MLB rumors: Mets begin firesale; Dodgers’ secondary interest in Tarik Skubal; Tigers hint at deadline plans

Major League Baseball’s Aug. 3 trade deadline is mere days away, and teams are busy making plans in advance of that important date on the calendar. That means trade rumors aplenty. Friday is no exception, and you can find the newest dose of trade talk just below. 

MLB trade deadline landing spots: Predicting new teams for Tarik Skubal, Mason Miller, CJ Abrams, more

Mike Axisa

Tigers scratch Mize ahead of deadline

Tigers right-hander Casey Mize was slated to start on Friday against the A’s, but Detroit has altered those plans and will instead go with a bullpen game, as MLB.com notes. The decision suggests the Tigers are listening to trade offers for the 29-year-old Mize. While most of the attention when it comes to the Tigers surrounds whether or not they’ll trade Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, Mize himself is a pending free agent who’s having a strong 2026. The former No. 1 overall pick will no doubt drum up interest on the market. 

Brewers, Pirates interested in Weaver

As part of the Mets’ forthcoming/ongoing fire sale, reliever Luke Weaver seems likely to be shipped off to a contender. Quality relievers are of course of broad interest to contenders this time of year, and the Athletic names the Brewers and Pirates as possible pursuers of a trade for the 32-year-old right-hander. Weaver is in the first year of a two-year, $22 million contract, and he’s been a highly effective bullpenner since converting from a starting role for the 2024 season. 

Mets want premium prospect for Peralta

Right-hander Freddy Peralta, a pending free agent, on Friday night is scheduled to make what figures to be his last start in a Mets uniform. While Peralta has struggled in 2026, he has a much stronger recent track record going for him — from 2023-25, Peralta had an ERA+ of 124 and topped 30 starts and 200 strikeouts in each of those three seasons. As such, he’s expected to have a healthy market for his services leading up to Monday’s trade deadline. Speaking of which, the Mets and lead executive David Stearns will be seeking a top-100 overall prospect in exchange for Peralta, the Athletic reports. The Braves, Cubs, Rays, and Phillies may be among the teams with interest. 

Mets begin sell-off with Minter-to-Twins trade

The Mets have traded veteran lefty reliever A.J. Minter to the Twins in exchange for a pair of prospects, the team revealed Friday morning. The 32-year-old Minter is enjoying a standout season in 2026, and he’ll immediately fortify the struggling Minnesota bullpen as they angle to secure a return to the playoffs for the first time since 2023. 

As for the Mets, they’re getting a pair of infield prospects: Bruin Agbayani, the son of former Met Benny Agbayani, and Billy Amick. Agbayani, 19, was a sixth-round choice in 2025. Amick, 23, is a former second-rounder who has 23 home runs in 86 games at Double-A this season. 

For the last-place Mets and lead decision-maker David Stearns, this is just the start of what figures to be a substantial sell-off before Monday’s deadline. 

Very likely out the door before that deadline will be 40% of the current rotation — veteran right-handers Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes, to be specific. Peralta is a pending free agent who’s struggled this season but has a much stronger recent track record. Holmes is close to returning from a fractured fibula and has been a strong rotation piece since making the conversion from reliever prior to last season. He has a player option for 2027 in his contract that he seems unlikely to exercise. Other relievers who could follow Minter out of Queens include Luke Weaver, Brooks Raley, and Huascar Brazoban. 

Dodgers eyeing Holmes

Speaking of Holmes, the Dodgers may have interest in acquiring the 33-year-old, ESPN reports. L.A. still has eyes for Tigers ace and back-to-back AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, but if the price isn’t acceptable to them — or if Detroit opts not to trade him — then they could pivot to a rotation depth piece like Holmes. The Dodgers’ rotation is presently beset by injuries, which means the two-time defending champs are highly likely to add a starting pitcher by Monday.

The other reason the Dodgers like Skubal

Speaking of the champs and the Detroit ace, the Dodgers’ motivations for pursuing Skubal in trade are, first and foremost, that he’s the top deadline talent who’s theoretically available and he fills their rotation void (and then some). The other part of the Dodgers’ Skubal chase, though, may have to do with gamesmanship. According to the New York Post, the Dodgers also fancy Skubal because landing him would by definition keep him away from their leading pennant rivals in the National League — namely, the Brewers, Braves, and Phillies, who all have varying degrees of interest in the decorated lefty.  

Why the Dodgers seem like the favorites in the Tarik Skubal trade sweepstakes ahead of 2026 deadline

Dayn Perry

Astros chasing Webb

The Astros have been asking after Giants ace Logan Webb, USA Today reports, but San Francisco continues to tell interested parties that Webb is not available in trade. This, of course, could just be posturing on the part of the Giants designed to drive up the asking price on Webb. Or it could be that lead executive Buster Posey doesn’t presently have the appetite for the scale of rebuild a Webb trade would suggest.  

Available or not, the appeal of Webb is easy to see. The 29-year-old right-hander is a three-time All-Star who on three occasions has finished in the top six of the NL Cy Young vote. This season has not been Webb’s strongest to date, but the track record remains appealing. 

Mathews promotion may hint at May trade

The Cardinals will promote left-handed starter Quinn Mathews in time to take the mound on Saturday against the Blue Jays. The 25-year-old out of Stanford has thrived in recent weeks thanks in part to improved control, and he’s not far removed from a 2024 campaign in which he struck out more than 200 batters across four different minor-league levels. 

The promotion of Mathews, which will require the Cardinals to clear a spot on the 40-player roster, hints at what is already known — that Dustin May is very likely to be traded before the deadline. If that comes together before Mathews’ big-league debut, then Mathews could take May’s spot on the 40 and the active roster and his spot in the St. Louis rotation. 

While the 29-year-old May doesn’t have especially strong top-line results, the underlying indicators are indeed quite strong, which makes him appealing on the market. He’s also stayed healthy and enjoyed a significant velocity rebound. May’s contract includes a mutual option for 2027 that, like most mutual options, will probably not come into play. 

Red Sox still in infield market

The Red Sox, who have surged back into contention with a stellar July, thought they had largely addressed their infield problems with the recent trade with the Nationals that landed them Curtis Mead. Mead, however, suffered a wrist fracture in his first game with the Sox, and his absence is going to be a lengthy one. That may push the Sox back into the market for infield help leading up to the deadline. Possible Boston targets, according to the Athletic, include Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards of the Marlins, Zach Neto of the Angels, and Gleyber Torres of the Tigers.