NEW YORK — Major League Baseball's contending teams accelerated trade talks on Thursday, one day before the July 31 deadline. The New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies prioritized pitching help, with front offices working to complete deals before the 6 p.m. Eastern cutoff on Friday.

The deadline has divided the league into buyers and sellers. Struggling teams, including the New York Mets, positioned veteran players and relievers as trade assets, while playoff hopefuls sought to reinforce rotations and bullpens for the stretch run. General managers acknowledged the market for controllable starting pitching remained thin and expensive.

Relief pitching drew particularly intense interest, with multiple contenders pursuing back-end bullpen arms. Starting pitchers and late-inning relievers emerged as the most sought-after commodities, given the compressed postseason race in both leagues.

Executives cautioned that prospect valuations and asking prices had slowed negotiations in the deadline's final hours. Teams weighed the cost of future talent against the immediate benefit of strengthening rosters for October, with several deals expected to be finalized only as the cutoff neared.

The deadline outcome will reshape the pennant races in the season's final two months, determining which contenders committed to a championship push and which rebuilding clubs restocked their farm systems.