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After nearly two months of Stanley Cup playoffs, we are down to two teams left. The Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers begin the final series of the season on Saturday (8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN+), with the ultimate prize in hockey on the line.

As a service to those fans who haven’t been following every shot, save and overtime thriller of the 2024 NHL postseason, here is the lapsed fan’s guide to the Stanley Cup Final — a quick primer on the conference champs, how they got here and what to look out for in the series.

Wait a second … Florida Panthers vs. Edmonton Oilers? Wasn’t this the New York Rangers‘ year?

It sure seemed like the Rangers were a team of destiny. It was the 30th anniversary of their last Stanley Cup win in 1994. They rolled through the first two rounds of the playoffs with overtime heroics. Rempe-mania was running wild! As coach Peter Laviolette admitted, from the players to the rest of the organization, “We truly believed we were going to win the Stanley Cup.”

Alas, the Rangers ran into a Panthers team in the Eastern Conference finals that smothered them defensively and drained their potent power play.

They ended up as the latest example of the Presidents’ Trophy curse: Since 1985, only eight teams that finished with the NHL’s best regular-season record went on to win the Stanley Cup. Since the NHL went to the wild-card format in 2013, no Presidents’ Trophy-winning team has reached the Stanley Cup Final.


According to maps, Edmonton, Alberta, and Sunrise, Florida, seem very far away.

Your geography is correct. According to the NHL, the Oilers and Panthers are 2,541 miles apart, the largest distance between two teams in a Stanley Cup Final. The previous record was set during the 2011 Final between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins at 2,500 miles apart.

There’s going to be a lot of time on the plane for both teams. Edmonton is a bit more used to that than Florida at this point in the postseason.

Said Edmonton’s Corey Perry of the flight to South Florida: “It was a ton of fun. I watched my show, I fell asleep, got up, watched the shows and we landed. Had a few meals in between.”

The Panthers’ plane has a card table that draws some intense games among the players. The Oilers’ plane also has a card table, but the most intense games are on the Nintendo Switch and specifically Mario Kart. Goalie Stuart Skinner revealed that he plays as Toad.

But the distance isn’t the only stark difference between the two franchise. There’s also the rats and the steaks.


Rats and steaks?

Since 1995, it’s been a tradition at Panthers home games for fans to throw plastic rats on the ice in celebration. It stems from a legendary moment when forward Scott Mellanby used his stick to exterminate a rat in the locker room before the team’s home opener that year and then used the same stick to score two goals in the game — scoring what his teammates called “a rat trick.” Florida would go on to play for the Stanley Cup that season, with fans tossing plastic rats on the ice, and the tradition has endured for decades.

In Edmonton, the beef is back. During the Oilers’ 2006 run to the Stanley Cup Final, a local DJ encouraged fans to throw slabs of meat on the ice as a response to the Detroit Red Wings‘ tradition of hurling octopi on the ice. The Oilers upset the Red Wings in the first round, and the beef tossing continued. Some steaks were seen on the ice in Edmonton during this run to the Final, continuing a juicy tradition.


What’s the big-picture view of Panthers vs. Oilers?

The Panthers are trying to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The Oilers haven’t won one since the end of their dynasty in 1990.

The Panthers are the deeper team on paper, especially on defense and in goal. But they don’t have Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, two generational talents seeking their first championship after several years of frustrating results in the playoffs.

It’s South Florida, which is finally starting to boom as a hockey market after three decades, vs. Canada, as the Oilers attempt to become the first Canadian NHL team to win the Stanley Cup since 1993.


Is Canada rallying around the Oilers to break the drought?

To put the Cup drought into perspective: Canada has seen an NBA champion (Toronto Raptors, 2019) and World Series champion (Toronto Blue Jays, 1993) since the nation last had a Stanley Cup champion.

The Canucks (twice), Oilers, Calgary Flames, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators all had their shots at breaking the drought and fell short. What we learned from all of those previous attempts: Canadians rooting for a team to win the Cup just because it’s from Canada is a myth. It’s an invention. It’s often talked about but never happens.

Think of it logically: Would a fan of the Flames, the Oilers’ in-province rival, ever want to see Edmonton win anything, especially against a team with ex-Flames star Matthew Tkachuk? Would a Canucks fan whose team lost in seven games to these Oilers suddenly cheer for them? Does anyone in Toronto want anything good to happen for any other Canadian team when the Leafs haven’t won since 1967?

