AnalysisThe Yankees' ambition needle is moving up after they acquired Luis García Jr., another left-handed bat to join Ben Rice (pictured) in the Yankees' lineup. Sage Zipeto / Getty ImagesAug. 3, 2026 5:30 am EDT Updated The sellers’ list is growing.With the trade of Kevin Gausman to the Cubs — for a surprisingly scant return — the Blue Jays followed the Tigers’ lead down into Tier 6 as a seller. And this might appear controversial, but we’re moving the Nationals from Tier 5 to Tier 6 as well after the trade of Luis García Jr. to the Yankees. It was arguable whether Washington’s trade of Curtis Mead to the Red Sox for Connelly Early negatively affected the club’s chances of making the postseason this year. There’s no argument about the García deal: The Nats’ path to October is steeper now than it was before the move.For weeks we’ve been talking about the imbalance between buyers and sellers, with so few teams obviously out of the postseason race. But as things clarify now, more teams are leaning toward selling than we expected. We have a full 10 teams as sellers now with at least five more that could follow on Monday. By 6 p.m. ET, it could end up more of an even split than we ever thought possible.Let’s examine other, smaller shifts in the Ambition Index:
As MLB trade deadline day arrives, one last chance for teams to declare ambitions
At the outset, this trade deadline featured more buyers than sellers. That gap is narrowing as we enter the final stretch.
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