2 teams that could buy and sell at the trade deadline this summer

Fastball On SI · Jul 19, 2026 16:14 · 2 min read

2 Teams That Could Buy and Sell at the Trade Deadline This Summer — Jun 22, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller (22) pumps his fist after the Padres beat the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

These two teams could take an unconventional path at the trade deadline.

The trade deadline is now just over two weeks away, and it's starting to become clear which teams will buy and which teams will sell. This year, it's a buyer's market with so few true sellers.

Instead of picking one direction though, some teams could potentially choose to buy and sell at the same time. It's rare that teams will do both, but it has happened before, and it could very well happen again at the trade deadline this summer.

Here are two teams that could potentially make moves in both directions and not resign themselves to just one path.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Cardinals came into the season looking like they would be true sellers. After all, they have three pitchers on expiring contracts: Dustin May, JoJo Romero and Ryne Stanek.

However, they are in playoff position as Sunday's slate of games begins, and they could find themselves in the market for some upgrades too.

The bullpen has been overworked, so potentially adding a starter or two to take the pressure off of the pen could be a good plan, but they could also still sell their expiring assets, as they likely won't be back in St. Louis in 2027 anyway.

But adding a few pieces that can be part of the future would help too.

San Diego Padres

Jul 12, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Mason Miller (22) celebrates after the Padres beat the Toronto Blue Jays at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, rival executives believe the Padres will buy and sell this summer, and the selling part could include closer Mason Miller. The Padres are two games under .500, but only 3 1/2 games behind the Cardinals, so there is certainly a case to be made for both sides.

They have a good team in place, but have underperformed to this point, so it might take a few upgrades to get them back on track, but they could also capitalize on the value of players like Miller and set themselves up well for the future, so it will be interesting to see what they decide to do in the coming weeks.

Miller is a pitcher that a lot of teams are going to have their eyes on, but the Padres aren't exactly in a position to throw away the season by purely selling.

The chances of them catching the Los Angeles Dodgers are slim, but they can still gain ground in the wild card race. We'll see if they can turn things around with the deadline approaching.