Of course not. It’s silly. There’s only one team Canada rallies around to root for, and it’s the one that competes for gold medals, not the Stanley Cup.

play

2:04

Greg Wyshynski analyzes Stanley Cup Final betting markets

Greg Wyshynski looks deep into some of the biggest storylines and betting props for the Stanley Cup Final.


The Panthers used to be terrible. How did they become annual Stanley Cup finalists?

Here’s a wild fact: Coach Paul Maurice, the quippy bench boss who also coached the Panthers to the Final for the second time in their history last season, is responsible for half (25) of the franchise’s playoff wins (50). Florida used to be known for not making the playoffs, at one point qualifying only twice in an 18-year span. The Panthers have now made the playoffs in four straight seasons.

Much of the credit goes to GM Bill Zito, who arrived in 2020 and added players like Tkachuk, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe to the roster. He also hired Maurice, who has guided Florida back to the Final after losing to Vegas in five games last June.

The Panthers are just the sixth team since 1968 to play for the Stanley Cup the season after losing in the Final. The last two that did — the 2009 Penguins and the 1984 Oilers — won it all on their second try. If there’s one big narrative for the Panthers, it’s the unfinished business in trying to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.


What’s different about this version of the Panthers in the Final?

They’re healthier, for sure. Among the injuries Florida had against the Golden Knights: Defenseman Aaron Ekblad had a broken foot and two separated shoulders and Tkachuk broke his sternum before Game 3. But the Panthers are also a different team defensively. They were 21st in goals against per game in 2022-23 (3.32) but rose to first in the NHL (2.41) this season.

They used that defense — and the clutch goaltending of Sergei Bobrovsky — to defeat the rival Tampa Bay Lightning in five games; oust the Bruins in six games, in a rematch of the Panthers’ shocking first-round upset of the B’s last season; and then eliminate the Rangers in six games.

Bobrovsky is seeking his first Stanley Cup in a career that has seen him win the Vezina Trophy twice as the league’s top goalie and eliminate the regular-season’s best team three times in the playoffs. Last season, he carried the Panthers and faced a bunch of shots; this season, the defense has been better and a more rested Bobrovsky has been a solid last line of defense for Florida.

But this season, the key defensive matchup should be Aleksander Barkov, who won the Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward, taking on McDavid.


Weren’t the Oilers basically cooked early in the season?

It certainly appeared that way. Edmonton was 3-9-1 when the Oilers fired head coach Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Kris Knoblauch, who was coaching the Rangers’ AHL affiliate in Hartford. (Knoblauch was also McDavid’s junior hockey coach, and the Oilers star has denied having any influence on the coaching change.) The Oilers added Hockey Hall of Famer Paul Coffey to Knoblauch’s bench to help coach the defense.

Edmonton then turned its season around, going 46-18-5 under Knoblauch to finish second in the Pacific Division. The Oilers eliminated the Los Angeles Kings for the third straight first round (4-1) and then outlasted the Canucks in a seven-game second-round series that might have been a defining moment for them as a contender — and for their first-year coach.


How did the Vancouver series change the Oilers?

If there was a weak link for Edmonton entering the playoffs, it was goaltending. Stuart Skinner was squarely in the “just don’t lose us a series” territory.

For the first eight games of the playoffs, despite winning five of them, he was a liability: an .877 save percentage, in back of an inconsistent defense. So Knoblauch benched him for Games 4 and 5 against Vancouver in favor of journeyman Calvin Pickard, to give Skinner a reset and to give a wake-up call to the Oilers.

Skinner’s next eight games: six wins and a .919 save percentage, with Edmonton out-defending a very good Dallas Stars team in its six-game Western Conference finals win. Finally, there appeared to be a team playing championship-level hockey surrounding McDavid.


What’s so special about McDavid, anyway?

Sometimes it’s better to show than tell:

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0:42

Connor McDavid’s power-play goal opens the scoring in Game 6

Connor McDavid makes a brilliant move and backhands the puck into the net to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.

That’s McDavid against the Stars in Game 6 of the conference finals, posterizing two defenders before beating goalie Jake Oettinger. It was less than five minutes into the biggest game of McDavid’s career, with a trip to the Cup Final on the line. For anyone else, this is a career-defining highlight. For McDavid, it’s simply known as “Connor doing Connor things.”

McDavid leads all playoff scorers with 31 points in 18 playoff games. That includes 26 assists, putting him five helpers away from Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record for most assists in a single postseason (31 assists in 1988). McDavid has scored in 14 games, with nine multipoint games.

