The 2026 MLB trade deadline is approaching, and there will be teams buying and selling – and plenty of rumors about both – before then. Here you’ll find the latest rumors, news and trades from around the league. July 15 Could the team with the best bullpen ERA in the American League trade for the National League leader in saves? The New York Yankees “love the idea” of acquiring San Diego Padres star closer Mason Miller, according to the New York Post. Miller, who’s under team control through 2029, was a 2026 All-Star, the reliever’s second such honor in what’s just the right-hander’s fourth season at the big-league level. Across 39 ⅔ innings this season, Miller sports a 0.91 ERA, an 0.78 WHIP, has totaled 72 strikeouts, 2.2 wins above replacement and a 458 ERA+; he’s 25 for 25 in save situations. He would join a Yankees’ bullpen that’s second in MLB as a whole in ERA (3.10), tied for second in WHIP (1.19) and is fourth in opponent batting average (.225). Miller was acquired by the Padres from the Athletics at the 2025 MLB trade deadline. The Yankees have possession of the No. 1 AL wild-card seed (54-42), while the Padres are three-and-a-half-games out of the third NL wild-card seed (48-48). The Astros are finalizing a trade to send Lance McCullers Jr. to the Brewers, per MLB. McCullers has a no-trade clause in his current contract, but waived it to make the move from Houston to Milwaukee. Left-handed pitcher Colton Gordon is the reported return, per the New York Post. The move is a shift for McCullers in terms of potential, as the Astros are in fourth place in the AL West, three back of the division-leading Rangers and 1.5 back of a wild-card spot thanks to a tough start to the year for Houston, while the Brewers are second in the majors in wins with 59, five games ahead of the second-place Cubs. Both teams are in contention, but the Brewers have already thrived, while Houston has been outscored by 47 runs on the season despite its proximity to a postseason appearance. McCullers has made eight starts in 2026, posting a 6.86 ERA over 39 ⅓ innings. While he has missed bats, whiffing just under 10 batters per nine, his control has suffered and he has been prone to the long ball the past two years, following two seasons away from the game recovering from multiple elbow and forearm strains, as well as a pair or surgeries. This season, McCullers has deal with shoulder inflammation that has had him on the IL since May 16. The Brewers are taking a shot on getting McCullers back in the form that made him a valuable member of the Astros’ pitching staff before the injuries, when he had the lowest home run and hit rates in the AL and signed a five-year, $85 million extension with Houston. McCullers is in the final year of that deal, which pays him a total of $17.7 million this season. Padres’ general manager A.J. Preller doesn’t have a trade deadline strategy quite yet, per MLB, as everything depends on the team’s performance before the deadline. Will the Padres be buyers or sellers is a question that will be answered by San Diego’s post-break success, or lack thereof, and that’s according to Preller himself. “We’re going to go into the process open-minded to see what’s there and see what can help our club,” Preller told MLB. “We’re going to go in open-minded about whether it’s acquiring players or looking at it if we have to go another direction. All those things are on the table.” San Diego’s offense has only recently started to perform as it was expected to, with slow starts by third baseman Manny Machado and outfielder Fernando Tatis Jr. finally being overcome, but the team is 48-48 at the All-Star break, 12.5 back in the NL West. However, the Padres are just 3.5 back of a wild-card spot, and have underperformed to get there, which makes sticking with this team and even adding to it tantalizing prospects over the next few weeks. Closer Mason Miller, who represents both sides of this particular coin, was asked during his media availability at the All-Star Game of the possibility of being traded, again, at the deadline, per The San Diego Union-Tribune. While it’s unclear if the Padres would entertain dealing the closer they spent so much to acquire last summer from the Athletics, that Miller is both as productive as he is and remains under team control – he’s in the first year of arbitration and won’t be a free agent until 2030 at the earliest – are both reasons to keep him and restock the farm system with him. July 14 Willson Contreras isn’t leaving … The Boston Red Sox first baseman revealed that he informed the front office he won’t waive his no-trade clause, per WEEI. Contreras, who’s in his first season with the Red Sox, has a club option for the 2028 MLB season as part of his five-year, $87.5 million contract and has a no-trade clause in the deal. Through 88 games this season, the 34-year-old Contreras has totaled 20 home runs, 61 RBIs, 3.5 wins above replacement and a career-high 159 OPS+, while boasting a .285/.379/.542 slash line. Contreras, who reached the second round of the 2026 Home Run Derby, is an All-Star for the fourth time in his 11-year career. While Boston is 46-48, it has won nine consecutive games and 14 of its last 16, putting it just a half-game out of the third American League wild-card seed. The Rays are looking for a serious deadline upgrade to bolster their chances in the AL East. According to multiple reports, Tampa Bay is targeting Tigers’ ace and two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal. USA Today reports that the Rays “plan to be aggressive buyers at the deadline,” with Skubal the primary target. While Skubal missed time already this season recovering from surgery to remove loose bodies in his elbow, he has made six starts with a 3.62 ERA and a 44/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio since his return. Skubal is a free agent after season’s end, and has the remainder of a record $32 million arbitration salary to be paid over the last two-plus months of the 2026 campaign. Part of the Rays’ aggressive plan at the deadline includes Diamondbacks’ second baseman Ketel Marte. Like with Skubal, though, the willingness to part with a star player depends on whether his current team is still in the race: the Tigers are 3.5 back of an AL wild-card spot, the D-backs 2.5 back, through July 13. Marte has an additional complication, in that he’s under contract through 2030, with an $11.5 million player option for 2031. There are “multiple teams” interested in acquiring Spencer Steer from the Reds, per USA Today. Steer, who plays first base, third base and the outfield, is 28 years old and batting .247/.328/.421 this season. Steer isn’t a free agent until 2029, so he’s not a rental, but instead is arbitration-eligible – his 2026 salary is $4 million. While not an impact bat, Steer has been around the league average offensively most seasons of his career and has been highly effective against lefties (.269/.356/.478) in his career. The Reds are in last place in the NL Central, 15.5 games behind the Brewers, and also eight back of a wild-card spot: just three other teams are further from the postseason at the All-Star break, and the next-closest to Cincinnati, the Nationals, is four games ahead in the wild-card standings.