Hey, it's Zack.
The MLB trade deadline is August 3rd.
You have read the names by now. Tarik Skubal. Aroldis Chapman. Luis Arraez. Rafael Devers. Every contender is mapping out their moves. Every seller is figuring out what they can get. The analysis is everywhere.
Let me tell you what is really going on inside those clubhouses.
I know. Because I lived it.
THE ENTRANCE
The deadline pressure does not start in late July. It builds all month. Every game feels like an audition. Every loss makes the front office math a little clearer. Are we going to turn this around or are we sellers?
And then the rumors start.
Not from your agent. Not from your general manager. From social media. From a beat reporter you have never met. From a text at eleven at night from a teammate who saw something online. You wake up and your name is in a headline next to the word trade and your day has already changed before you have had a single cup of coffee.
That is the trade deadline from the inside. And it is something every player on a selling team goes through every single July.
The 2026 deadline is shaping up to be one of the most active in recent memory. The majority of teams are still in contention or close enough to dream. That means a handful of organizations are clear sellers. The Red Sox. The Giants. The Tigers are wrestling with the biggest decision any franchise has faced at the deadline in years with Tarik Skubal. To a front office it is a transaction. To the player and the family waiting at home it is a life change.
THE DELIVERY
Let me tell you this from the player's perspective.
The clubhouse dynamic changes when your team is selling. You feel it before anyone says a word. Players on the bubble are trying to perform well enough to have trade value. Veterans who know they are being moved are mentally starting to check out even if they will never admit it. Young players who are staying are being evaluated as potential replacements. Everyone knows what is happening. Nobody talks about it directly.
I have been in those clubhouses. You can feel it the moment you walk in. The conversations are shorter. The looseness that defines a team that is going somewhere is replaced by something quieter.
Baseball is a business. On a losing team in July everyone stops pretending otherwise.
I have been traded. I know exactly what that experience feels like. There is no standard process for how you find out. In my case it was fans in the stands.
Going into the 2018 deadline, I was coming off Achilles surgery. I had not thrown many innings. The Orioles were going nowhere, and I was heading into free agency at the end of the year. I knew a trade was likely, but nobody on the inside talked to me about it. Everything I knew came from the same outside sources everyone else was reading. I had heard my name connected to a few different teams. The Red Sox. The Yankees. The Cubs. The Indians. The Dodgers. Nothing concrete. Nothing confirmed. Just the kind of noise that surrounds every player in my situation.
On top of that, reporters were texting me and reaching out on social media asking if I had heard anything. You are trying to prepare for a game, stay focused, manage your routine, all while your phone is going off with questions you cannot answer. The distractions are constant.
And then July 24th came. We were playing a doubleheader against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. During a rain delay in Game 1, I had a moment to check my phone and saw reports of a trade to the Yankees. Game 1 ended, and nobody said anything to me. I went back out for Game 2 and took my place in the bullpen like I normally would. During the game, fans were shouting to me that I had been traded to the Yankees. I assumed it must have been official, but I wasn’t certain. When a save situation came up and I didn’t get the call. That is when I knew it was real.
After the game I went back to my locker. Texts from friends and family had been flooding in. And one missed call from a number I did not recognize. I called my wife first to let her know what was going on. Then I called the unknown number back. It was Brian Cashman, the general manager of the New York Yankees.
Not long after, Orioles GM Dan Duquette came down to the training room and we spoke in person. Then came the media. By the time that was all done my teammates had cleared out. I walked into Buck Showalter's office and we sat together for a couple of hours. We talked about our time together in Baltimore. About the current season and where everything seemed to go wrong. He shared what to expect in New York. The media. The pressure. How it compared to Baltimore. I have had a lot of conversations in my career. That one stands out.
I drove home that night to a house that was already being packed up. Four year old. Two year old. My wife pregnant with our third. She did not wait for me. She never does. The next day we drove to New York together as a family. On to the next chapter.
THE SAVE
The trade deadline is one of my favorite times of the baseball season. The names. The rumors. The deals. But having been on the other side of it, I see it differently. Behind every transaction is a player and a family adapting to a new city, a new team, and a new chapter, whether they are ready for it or not. That is the part I wanted to share.
Talk soon, Z
The Save is a personal newsletter based on my own experiences, opinions, and recollections. The opinions expressed here are mine alone and do not represent any team, organization, union or employer past or present. When discussing players, contracts or organizational decisions I am sharing my perspective as a former player — not making legal or financial claims. When I share stories involving others I am telling them from my point of view. When I share tips or lessons I am sharing what worked for me. Always do your own research and consult professionals when making important decisions.
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