Day: August 3, 2026

Pencils down! After the Dodgers struck early for the prize of the deadline, there was a flurry of activity in the final 24 hours as the Red Sox pushed their chips in for Adley Rutschman, the Cubs and Padres patched up their rotations, the Pirates loaded up on relievers and the Angels finally made meaningful moves to restock their farm system. Here are the winners and losers of the 2026 MLB trade deadline. The best team in baseball got the best player at the deadline, and they did it without losing any big-league talent or decimating their farm system. They also made an interesting low-risk, high-reward move for injured Royals starter Kris Bubic, who was an All-Star last year, and got some catcher reinforcements with Will Smith and Dalton Rushing on the shelf. Then again, who are we kidding? After landing Tarik Skubal, they could have snoozed through all that deadline day action and still been the winners of the deadline. Will Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Antonio Senzatela be helpful pieces for the Brewers? Absolutely. I have no doubt Milwaukee will get the most out of all of those arms, and they’ll all likely contribute to a fourth straight division title. But, c’mon, man! At some point, you’ve got to play for more than winning the regular season. If last year’s NLCS wasn’t a wake-up call to move some of their prospects for star talent, I don’t know what could be. The Braves needed a co-ace to pair with Chris Sale in October. They didn’t get it. Tyler Mahle will help with depth in the rotation for the next couple of months and Lane Thomas will assist the outfield, but it feels like they’re going to regret missing out on an impact arm. The Cubs had needs throughout the pitching staff, and they overhauled the group. They got two of the best starters available in Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, whose penchant for keeping the ball on the ground should play well with the exceptional defense behind him. They made an upside move bringing in Braxton Garrett. They paid a big price for those starters and for reliever Ryan Zeferjahn, whose high walk rate also comes with some of the best swing-and-miss stuff in the game. If they get where they hope to go, it will be worth it. These get grouped together, for obvious reasons. Two years from now, we might look back on the Adley Rutschman trade as a turning point for the Orioles, who received a massive haul back from Boston. For now, though, it’s all just hard to swallow. All that promise in Baltimore after the rebuilding years, the 101-win seasons in 2023, those first two years from Rutschman…and zero postseason wins before blowing up another core. To make it worse, O’s fans now have to watch Rutschman on a division rival for at least this season and next. Baltimore also traded Taylor Ward, Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer from a team that was 2.5 games out of a wild-card spot. Once again, it’s all about the future, not the present. Meanwhile, it’s the opposite in Boston. As incredible as the Red Sox turnaround has been on the field, trading for Curtis Mead and immediately watching him fracture his wrist made for a disappointing start to Boston’s deadline. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow made up for that with a major swing, rewarding his team’s resurgence by sending a stunning haul of prospects for Rutschman and adding a big arm to the bullpen in the Giants’ Erik Miller. The price was steep. There’s a lot riding on Rutschman, currently sidelined with a wrist issue, returning as an impact piece. But there’s belief in Beantown again. Relief pitching was Pittsburgh’s clear need, and the Pirates reconstructed the group entirely. They added some big arms at the back end in Luke Weaver, arguably the top reliever dealt at the deadline, and Camilo Doval, who might be a good change-of-scenery candidate to put his tools together, and also acquired Kirby Yates, Lake Bachar and Ron Marinaccio. There’s pressure on this offense to keep up its pace, but they answered their biggest need. At 59-53, the D-backs are trending toward a spot in the postseason. They had a clear need at first base, where they have the lowest OPS and wRC+ in MLB, but they watched Luis Garcia Jr. go to the Yankees and Nathaniel Lowe go to the Guardians. They didn’t get any arms to a staff that ranks 18th in ERA and will now be reliant on the returns of some of their injured arms. Their only addition at all was outfielder Lars Nootbaar, who has been a below league-average hitter in a limited sample this season. That’s…not enough. Never doubt AJ Preller’s ability to find a way to add. Despite depleting his farm system in recent years, he still managed to get two of the better rental arms available in Casey Mize and Robbie Ray. It would have been nice to find a bat, too, but