Who will be the player traded before the 2026 Trade Deadline arrives on Aug. 3?
We all love a good blockbuster. But sometimes, it's the smaller deals, the ones that don't make the headlines, that end up having the biggest impact.
The six highlighted players below were all involved in such a trade. We may not have thought much of those under-the-radar moves at the moment, but they are currently shaping the 2026 season.
All stats updated through Monday.
2016: Astros trade RHP Josh Fields to Dodgers for DH Yordan Alvarez
The Dodgers didn't have to give up much to acquire Fields in the hours leading up to the 2016 Trade Deadline. Although he had been a durable middle reliever for Houston for a few years, a 6.89 ERA through his first 15 appearances of the '16 season was his ticket to the Minors, and he was still down on the farm when the Dodgers pulled off this one-for-one deal. They gave up a 19-year-old Cuban outfielder whom, just six weeks prior, they had signed to a $2 million deal on the final day of the international signing period.
Fields was actually pretty good for L.A., posting a 2.61 ERA over his three seasons with the club and making an appearance in the 2017 World Series against the Astros. But the Dodgers effectively ended his Major League career when they released him in March 2019.
Three months later, that Cuban outfielder, Alvarez, debuted for the Astros and has the second-highest wRC+ (166) of all qualified hitters during his eight-year career. This season might be the three-time All-Star's masterpiece as he currently leads the American League in most offensive categories, including home runs (24), batting average (.328), OPS (1.087) and wRC+ (194).
2019: Phillies trade INF Curtis Mead to Rays for LHP Cristopher Sánchez
Signed at 16 years old in 2013, Sánchez played just one game above High-A in six seasons in the Rays' system before he was dealt to Philly. Mead was a low-level prospect at the time of the swap as well, but by 2022, he was ranked among the top 10 prospects in Tampa Bay's system and eventually reached as high as No. 2 in 2023.
Sánchez, conversely, was never ranked among the Phillies' top 20 prospects and struggled to a 5.63 ERA over 40 innings in '22. It looked like this trade had a clear winner, and it wasn't Philadelphia. However, Mead never panned out for the Rays before he was traded to the White Sox last season. He's now having a productive year with the Nationals.
For Sánchez, things started to change in 2023, when he finally got his walk issues under control. He improved in 2024, improved in 2025 (when he was the runner-up for the Cy Young Award) and has kept right on raising the bar this year. His 1.82 ERA and 3.7 FanGraphs WAR rank second in the bigs. And no matter what happens from here, Sánchez's 50 2/3 scoreless inning streak will be one of the top highlights of MLB in 2026.
2021: Rays trade RHP Tobias Myers to Cleveland for 3B Junior Caminero
Now let's make room for a trade that was a big win for the Rays. We all know they have a long history of making smart deals.
Caminero's road to Cleveland was blocked by 2021 since the team already had its third baseman of the present and future: José Ramírez. So, Cleveland dealt the 18-year-old Caminero for Myers, who had a 3.90 ERA and 146 K's in 117 2/3 Minor League innings that year.
It didn't take long, however, for Cleveland to realize that this was a bad trade. Myers was designated for assignment in July 2022, less than eight months after the move. Meanwhile, Caminero was crushing the ball at every stop in the Minors. He got called up in 2023 and has been one of the most productive third basemen since. His 45 homers last season were one shy of a Rays franchise record, and his .864 OPS this season paces all AL players at the hot corner.
2022: Marlins trade two Minor Leaguers to Rays for two players, including INF Xavier Edwards
Edwards was included in a fairly notable trade in 2019, going from San Diego to Tampa Bay in a deal that included veteran outfielders Tommy Pham and Hunter Renfroe as well as a prospect named Jake Cronenworth.
The second trade Edwards was involved in didn't garner nearly as much buzz. After some lackluster results in the Minors caused his prospect stock to drop, the speedy infielder was dealt by the Rays along with reliever JT Chargois for Minor League pitchers Marcus Johnson and Santiago Suarez. Neither has cracked the Majors yet, although Suarez is the Rays' No. 9 prospect.
But back to Edwards, who has become a catalyst at the top of the lineup and a really tough out for a Marlins squad that is just a few games back of a playoff spot. Edwards' walk rate (12.3%) nearly matches his extremely low K rate (12.6%). He is batting .296 with a .380 on-base percentage, and after bopping just 14 home runs through his seven seasons in the Minors, Edwards has muscled up for six dingers already this year. He is the game's fifth-best second baseman by fWAR (2.2).
2023: Mariners trade RHP Paul Sewald for three players, including OF Dominic Canzone
Almost every contender is on the hunt for bullpen help at the Deadline, and the D-backs found their man in the veteran Sewald, who was fabulous in the ninth inning for Arizona on its journey to the National League pennant.
Seattle received one known commodity -- utilityman Josh Rojas -- and two prospects in return for Sewald: Canzone and second baseman Ryan Bliss. Rojas provided some value with his defense as a Mariner, but he was a below-average bat (92 wRC+) in his only full season with the club before departing via free agency after the 2024 season. Bliss has yet to establish himself in the Majors, but Canzone certainly has. The lefty hitter has terrorized right-handed pitchers, slashing .301/.351/.552 in 366 plate appearances against them since the start of 2025.
This year, Canzone, whose Baseball Savant page is bathed in red, has 10 homers in 181 PAs for the first-place Mariners. His 157 wRC+ ranks 10th among all players with at least 150 PAs.
2026: Brewers trade INFs Caleb Durbin, Andruw Monasterio & Anthony Siegler for three players, including LHP Kyle Harrison
This is probably the most well-known trade of the six in this story, and not just because it's the most recent. Harrison was a top-25 prospect in baseball in 2024 and was a key part of the Red Sox's return in their blockbuster trade of Rafael Devers one year ago.
However, Harrison never really got a shot in Boston, which optioned him to Triple-A on the same day as the trade and brought him back up in September for two starts and one multi-inning relief appearance. Lacking a true third baseman this spring, the Red Sox shipped Harrison to Milwaukee in a six-player swap where Durbin was their headline addition. The second-year infielder has been Boston's primary third baseman and owns a .568 OPS this year.
With the NL Central-leading Brew Crew, Harrison has unlocked that potential that made him a top prospect not too long ago. The Brewers' latest pitching success story owns a 2.47 ERA through 13 starts, and his 23.2% strikeout-minus-walk rate sits sixth among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. He's right behind the aforementioned Sanchez, whom Harrison bested on Sunday with six scoreless frames in a win over the Phillies.