azocar.
Why the AL East is the race to watch
The standings explain the urgency. The Rays sit atop the division at 67-46 after adding Freddy Peralta and Liam Hicks to a roster already built on depth. The Yankees — who grabbed Luis García Jr. and Heliot Ramos — trail by 3.5 games at 64-50. The Red Sox, at 61-51, are 5.5 back with two months to close the gap, and just went and got the best catcher who was ever likely to be available.
Elsewhere on the board
The Cubs rebuilt a playoff rotation in a weekend, adding Kevin Gausman from Toronto and Clay Holmes from the Mets. The Padres reinforced theirs with Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. At the other end, Yahoo hung an F+ on the Reds for standing nearly still — a grade that will sting more if Cincinnati fades in August.
The sorting is done. Now the standings get the final word.