He has collected a lot of hardware during his nine-year NHL career — five scoring titles, three MVP awards — but this is his first chance to play for the Stanley Cup. And he might finally have the right team around him to win it.


What do the Oilers have beyond McDavid?

Leon Draisaitl is every bit the generational talent and franchise pillar that McDavid is. He has 28 points in 18 games, including 10 goals. There were times when it was Draisaitl who stepped up in both ends of the rink to lead the Oilers to victory during the playoffs. As magical as McDavid is, the Oilers aren’t here without Draisaitl.

Neither of the two has the goal total of Zach Hyman, although McDavid and Draisaitl have certainly contributed to it. Hyman leads the playoffs with 14 goals, after scoring 54 goals in the regular season. That puts him in range to threaten the NHL record of 19 goals in a single postseason, currently shared by Reggie Leach and Jari Kurri, the latter of whom set it as an Oiler. Speaking of range, 10 of Hyman’s goals have come from right in front of the net.

If there’s one player who leveled up to star status in the playoffs, it’s Edmonton defenseman Evan Bouchard. He’s third in the playoffs in scoring (27 points) while skating 24:33 per game alongside defensive partner Mattias Ekholm.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has 20 points in 18 games, and is notable for being the longest-serving current Oiler — 881 games, spanning nine head coaches, a few general managers and plenty of dashed hopes.

All of these players share something in common: They help run one of the most dominant power-play units in NHL history.


How good is the Edmonton power play?

The Oilers convert on over 37% of their power plays, easily the best in the NHL. McDavid acts like a point guard, distributing pucks. Draisaitl, who’s tied with McDavid with 14 power-play points, is great on one-timers. Bouchard has a booming shot from the point, and Hyman cleans up pucks in front. Knoblauch calls Nugent-Hopkins “the facilitator,” which makes this sound like a heist crew.

While the best advice in slowing the Oilers’ power play is to just not allow them to have one, the Panthers are the second-best penalty-killing team in the playoffs (88.2%), coming off a series in which they thwarted 14 of 15 power plays for the Rangers, who were also one of the NHL’s best teams with the man advantage.

Incidentally, the best penalty-killing team in the playoffs? The Oilers, at 93.9%.


What’s the key to victory for both teams?

For the Panthers, it’s to take away the time and space for McDavid and Draisaitl to operate, while not allowing them chances to score on the power play. It’s a recipe that worked against the Rangers in the conference finals, to the point where New York’s best offensive players said they were playing more conservatively out of fear of making a mistake against Florida. Then, if that fails, relying on Bobrovsky to be the last line of defense.

For the Oilers, it’s just the opposite: If they’re on the road to victory, McDavid and Draisaitl are driving the bus. Yes, they’ll need Skinner to stay strong and require contributions from other players, but at the end of the day the Stanley Cup will be won or lost on the performance of their two stars.

Whether it’s the Panthers as a franchise or McDavid and Draisaitl as generational stars, someone’s earning their first sip from the Stanley Cup this month. And that makes for a very exciting series.

play

1:09

Trivia: Think you know the Stanley Cup?

Before the Panthers’ matchup vs. the Oilers for the Stanley Cup, test your knowledge with some trivia.

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‘We’re a very dangerous team now’: What all this winning means for the Red Sox’s trade deadline plans

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'We're a very dangerous team now': What all this winning means for the Red Sox's trade deadline plans

Just over a month ago, the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a blockbuster deal that sent shockwaves through the industry. At the time of the trade, the Red Sox were just a game over .500. They went 3-7 in their first 10 games without Devers and looked to be fading out of contention.

As the team fell in the standings, rumors began to circulate that the slugging designated hitter wouldn’t be the only star traded out of Boston. But a 10-game win streak before the All-Star break has vaulted the Red Sox into the thick of the playoff race and provided some clarity about their trade deadline plans.

“Throughout the whole year, we thought we had a really good team,” assistant GM Paul Toboni told ESPN over the weekend. “We were kind of waiting for it to click. That streak reconfirmed the thought that we had a good team.”

Boston doesn’t have a lot of expiring contracts, so even without the win streak, a complete teardown was unlikely. Still, trading some of its outfield depth was a possibility. The Red Sox rank in the top 10 in OPS in right field, center field and left field thanks to Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu.

With that group helping the Red Sox hold an American League wild-card spot, the front office is likely to add pitching, according to sources familiar with their situation, while retaining the abundance of outfielders unless the club is blown away with an offer in the next 10 days.

