The MLB trade deadline is supposed to be a time of possibility, a checkpoint when stars can flip teams’ fortunes in one fell swoop. But here’s a hard truth to hear as MLB approaches this season's Friday cutoff: The playoff race is mostly over, especially in the National League. The question of who’s making October? Not much of a question.
That means that desperation is relative this week as buyers line up to bid for the best available players. As Rob Arthur explains at Baseball Prospectus, there is “much less uncertainty about the postseason field this year than in any recent season except 2018.