{"id":745067,"date":"2026-07-05T18:53:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T18:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/745067\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T18:53:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T18:53:19","slug":"mlbs-weird-trade-market-plus-canadas-best-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/745067\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB\u2019s weird trade market, plus Canada\u2019s best World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Maximize value for your assets today. Inside:<\/p>\n

The Deal Space: MLB trade season starts \u2026 when?<\/p>\n

Major League Baseball is about a month out from its Aug. 3 trade deadline. As push rapidly comes to shove, a huge segment of the league faces the same question and likely answer.<\/p>\n

The question: Should we buy or sell?
\nThe answer: Probably neither.<\/p>\n

In a world with six playoff teams per league,\u00a0the ranks of the sellers are a lot thinner than they used to be.\u00a0Coming into this weekend\u2019s series, 22 of 30 teams were within five games of a postseason spot. A number of teams that were in clear rebuild mode (like the Nationals and Cardinals) are in the thick of an unusually tough NL race. The AL wild-card hunt is chock full of teams that haven\u2019t been\u00a0good\u00a0but are well within postseason striking distance because almost the whole league is mediocre or worse. This league!<\/p>\n

The stove is still going to get hot, though.\u00a0Tarik Skubal could be the biggest deadline pitcher prize since CC Sabathia\u00a0made\u00a0his legendary run with the Brewers in 2008<\/a>. Otherwise, the deadline harvest depends on how a few front offices interpret their teams\u2019 play over the next four weeks.<\/p>\n

The Twins have the Nos. 2 and 3 players\u00a0on\u00a0The Athletic\u2019s\u00a0deadline big board (OF Byron Buxton, SP Joe Ryan).
\nThe\u00a0Astros\u00a0have three of the top 13 and four of the top 20.
\nThe\u00a0Angels\u00a0have a handful of valuable trade chips and are the rare team to be definitively out of contention by now. But the team has been so poorly run for so long that it\u2019s not certain the\u00a0new general manager<\/a>\u00a0will even be deputized to trade those players.<\/p>\n

Where will the deals come from, then? Simplest to start at the top.\u00a0The Yankees, Rays, Braves, Phillies, Brewers and champion Dodgers all have 85 percent chances or better to see October, per FanGraphs. A few others (like\u00a0the endlessly aggressive Padres<\/a>) smell like buyers, too. If a few wild-card teams sink like rocks, you could imagine action picking\u00a0way\u00a0up.<\/p>\n

Deadline fanfic time:\u00a0I asked Levi Weaver, author of\u00a0our great, free baseball newsletter<\/a>, to design one trade he\u2019d like to see two teams make for the sake of our collective entertainment:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac\u00a0Well, there is an outlandish \u201cgun-for-hire<\/a>\u201d scenario I posed in The Windup recently, but we\u2019re talking about trades here, so, let\u2019s see: The Cubs have\u00a0a whole pitching staff on the IL\u00a0but are somehow still in the NL Central race while holding a wild-card spot. That\u2019s a situation screaming for pitching additions.\u00a0Let\u2019s assume they\u2019re outbid for Tarik Skubal \u2014 both because they likely will be, and also, it\u2019s boring to propose Skubal-to-the-Cubs.<\/p>\n

My next thought was Anaheim \u2014 with new interim GM John Mozeliak at the helm, the Angels should be more likely to recognize what a seller looks like in the mirror. But both Reid Detmers and Jos\u00e9 Soriano aren\u2019t due to hit free agency until 2029, and assuming the Cubs\u2019 pitching staff comes back healthy next year, they don\u2019t need to overpay.<\/p>\n

This situation is screaming for a rental starter. Enter: Casey Mize. As our big board says: \u201cIf the price tag is more \u2018get you to the playoffs\u2019 rather than \u2018help you win the World Series,\u2019 he\u2019s a fine acquisition.\u201d If the Cubs can use Mize to help them keep the ship afloat until Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown and Jameson Taillon return, that feels like a reasonable move?<\/p>\n

Personally, I believe Skubal would enjoy Pittsburgh in the late summer. Let\u2019s move on.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Molly Darlington \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Canada\u2019s best-ever World Cup<\/p>\n

Before this one, Canada had never gotten a\u00a0draw\u00a0in a World Cup. As co-hosts they\u2019ve had their first draw, first win, first knockout win \u2026\u00a0it\u2019s unquestionably been a success<\/a>, writes Joshua Kloke. Even in yesterday\u2019s 3-0 loss to Morocco \u2014 who made the semifinals in Qatar \u2014 Canada dominated the first half. It\u2019s wild to think their best player, Bayern Munich\u2019s Alphonso Davies, was limited by a hamstring injury to 15 minutes in this tournament, and they lost midfield linchpin Isma\u00ebl Kon\u00e9 to a broken leg in their second game. A respectable showing that deserves at least a sustained clap, if not an ovation.<\/p>\n