“Having a surplus of good players isn’t a bad thing,” Toboni said. “The high-end depth is a really good thing. It’s not like we’re anxious to move away from that.”

With their outfield situation likely to be addressed in the offseason, the Red Sox have winning on their minds. A young core, highlighted by the arrival of Anthony and infielder Marcelo Mayer, has had some time to adjust to the majors, leaving the team’s veterans excited about the coming months.

“These guys have been here for a few months now,” Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We’re starting to learn who we are as a group. The adjustments are being made quicker at this time of the year. It didn’t start out that way, but guys are wanting to learn and get better. You can see that in our growth this year.”

Bregman watched closely while he was out of the lineup because of a quad injury he sustained at the end of May. He has seen what winning baseball looks like during his time in Houston. It has taken the young Red Sox some time to get there.

“We’re a very dangerous team now, especially when we’re prepared and executing,” Bregman said. “We’ve played good for a while now.

“People will say this is a hot streak, but I believe this is who we are.”

As the calendar inches toward August, that’s the sentiment throughout the clubhouse, where the veterans who have been through the uncertainty of trade season are relieved to spend the next two weeks without trade chatter.

“The run we went on before the All-Star break, it was good. We needed something like that to get us back in the mix, restore some confidence,” starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “Right now, staying in the present is important, but I don’t think we have guys in this room too worried they’re going to get dealt or anything anymore.”

Two players who were brought in over the offseason might be the most relieved.

All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, who has a 1.18 ERA and 17 saves, could have been one of Boston’s most sought-after deadline trade candidates had the front office elected to deal him.

When asked about possibly being moved, the 37-year-old, who is playing for his seventh major league club, smiled as he responded through his interpreter: “The team is in good shape.”

Fellow Boston pitcher Walker Buehler added: “It’s probably good timing to hopefully push the front office to go out and buy and help us make a run. We did our part at the end of the first half there. I want to stay here and be part of it. Don’t want to be on the wrong side of a trade.”

Though they might have done enough to convince the front office to stick with the current veterans, the Red Sox have some of their toughest work ahead of them. According to ESPN Research, they have the hardest remaining schedule for the rest of the month and sixth hardest for the rest of the season, but manager Alex Cora isn’t interested in looking at the stretch run — or what Boston’s first postseason berth since 2021 would mean.

Instead, he believes that if the players can keep attacking each day, the rest will take care of itself.

“I promised myself I’m going to stay in the moment,” Cora said. “It doesn’t do the group any good to start talking about that. We have to win games. It’s not to put pressure on the front office or ownership. It’s what we need to do for us to play in October.”

Opposing teams are asking for “outrageous returns” for pitching, according to league sources, but if the asking prices become more reasonable closer to the deadline, expect the Red Sox to be involved. Until then, they are focused on riding their July momentum while navigating a tough schedule.

“Time to keep it locked in,” Giolito said. “We’ll be welcoming whatever help comes.”

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‘We’re a very dangerous team now’: What all this winning means for the Red Sox’s trade deadline plans

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'We're a very dangerous team now': What all this winning means for the Red Sox's trade deadline plans

Just over a month ago, the Boston Red Sox traded Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants in a blockbuster deal that sent shockwaves through the industry. At the time of the trade, the Red Sox were just a game over .500. They went 3-7 in their first 10 games without Devers and looked to be fading out of contention.

As the team fell in the standings, rumors began to circulate that the slugging designated hitter wouldn’t be the only star traded out of Boston. But a 10-game win streak before the All-Star break has vaulted the Red Sox into the thick of the playoff race and provided some clarity about their trade deadline plans.

“Throughout the whole year, we thought we had a really good team,” assistant GM Paul Toboni told ESPN over the weekend. “We were kind of waiting for it to click. That streak reconfirmed the thought that we had a good team.”

Boston doesn’t have a lot of expiring contracts, so even without the win streak, a complete teardown was unlikely. Still, trading some of its outfield depth was a possibility. The Red Sox rank in the top 10 in OPS in right field, center field and left field thanks to Jarren Duran, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu.

With that group helping the Red Sox hold an American League wild-card spot, the front office is likely to add pitching, according to sources familiar with their situation, while retaining the abundance of outfielders unless the club is blown away with an offer in the next 10 days.

“Having a surplus of good players isn’t a bad thing,” Toboni said. “The high-end depth is a really good thing. It’s not like we’re anxious to move away from that.”

