MLB trade deadline hard to predict with so many teams in contention for playoffs

First publishedJul 15, 19:42 UTC

Last updatedJul 16, 02:19 UTC · 17m ago

119:42–19:56 UTC1 outletChicago Sun-Times100:07–00:20 UTC1 outletChicago Sun-Times

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Chicago Sun-Times6MLB players, owners make familiar arguments as labor contract deadline approachesJul 15, 19:42 UTCOpen ↗Chicago Sun-Times6MLB trade deadline hard to predict with so many teams in contention for playoffsJul 16, 00:08 UTCOpen ↗

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<p>PHILADELPHIA — Expanded playoffs make it harder to predict whether Tarik Skubal and other choice acquisitions will be dealt before the Aug, 3 trade deadline.</p><p>Twenty-three of the 30 teams are within four games of a playoff position heading into the season's second half, which opens Thursday with the back-in-contention Philadelphia Phillies hosting the woeful New York Mets.</p><p>"You've got a lot of really good teams that were on the bubble that have gotten in and kind of made it," Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said. "Anybody that has an opportunity to get in, anything can happen and that's what makes our sport great."</p><div class="RelatedList Enhancement" data-module data-align-center> <div class="RelatedList-title">Related</div> <ul class="RelatedList-items"> <li class="RelatedList-items-item"> <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cubs/2026/07/15/cubs-white-sox-chicago-mlb-brewers-cardinals-guardians-tigers-twins-all-star-game" >Are Cubs, White Sox for real? At All-Star Game, division opponents of both teams weighed in</a> </li> <li class="RelatedList-items-item"> <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/mlb/2026/07/15/mlb-labor-negotiations-mlbpa-lockout-strike-salary-cap" >MLB salary cap remains top sticking point as players, owners make familiar arguments in labor talks</a> </li> </ul> </div> <p>Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who can become a free agent after the World Series, is the most prominent possible trade bait. The 29-year-old left-hander is 2-3 with a 3.62 ERA in six starts for the Detroit Tigers since surgery on May 6 to remove a loose body from his pitching elbow.</p><p>He returned to a big league mound on June 13 after Dr.

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  MLB trade deadline hard to predict with so many teams in contention for playoffs

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  Chicago Sun-TimesJul 16, 00:08

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