with the offense starting to perform better, starting pitching help was clearly the biggest need. And the Padres got that done. Luis Garcia Jr. and Heliot Ramos should help an offense that needed reinforcements with Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton down. But while they watched Adley Rutschman go to Boston and Liam Hicks go to Tampa Bay, they did nothing to upgrade at catcher — why isn’t Tyler Stephenson, at the least, in the Bronx right now? — or the back end of the bullpen. The best teams in the division can’t figure out if they’re good or bad, and nothing they did this week will change that. The Mariners at least got some needed right-handed help with Taylor Ward, and I like what they did with the Luis Castillo deal, but nothing they did significantly changes my opinion of them. Houston’s inaction was more disappointing. Daulton Varsho isn’t going to singlehandedly fix the Astros’ outfield hitting woes, and they not only failed to add to their rotation, but they sent starter Spencer Arrighetti away in that Varsho trade. The Rangers, meanwhile, basically sat out of deadline day entirely. Maybe these teams are more snoozers than losers, but I expected a little more. It wasn’t supposed to go this way. Not after signing Framber Valdez. Not after holding onto Tarik Skubal this winter. Prospects Zyhir Hope and River Ryan could both end up being great players in the years to come, but I’m still surprised they couldn’t get more out of the Dodgers — or from another more needy team — in the trade for Skubal. Still, I can understand them trying to get a return for the back-to-back Cy Young Award winner rather than watching him walk for nothing. So, their placement in this category is more about what happened next. Only 2.5 games out of a playoff spot, maybe they could have sold their fans on a second-half surge with Valdez, Casey Mize, Troy Melton, Keider Montero and Jackson Jobe nearing his return. But then they traded Mize at the buzzer. If you’re going to do that, why is Gleyber Torres still a Tiger? Or Kenley Jansen? Or Kyle Finnegan? John Mozeliak stepped in as interim general manager and immediately went to work restocking the farm system, making changes that have been sorely needed for years. The Angels added nine prospects, including a top-100 talent in Arjun Nimmala, while trading away a group of big leaguers who probably wouldn’t have been around to see the next contending team in Anaheim anyway. The moves are finally an acknowledgment of reality. Congrats, guys. You did it.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Following the announcement of Mauricio Pochettino extending his contract with the U.S. men’s national team, FOX Sports analyst Alexi Lalas shared his perspective on the state of the program and the expectations facing the head coach heading towards the 2030 World Cup. Reflecting on the recent tournament performance, Lalas noted that the job ultimately comes down to winning matches in the knockout stages. “When it comes to Mauricio Pochettino and his job and role, it was to win the game against Belgium, and in that moment, he and this team failed,” Lalas said on his “State of the Union” podcast. Lalas emphasized that evaluating a manager based on results on the biggest stage and whether he can lead the Stars and Stripes to new heights. “Where he is again going to be judged is if he is going to get us to that rarefied air and that promised land. And for a lot of people, and that was made very very clear this summer, that is winning the round of 16 games.” Lalas explained that success in those key matches shifts the broader conversation surrounding American soccer. “If this U.S. team under Mauricio Pochettino this summer had found a way to get past Belgium, all of this talk and all of this self-examination—whether it’s you know pay-to-play and player development and style of play and who we are as a soccer-playing nation—that all goes away,” Lalas said. Looking ahead, Lalas expressed support for keeping Pochettino for the upcoming cycle. That includes competitions such as the Concacaf Nations League, the Concacaf Gold Cup and possibly the 2028 Copa América should the U.S. be an invited team. “I think Mauricio Pochettino is fine. I think that he will be a better coach this cycle than he was last cycle,” Lalas said. However, he stressed the importance keeping the commitment through the next tournament, where the USA will actually need to go through the qualifying process this time around. “That final judgment will come four years from now, and it remains to be seen whether he is even going to be in charge four years from now. It would really disappoint me if, after all of this and this decision that has been made today, if Mauricio Pochettino was not the coach four years from now because he saw something better or took a different job someplace else.”