Trade deadline season typically gets baseball fans scouring the internet for any and all trade rumors involving their favorite team.
For Atlanta Braves fans this season, the motivation to look for possible deadline acquisitions is all but dead. Instead, most fans are looking at possible returns for veterans like Raisel Iglesias, Marcell Ozuna, and Pierce Johnson.
However, another exciting alternative to scratch your trade rumor itch could be looking into what Atlanta’s NL East rivals are attempting to do this July.
The Mets and Phillies are established great teams who Atlanta will certainly have to contend with in 2026, so it’s important to track what moves these teams do at the deadline to impact their future.
3 trade rumors involving the Braves’ NL East rivals that fans just have to hope won’t happen
Phillies linked to lockdown relievers
It’s clear the Philadelphia Phillies are determined to improve their bullpen at the deadline. Jordan Romano and others have struggled in the ninth inning for most of the season, and the Phillies don’t have many other glaring needs on their roster outside of centerfield.
Impact late-inning arms like Jhoan Duran, Mason Miller, and Felix Bautista have been linked to Philadelphia in recent weeks. Philadelphia acquiring someone like Miller in particular could be nightmare for the Braves as he is an elite arm who comes with years of control. The last thing any Braves fan wants to see if this offense attempting to produce a rally off Miller’s 100 mph in future ninth innings.
Mets bolster rotation by trading for Mitch Keller
Now that Paul Skenes has quickly established himself as the ace of the Pirates, his rotation mate Mitch Keller is a name that’s been on the rumor mill for quite sometime. Keller is in the midst of one of his best seasons with Pittsburgh, posting a 3.48 ERA and 3.33 FIP in 119 innings so far.
The Mets rotation has been decimated by injuries for much of the season (although it is getting healthier as of late), and adding Keller would provide some much needed depth for the backend. Keller is also on a very favorable deal as he’s owed around $18 million on average across the next three seasons.
Phillies land impact duo from Guardians
As mentioned earlier the Phillies are clearly in on bringing in bullpen help this trade deadline. MLB insider Jeff Passan floated the idea of a nightmare deal where the Phillies would not only solve their ninth problem, but their outfield problem as well.
In said deal the Phillies would acquire lights out closer Emmanuel Clase AND Steven Kwan from the Guardians. Clase has been one of the best closers in baseball for half a decade now, and is under team control through 2028 thanks to a couple club options.
Meanwhile Kwan is one of the toughest outs in the league, and would provide an immediate upgrade to the Kepler/Marsh duo next to Castellanos. On top of that Kwan has two more seasons of arbitration before he would hit free agency in 2028.
Contending with both the Phillies and Mets in 2026 is obviously the hope for Atlanta, but should either rival acquire controllable talent this deadline it’s only going to make next season that much more difficult. The Braves are going to have to do that much more this winter in order to catch up with their rivals, and hopefully Alex Anthopoulos is up to the task.
