2026 Trade Deadline Thread

[Laika]

Just everything. What happens, how it happens. 

[Bob_Gratton]

Just now, Laika said:

Salary caps ruin leagues

Whatever problems MLB has, the NBA and NHL are much worse to follow as a fan. I hate the transaction discourse in those leagues.

Salary cap in NBA allow teams like Oklahoma City, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks or Cleveland Cavaliers to win or be finalist. Otherwise will be the Lakers, Mav, Spurs, Knicks and other big market all the time

[Bob_Gratton]

2 minutes ago, Brownie19 said:

Can you elaborate?  You mean the # of moves? Or how they have to match salaries?

If you are a fan of the Leafs or Raptors yes, coz bad management ruined chances of winning. Need spend more to fix things, but aren't allowed coz of the salary cap.

[hanton]

8 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Can you refresh my memory?

Not sure who you are talking about but I do remember Pat Gillick trading a prospect who became a Hall of Famer for David Cone and no one regrets it

Stroman 

[Abomination]

35 minutes ago, Bob_Gratton said:

I wonder if the Rays give better prospects for Peralta than Dodgers did for Skubal

They got Aidan Smith, Emilien Pitre, and Gary Gill Hill ... so no.  Pitre is interesting although he's not considered a top prospect.

[Bob_Gratton]

5 minutes ago, Abomination said:

 

You could even make it a 300M cap, but don't count salaries under 2M towards it or something. That gives teams a little bit of flexibility in the event of injuries.

A hard cap is fine if it's generous enough. The NBA and NHL caps are probably too low.

 

NHL cap is no too low, before Briere make offer sheet to Leo Carlsson, teams like San Jose, Hawks and Anaheim had lot of space on the cap. But team like Oilers, Leaf who was badly managed, no, coz they do many mistakes. Imagine if salary cap was higher, Panthers and Vegas will be like the Dodgers

[Terminator]

11 minutes ago, Laika said:

Salary caps ruin leagues

Whatever problems MLB has, the NBA and NHL are much worse to follow as a fan. I hate the transaction discourse in those leagues.

I don’t know enough about the NHL to comment, but the NBA’s cap system is a mess.
 

The rules are absurdly complicated, teams can’t keep a championship core together, and even superstar players are eventually forced out because it’s nearly impossible to build a sustainable roster around multiple max contracts.

[Bob_Gratton]

1 minute ago, Terminator said:

I don’t know enough about the NHL to comment, but the NBA’s cap system is a mess.
 

The rules are absurdly complicated, teams can’t keep a championship core together, and even superstar players are eventually forced out because it’s nearly impossible to build a sustainable roster around multiple max contracts.

It's no the cap who is a mess, but the things about players who can sign a max contract, and other who aren't allowed.

[Terminator]

Gausman is going to get us someone’s 24th ranked prospect at this rate. 

I can’t wait for that guy to give us a half a WAR spread across multiple years before we DFA him. The equivalent of Charles McAdoo’s little brother.

[Bob_Gratton]

1 minute ago, Bob_Gratton said:

It's no the cap who is a mess, but the things about players who can sign a max contract, and other who aren't allowed.

Btw, do the trade for Kawi canceled or still waiting  what will happen to Clippers?

[Terminator]

10 minutes ago, hanton said:

Stroman 

And he is analogous to Skubal in what way?
 

You’re going to have to add some color here I’m just getting more confused. :)

[Bob_Gratton]

1 minute ago, Terminator said:

Gausman is going to get us someone’s 24th ranked prospect at this rate. 

I can’t wait for that guy to give us a half a WAR spread across multiple years before we DFA him. The equivalent of Charles McAdoo’s little brother.

Better get international money than prospects like McAdoo, Clase

[Brownie19]

17 minutes ago, Abomination said:

They got Aidan Smith, Emilien Pitre, and Gary Gill Hill ... so no.  Pitre is interesting although he's not considered a top prospect.

Yeah I just looked up these 3.  Yikes.

[Abomination]

3 minutes ago, Bob_Gratton said:

Better get international money than prospects like McAdoo, Clase

You're more likely to get one or two guys like a Yoho who was in the Bo Naylor trade. Relief prospects are probably where you're going to get bang for the buck.

[Omar]

 

 

[Terminator]

Just now, Omar said:

 

 

Watch out MLB, the Jays are buying*

*we are buying Tank Commanders

[Jonn]

3 minutes ago, Omar said:

 

 

Veteran to eat innings to finish the Season.

[Abomination]

6 minutes ago, Terminator said:

Watch out MLB, the Jays are buying*

*we are buying Tank Commanders

They're definitely moving someone, because Taillon isn't an inconsequential amount of salary to eat, especially when it's possible they could have gotten under the 2nd cap tier.

