MLB Trade Deadline Winners & Losers One Week Later, Dodgers Lose 8 of 9 & Has PCA Passed Ohtani for NL MVP? | 181

Welcome to Episode 181 of Tablesetters!

The trade deadline is behind us, but the baseball conversation is only getting more interesting as August starts separating the contenders from the teams beginning to run out of time.

We begin with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who have suddenly lost eight of their last nine games and 15 of their last 24. Despite sitting at 70-48 and adding Tarik Skubal at the deadline, the Dodgers have shown some legitimate cracks. We break down an offense that has fallen to a 93 wRC+ since July 1, their struggles against fastballs, the recent production from Mookie Betts, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández, and whether Edwin Díaz's 10.80 ERA and 2.50 WHIP should create real concern about the bullpen.

From there, we revisit the 2026 MLB Trade Deadline one week later. The Dodgers remain our biggest winner after landing Skubal, but San Diego, Chicago, Boston, Toronto and several others made moves that could reshape October. We also look at the teams that left us wanting more, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Texas, Milwaukee and the Yankees.

Then we get into what has become a legitimate NL MVP debate between Pete Crow-Armstrong and Shohei Ohtani. PCA has 26 home runs, 30 stolen bases, a 155 wRC+ and 8.0 WAR while providing elite defense and baserunning. Ohtani continues producing elite offense and also gave the Dodgers 85.2 innings with a 1.79 ERA before his injury. Has PCA actually done enough to take the MVP away from Ohtani?

Plus:

• George Lombard Jr. or Kaelen Culpepper: Which young shortstop ultimately has the better career? • Take a Pitch or Swing Away: Are the Red Sox the most dangerous team in the American League? • Are the Mariners and Pirates officially finished? • Who's Hot and Who's Cold around baseball • Postseason implications headline Coming Around 3rd

We close by looking ahead to a weekend that could tell us plenty about the American League playoff picture, particularly for a Seattle team sitting seven games under .500 but somehow still within striking distance of the AL West.

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