​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The summer of soccer continues after the best World Cup ever. This time, select teams from Major League Soccer and their Liga MX counterparts will kick off the Leagues Cup in the latest edition of the tournament. Here’s what to know as 36 teams featuring star players like Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi square off in the Leagues Cup. The action begins on Wednesday with a full slate of games, including the Seattle Sounders taking on Toluca (10 p.m. ET on FS1). Which MLS and Liga MX Teams Are Playing? In all there are 36 teams who’ll participate in the Leagues Cup. The tournament will feature 18 of the 30 MLS clubs and all 18 Liga MX squads. The 18 MLS clubs that qualified were based on the 2025 regular season table. Check out the full schedule. Each team will play three opponents from the other league for a total of 54 MLS vs. Liga MX catchups in the first phase alone. But each league will have its own specific table for this competition. The top four from each table advance to the knockout round. What Is The Competition Format? When Is The Final? This year’s edition of the Leagues Cup is played in two phases. The tournament uses a no-ties format to ensure a winner in every match: • Phase One (Aug. 4–13) — 54 MLS vs. LIGA MX matchups in a round-robin format • 3 points for a regulation win• 2 points for a penalty shootout win (after a tie)• 1 point for a penalty shootout loss • Knockout Rounds (Aug. 25–Sept. 6)      – Single-elimination bracket beginning with the quarterfinals and culminating in the final on Sept. 6. Will Argentina’s Lionel Messi Play For Inter Miami? Following Argentina’s 1-0 defeat to Spain on July 19 at the FIFA World Cup final, Messi took some time off before reporting back to duty with Inter Miami. He is expected to play for Inter Miami during the Leagues Cup and the rest of the MLS regular season. He’ll be joined by his Argentina teammate Rodrigo De Paul and newly arrived Brazilian midfielder Casemiro. It was at this tournament in 2023 in which Messi made his Inter Miami debut. He and Miami went on to win the inaurgural edition, giving him his first piece of silverware stateside. Inter Miami’s League Cup Schedule Aug. 5: Inter Miami vs. Atlético San LuisAug. 8: Inter Miami vs. MonterreyAug. 12: Inter Miami vs. León Any USA Stars From the World Cup Playing? Several of the players who were part of the USA’s squad this summer at the World Cup are expected to play. Those include defender Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), goalkeeper Matt Freese (NYCFC) and midfielder Alejandro Zendejas (Club América). Other players from the USMNT squad include keeper Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), midfielder Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders) and defender Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Two players who just missed the World Cup roster were Real Salt Lake duo Diego Luna and Zavier Gozo. Those two will be playing in the Leagues Cup as well. What Are Some Other World Cup Stars At The Leagues Cup? Plenty of international star power will be featured throughout the tournament. That includes LAFC’s Son Heung-min, who has been part of several South Korea World Cup squads. Vancouver Whitecaps’ Thomas Mueller won the 2014 World Cup with Germany, while new Orlando City signing Antoine Griezmann lifted the World Cup trophy with France in 2018. Robert Lewandowski, who featured for Poland, will play for the Chicago Fire. The Liga MX teams feature several talents from Mexico’s World Cup team, including 17-year-old Gilberto Mora (Tijuana). Four players from Chivas – Luis Romo, Roberto Alvarado, Brian Gutierrez, Armando Gonzalez – played for Mexico this summer. What’s At Stake? The Leagues Cup provides three spots for the 2027 CONCACAF Champions Cup, which involves top teams across North America. The Leagues Cup winner gets a Round of 16 spot in that tournament, which has a direct path to bigger events such as the FIFA Club World Cup. Any Predictions On Who’ll Win It All? The first two editions of this tournament saw teams from Liga MX win (Cruz Azul in 2019, León in 2021). Since then, it’s been all MLS with Inter Miami (2023), the Columbus Crew (2024), and the Seattle Sounders (2025) taking it all. In fact, no Liga MX team has even made the final since 2021. For this edition, expect that to change. Look for a top-tier team like Club América to try and reach the final. Pumas UNAM, Cruz Azul and Toluca have also been among the best Liga MX teams in recent seasons. On the MLS side, don’t discount Messi and Inter Miami reaching the final again. Nashville tops the current MLS standing while Vancouver and LAFC are also teams primed for a deep run here.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports