Overview
- Major League Baseball announced the 2026 trade cutoff for Monday, Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. Eastern, the first time it has chosen the latest date permitted under the current CBA window.
- The 2022–2026 agreement authorizes MLB to place the deadline anywhere from July 28 to Aug. 3, replacing the previously fixed July 31 date.
- Setting the cutoff in the evening on a weekday reflects MLB’s preference to avoid ongoing games and reduce mid-game trades and so-called “hug watch” scenes.
- All eight games on Aug. 3 are scheduled to begin at 6:40 p.m. ET or later, aligning the deadline with a clean pregame window.
- The later date gives clubs additional negotiation time compared with some recent seasons, following deadlines of July 31 (2025), July 30 (2024), Aug. 1 (2023), Aug. 2 (2022), and the move from a 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET cutoff after 2021.