With their outfield situation likely to be addressed in the offseason, the Red Sox have winning on their minds. A young core, highlighted by the arrival of Anthony and infielder Marcelo Mayer, has had some time to adjust to the majors, leaving the team’s veterans excited about the coming months.

“These guys have been here for a few months now,” Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman said. “We’re starting to learn who we are as a group. The adjustments are being made quicker at this time of the year. It didn’t start out that way, but guys are wanting to learn and get better. You can see that in our growth this year.”

Bregman watched closely while he was out of the lineup because of a quad injury he sustained at the end of May. He has seen what winning baseball looks like during his time in Houston. It has taken the young Red Sox some time to get there.

“We’re a very dangerous team now, especially when we’re prepared and executing,” Bregman said. “We’ve played good for a while now.

“People will say this is a hot streak, but I believe this is who we are.”

As the calendar inches toward August, that’s the sentiment throughout the clubhouse, where the veterans who have been through the uncertainty of trade season are relieved to spend the next two weeks without trade chatter.

“The run we went on before the All-Star break, it was good. We needed something like that to get us back in the mix, restore some confidence,” starting pitcher Lucas Giolito said. “Right now, staying in the present is important, but I don’t think we have guys in this room too worried they’re going to get dealt or anything anymore.”

Two players who were brought in over the offseason might be the most relieved.

All-Star closer Aroldis Chapman, who has a 1.18 ERA and 17 saves, could have been one of Boston’s most sought-after deadline trade candidates had the front office elected to deal him.

When asked about possibly being moved, the 37-year-old, who is playing for his seventh major league club, smiled as he responded through his interpreter: “The team is in good shape.”

Fellow Boston pitcher Walker Buehler added: “It’s probably good timing to hopefully push the front office to go out and buy and help us make a run. We did our part at the end of the first half there. I want to stay here and be part of it. Don’t want to be on the wrong side of a trade.”

Though they might have done enough to convince the front office to stick with the current veterans, the Red Sox have some of their toughest work ahead of them. According to ESPN Research, they have the hardest remaining schedule for the rest of the month and sixth hardest for the rest of the season, but manager Alex Cora isn’t interested in looking at the stretch run — or what Boston’s first postseason berth since 2021 would mean.

Instead, he believes that if the players can keep attacking each day, the rest will take care of itself.

“I promised myself I’m going to stay in the moment,” Cora said. “It doesn’t do the group any good to start talking about that. We have to win games. It’s not to put pressure on the front office or ownership. It’s what we need to do for us to play in October.”

Opposing teams are asking for “outrageous returns” for pitching, according to league sources, but if the asking prices become more reasonable closer to the deadline, expect the Red Sox to be involved. Until then, they are focused on riding their July momentum while navigating a tough schedule.

“Time to keep it locked in,” Giolito said. “We’ll be welcoming whatever help comes.”

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Let the deals begin! MLB trade deadline updates: Latest rumors and analysis

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Let the deals begin! MLB trade deadline updates: Latest rumors and analysis

The 2025 MLB trade deadline is just around the corner, with contending teams deciding what they need to add before 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 31.

Could Jarren Duran be on the move from the Boston Red Sox? Will the Arizona Diamondbacks deal Eugenio Suarez and Zac Gallen to contenders? And who among the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Phillies will go all-in to boost their 2024 World Series hopes?

Whether your favorite club is looking to add or deal away — or stands somewhere in between — here’s the freshest intel we’re hearing, reaction to completed deals and what to know for every team as trade season unfolds.

More: Top 50 trade candidates | Passan: Contender plans | Trades for every team

Jump to …: Trending names | Latest intel


MLB trade deadline trending names

1. Eugenio Suarez: The Arizona Diamondbacks star is No. 1 in our updated MLB trade deadline candidate rankings and could be the most impactful player to move this month. On pace to hit more than 50 home runs, the 2025 All-Star is on the wish list of every contender in need of third-base help.

2. Sandy Alcantara: The 2022 Cy Young winner is an intriguing option in a deadline with a dearth of impact starting pitching available. His ERA is over 7.00 for the Miami Marlins this season, but some contenders believe he could regain form in a new home.

3. Jhoan Duran: This deadline is suddenly teeming with high-end relievers who will at the very least be in the rumor mill during the coming days. If the Minnesota Twins opt to move their closer — and his devastating splinker — Duran might be the best of the bunch.


