PHILADELPHIA — Every single team in baseball with a winning record, and even those hovering close to .500, say they plan to be aggressive at the trade deadline.
They want their fans to believe it. They want their players to believe it. They even are trying to convince themselves to believe it.
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If they don’t get the pieces they want by Aug. 3, they can at least shout to the world they tried.
But let’s be realistic.
Does anyone really believe the Chicago White Sox, who are playing with house money, will be as aggressive as the Los Angeles Dodgers?
Are the Pittsburgh Pirates really more desperate than the New York Yankees to land closer Mason Miller?
Will the Milwaukee Brewers, who already have a fat seven-game lead in the NL Central, cough up two of their top prospects for two months of Tarik Skubal, if the Detroit Tigers trade him?
The Dodgers sand Yankees will be aggressive at the deadline.
If you listen to GMs and executives throughout baseball, they believe the Tigers’ front office wants to trade Skubal with the uncertainty of the value of that draft pick in the next collective bargaining agreement. They could acquire a back-end starter and another prized piece for the future, while trying to convince their fanbase and players that they aren’t really surrendering.
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Then again, if they trade Skubal, why stop there? Might as well dump pending free-agent starter Casey Mize, too.
In an informal survey of executives and scouts, here are the top five teams expected to be most aggressive at the Aug. 3 deadline:
1. Los Angeles Dodgers
Yes, they already won two World Series championships.
Yes, they have no glaring holes, they’re running away with the NL West, and will have closer Edwin Diaz back in a few days, two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell and four-time MVP Shohei Ohtani back on the mound in a few weeks, and All-Star catcher Will Smith by the end of the season.
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So, what’s the urgency?
Well, rival executives believe the Dodgers plan to be greedy, and are infatuated with the opportunity of becoming the first National League team to win three consecutive World Series championships.
If Tarik Skubal indeed becomes available, as executives are now predicting, the Dodgers are all in, and have the prized farm system and starting pitching depth to pull it off. They have nine players in MLB’s Pipeline’s Top 100 List.
They may not really need Skubal, but it sure beats facing him in the postseason.
Besides, if they grab Skubal now, they can help him house-hunt early before signing him as a free agent this winter.
2. New York Yankees
There’s some panic in those waters in New York, who are watching the season slip away from them. They saw the Tampa Bay Rays skip past them, and now the Boston Red Sox are looming large in their rear-view mirror.
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If the Yankees weren’t stressing out, executives say, why in the world did they activate starter Max Fried after making just one rehab start since going on the IL two months ago. Fried pitched three innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre against Worcester, throwing 52 pitches, and was called up Wednesday to pitch the second game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh .
He certainly dominated, giving up just one hit in five innings, but couldn’t they have given him at least a second rehab start, if not a third?
The Yankees are desperate for a backup catcher and have their eyes on Ryan Jeffers from the Minnesota Twins, crave All-Star closer Mason Miller of the San Diego Padres, and would love to find another bat.
Meanwhile, they’ll be praying Aaron Judge returns before October to save their season.
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3. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays, who projected internally that they’d win 90 games this season, are now smelling blood in the water.
There are no powerful teams in the American League. They don’t have the Dodgers, Phillies or Atlanta standing in the way. Just get into the dance, and they’ve got a chance to be the last one waltzing across the World Series stage in October.
The Rays, who have sent a scouting army out at every major-league ballpark, believing that if they land Skubal, and a bat like second baseman Luis Arraez, a catcher like Ryan Jeffers or an outfielder like Heliot Ramos, this could be the year they return to the World Series for the first time since 2008.
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It also doesn’t hurt that a nice playoff run would look awfully nice for the local politicians when they vote to approve the Rays’ new ballpark.
The Phillies privately will tell you that they should have won one World Series since 2021, if not a ring for each hand.
Now, they enter the pennant stretch with perhaps their most flawed team since this run began. They are in desperate need of a late-inning reliever, and would love to bring back Jeff Hoffman of the Toronto Blue Jays. They need a right-handed bat, and Daulton Varsho could be this year’s version of Harrison Bader for them. They could use another starter, too, and will be in on everyone from Skubal to Robbie Ray to Clay Holmes.
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Dave Dombrowksi, Phillies president of baseball operations, isn’t about to sit back and watch his team get a year older without making major moves, no matter the cost.
5. Boston Red Sox
It was just two weeks ago that the Red Sox were preparing to sell, unloading ace Sonny Gray, closer Aroldis Chapman, and maybe first baseman Willson Contreras, too.
They were 32-46, 15 ½ games out of first place in the AL East
Funny what a 15-game winning streak can do to put those plans in the shredder.
The Red Sox, who are hunting down the Yankees and the Rays with a 20-3 record since June 25, now plan to be aggressive buyers.
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They’ve got plenty of money in the coffers after unloading Rafael Devers last summer, and have no hesitancy acquiring big stars. They made attempts to acquire Angels center fielder Mike Trout in the past, and this time have their eyes on Angels shortstop Zach Neto or shortstop C.J. Abrams from the Washington Nationals. They also salivate over the idea of having Shea Langeliers behind the plate.
And, oh, wouldn’t Craig Breslow, who has been a punching bag all season, love to get the last laugh.
Follow Nightengale on X: @Bnightengale
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five MLB teams who will be most aggressive at 2026 trade deadline