Morocco\u2019s quarterfinal opponent will be France, who struggled to break down Paraguay before\u00a0winning 1-0<\/a> on a second-half Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 penalty. That 4-1 USMNT win in the opener looks even more impressive given Paraguay only conceded two other goals.
\nA rising star\u2019s breakthrough win<\/p>\n

Alexandra Eala was\u00a0already a national sporting hero<\/a>\u00a0in the Philippines but had yet to make it past the second round in a major before this year\u2019s Wimbledon. Her first third-round match: a shock win over defending champ Iga \u015awi\u0105tek. She played boldly, and\u00a0her comments<\/a>\u00a0after were super endearing. She\u2019s one to watch, for sure.<\/p>\n

Also yesterday, Serena Williams\u2019 Wimbledon comeback ended after she and sister Venus\u00a0withdrew<\/a> from doubles.
\nNovak Djokovic (No. 7) goes for a record-breaking 106th Wimbledon men\u2019s singles win today against qualifier Roman Safiullin (8:30 a.m. ET on ESPN), while women\u2019s No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka meets No. 14 Naomi Osaka (11:30 a.m., ESPN).
\nMore News
\nMLB\u00a0announced this year\u2019s\u00a0All-Star starters, pitchers and reserves.\u00a0Paul Skenes\u00a0over\u00a0Zack Wheeler\u00a0\ud83d\udc40?\u00a0Lineups and staffs here<\/a>.
\nA postgame fireworks show malfunctioned<\/a>\u00a0after Friday\u2019s\u00a0NWSL\u00a0game between\u00a0Angel City FC\u00a0and the\u00a0Orlando Pride, sending fans running for cover. Scary.
\nKnicks great Patrick Ewing\u00a0is\u00a0expected to join<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0Wizards as an assistant coach.
\nFormer Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner, fired a year ago this month, is\u00a0releasing a memoir<\/a> titled \u201cDrive.\u201d Clever!
\nTrans\u00a0runner Nikki Hiltz\u00a0beat three-time Olympic gold medalist\u00a0Faith Kipyegon\u00a0with the world\u2019s best mile time this year, then spoke about last week\u2019s\u00a0Supreme Court\u00a0ruling that upheld state bans on trans girls and women competing against cisgender women and girls.\u00a0More here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Clive Mason \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa F1: British Grand Prix
10 a.m. ET on Apple TV
The talk of the sport this week is Mercedes\u2019 George Russell,\u00a0showing cautious signs of a return to elite form<\/a>. He\u2019s never finished better than fifth in his home race at Silverstone. He starts fourth,\u00a0with teammate\/wunderkind Kimi Antonelli on pole<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa World Cup: Brazil vs. Norway
4 p.m. ET on Fox
\u201cWelcome to Carlo Ancelotti\u2019s Brazil, an ocean of serenity.\u201d\u00a0As Nick Miller explains<\/a>, calmness and patience are now watchwords for a national team with a reputation for beauty and chaos.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa World Cup: Mexico vs. England
8 p.m. ET on Fox
More round of 16 play. This one is a home game for El Tri in Mexico City. If I could be at one sporting event so far this year, just for the atmosphere, it would be this.\u00a0Good story here on the\u00a0highly\u00a0unusual mental challenge<\/a>\u00a0the English will face on the road.<\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

\n Manny Carabel \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Most-shared features on\u00a0The Athletic\u00a0last week:<\/p>\n

Recently remembered you can often check out popular cookbooks from your local public library. It\u2019s an easy way to trial whether they\u2019d really be useful on your shelf long-term. \u2014 Torrey Hart<\/p>\n

Why doesn\u2019t cycling star Tadej Poga\u010dar have more blue-chip sponsors?\u00a0A surprisingly fascinating situation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sei Pizza in Beverley Hills. When my mates read this, they\u2019ll give me a good kicking to bring me back down to earth (and I\u2019m hardly going to be a regular patron) but their food is an absolute winner. Get the mushroom one, if you\u2019re asking. \u2014 Phil Hay<\/p>\n

The rise of social media and smartphones is the most disruptive change to athletes\u2019 mental performance in decades.\u00a0Here\u2019s why<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSilo,\u201d the best show on TV, is back. Apple TV is worth it just for that. \u2014 Chris Branch<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday:\u00a0Travis Kelce married a singer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":745068,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-745067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745067"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745067\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}