MLB trade deadline buzz

July 22 updates

Why the 2022 Cy Young winner isn’t the most in-demand Marlins starter: Edward Cabrera has become more coveted than Sandy Alcantara, who teams believe might take an offseason to fix. Alcantara’s strikeout-to-walk ratio is scary low — just 1.9 — and his ERA is 7.14. Cabrera, on the other hand, is striking out more than a batter per inning and his ERA sits at 3.61. The 27-year-old right-hander will come at a heavy cost for opposing teams. — Jesse Rogers


How Kansas City is approaching the trade deadline: The Royals have signaled a willingness to trade, but with an eye toward competing again next year — meaning they aren’t willing to part with the core of their pitching staff. Other teams say Kansas City is (unsurprisingly) looking to upgrade its future offense in whatever it does.

Right-handed starter Seth Lugo will be the most-watched Royal before the deadline, since he holds a $15 million player option for 2026 “that you’d assume he’s going to turn down,” said one rival staffer. That’ll make it more difficult for other teams to place a trade value on him: The Royals could want to market him as more than a mere rental, while other teams figure he’ll go into free agency in the fall when he turns down his option. — Buster Olney


What the Dodgers need at the deadline: The Dodgers’ offense has been a source of consternation lately, with Max Muncy out, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman slumping, and key hitters tasked with lengthening out the lineup — Teoscar Hernandez, Tommy Edman amd Michael Conforto — also struggling.

But the Dodgers’ focus ahead of the deadline is still clearly the bullpen, specifically a high-leverage, right-handed reliever. Dodgers relievers lead the major leagues in innings pitched by a wide margin. Blake Treinen will be back soon, and Michael Kopech and Brusdar Graterol are expected to join him later in the season. But the Dodgers need at least one other trusted arm late in games.

It’s a stunning development, considering they returned the core of a bullpen that played a big role in last year’s championship run, then added Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates in free agency. But Scott and Yates have had their struggles, and there are enough injury concerns with several others that it’s a need. — Alden Gonzalez


Which D-backs starter is most coveted? The Diamondbacks are getting as many calls — if not more — about Zac Gallen as they are for Merrill Kelly even though the latter starting pitcher is having the better season. Teams interested in adding to their rotations still have more faith in the 29-year-old Gallen than the 36-year-old Kelly. — Rogers


Who are the White Sox looking to deal? Chicago’s Adrian Houser seems likely to move, as a second-tier starter who has performed well this season. The 32-year-old right-hander was released by the Rangers in May but has been very effective since joining the White Sox rotation, giving up only two homers in 57⅔ innings and generating an ERA+ of 226. Nobody is taking those numbers at face value, but evaluators do view him as a market option. The White Sox also have some relievers worth considering.

But it seems unlikely that Luis Robert Jr. — once projected as a centerpiece of this deadline — will be dealt, unless a team makes a big bet on a player who has either underperformed or been hurt this year. The White Sox could continue to wait on Robert’s talent to manifest and his trade value to be restored by picking up his $20 million option for next year, which is hardly out of the question for a team with little future payroll obligation. — Olney


Why Rockies infielder could be popular deadline option: Colorado’s Ryan McMahon is the consolation prize for teams that miss out on Eugenio Suarez — if he’s traded at all. The Cubs could have interest and would pair him with Matt Shaw as a lefty/righty combo at third base. — Rogers


Does San Diego have enough to offer to make a big deal? The Padres have multiple needs ahead of the trade deadline — a left fielder, a catcher, a back-end starter. How adequately they can address them remains to be seen. The upper levels of their farm system have thinned out in recent years, and their budget might be tight.

The Padres dipped under MLB’s luxury-tax threshold this year, resetting the penalties. But FanGraphs projects their competitive balance tax payroll to finish at $263 million this year, easily clearing the 2025 threshold and just barely putting them into the second tier, triggering a 12% surcharge.

Padres general manager A.J. Preller might have to get creative in order to address his needs. One way he can do that is by buying and selling simultaneously. The Padres have several high-profile players who can hit the market this offseason — Dylan Cease, Michael King, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez — and a few others who can hit the open market after 2026. Don’t be surprised to see Preller leverage at least one of those players, and their salaries, to help fill multiple needs. — Gonzalez


Which Orioles could be on the move? Not surprisingly, Baltimore is perceived as a dealer and is expected by other teams to move center fielder Cedric Mullins, first baseman/designate hitter Ryan O’Hearn and some relievers. — Olney

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