[Laika]

Not surprised at the Taillon add 

He is probably Corbin level at this point but someone needs to start games 

[Terminator]

1 hour ago, Abomination said:

They're definitely moving someone, because Taillon isn't an inconsequential amount of salary to eat, especially when it's possible they could have gotten under the 2nd cap tier.

I doubt they are eating much of Taillon's remaining salary.

[Sorrow]

I personally am opposed to a cap but would prefer to have the luxury tax a lot more aggressive, something like the NBAs second sheet or whatever it’s called where when you pass the first threshold your tax is 1:1 so every dollar over costs you a dollar in tax but when you pass the second threshold it starts at 3:1 and gets more expensive. Someone did the math elsewhere but I can’t find the post that if the Dodgers and their $180m luxury tax bill had the NBAs rules it would actually end up being closer to $1.8 billion this season based on how their dollars increase in that second tier. There’s also restrictions on trades and free agent signings that I think should happen in baseball when youre over especially by multiple seasons.

I also think we need a reverse cap with a floor with identical penalties for going below. If you drop below you pay a tax and hit a second tier below you pay triple and get hit with more penalties related to trading signing free agents and drafting.

 

[bronson44]

 

[glory]

If MLB made the highest threshold like the NBA 2nd apron, then it would artificially create a soft hard cap. Soft in the sense that you can go over it but so punitive that teams will avoid it. That’s probably what we end up seeing if there is no salary cap. Whether it’s better for the league, it likely would be. The Dodgers for all the talk about their drafting and development have essentially an entire team of free agent contracts other than Pages and Wrobleski. If they had to actually use their prospects, maybe they’d still be good but much harder to dominate the league that way given the high bust rates.

[Jonn]

I feel a lot of these prospect packages have been extremely underwhelming. Garcia Jr. still has another full Season of control. Maybe the Jays should be buying. Maybe not for this year but for beyond.

[Bob_Gratton]

23 minutes ago, glory said:

If MLB made the highest threshold like the NBA 2nd apron, then it would artificially create a soft hard cap. Soft in the sense that you can go over it but so punitive that teams will avoid it. That’s probably what we end up seeing if there is no salary cap. Whether it’s better for the league, it likely would be. The Dodgers for all the talk about their drafting and development have essentially an entire team of free agent contracts other than Pages and Wrobleski. If they had to actually use their prospects, maybe they’d still be good but much harder to dominate the league that way given the high bust rates.

Yes they are drafting their players, like many teams, the difference Dodgers can pay them the high salary, but with a salary cap, they can't keep them all, so will be like 95% of MLB teams.

[Bob_Gratton]

20 minutes ago, Jonn said:

I feel a lot of these prospect packages have been extremely underwhelming. Garcia Jr. still has another full Season of control. Maybe the Jays should be buying. Maybe not for this year but for beyond.

If they are buying, they should without giving their best prospects. Unless if buying guys like De la Cruz, Abrams

[xposbrad]

16 minutes ago, Jonn said:

I feel a lot of these prospect packages have been extremely underwhelming. Garcia Jr. still has another full Season of control. Maybe the Jays should be buying. Maybe not for this year but for beyond.

I can't see the Jays being good anytime soon, they have the worst contract in baseball and one of the weakest farm systems in all of MLB. They will be mediocre, that is a guarantee, with a 270m payroll. Jays actually need a complete tear down but this is not the year to sell considering the returns and Jays don't even want to sell Varland. So they will linger in mediocrity until the shine of making it to the WS fades in a couple of years.

[Bob_Gratton]

6 minutes ago, xposbrad said:

I can't see the Jays being good anytime soon, they have the worst contract in baseball and one of the weakest farm systems in all of MLB. They will be mediocre, that is a guarantee, with a 270m payroll. Jays actually need a complete tear down but this is not the year to sell considering the returns and Jays don't even want to sell Varland. So they will linger in mediocrity until the shine of making it to the WS fades in a couple of years.

It's next year they will sign Angel Montas? With him, Parker and Nimmala, they probably have 3 players who eventually be in the starting lineup. Yesevage, Tiedemann, King, Perry and Carlon are young pitchers, few like Yesevage can become MLB lvl

[bronson44]

1 hour ago, Jonn said:

I feel a lot of these prospect packages have been extremely underwhelming. Garcia Jr. still has another full Season of control. Maybe the Jays should be buying. Maybe not for this year but for beyond.

They will be. There's a lot to do for next year and too difficult to do it all through free agency. Either now or in the offseason there will be trades for controllable guys.

[Abomination]

1 hour ago, Jonn said:

I feel a lot of these prospect packages have been extremely underwhelming. Garcia Jr. still has another full Season of control. Maybe the Jays should be buying. Maybe not for this year but for beyond.

Remember that there's a decent chance next year may not happen, or at least most of it may not.