The players most likely to be traded before Tuesday's MLB trade deadline

Welcome to trade deadline day. We finally got a rush of action on Monday, so let's see if the momentum holds into what should be a busy day. The deadline comes at 6 p.m. ET, so that gives Padres GM A.J. Preller a few extra afternoon hours to swing a deal… or three.

Of course, much of the drama surrounds Juan Soto, the 23-year-old star for the Washington Nationals — the team with the worst record in the majors. Soto remains available, and San Diego is one of the favorites to land him, but the pressure is on Nationals GM Mike Rizzo to make the right deal, a trade that may determine the fortunes of the franchise over the next six or seven years if he can hit a home run.

As always, don't underestimate the impact of the trade deadline. Look at the deals the past World Series champions made going back to 2015:

2015 Royals: Acquired Johnny Cueto (pitched eight innings to win Game 5 of the ALDS and threw a complete-game victory in the World Series) and Ben Zobrist (hit .303/.365/.515 in the postseason)

2016 Cubs: Acquired Aroldis Chapman (2-0 with four saves in the postseason, although he did blow that lead in Game 7 of the World Series)

2017 Astros: Acquired Justin Verlander (4-1 with a 2.21 ERA in six postseason appearances)

2018 Red Sox: Acquired Nathan Eovaldi (2-1 with a 1.61 ERA over 22 1/3 playoff innings, his one loss coming in a six-inning relief appearance in that 18-inning World Series game)

2019 Nationals: Acquired Daniel Hudson (1-0 with four saves and got the final three outs in Game 7 of the World Series)

2021 Braves: Acquired Eddie Rosario (NLCS MVP), Jorge Soler (World Series MVP), Joc Pederson and Adam Duvall

Only the 2020 Dodgers didn't have to make an impact deal, so there is the strong likelihood that one of