​The dust has settled on a spectacular, star-spangled All-Star week. The draft was hilarious, the Home Run Derby was compelling and while the game itself was a dud, the surrounding theatrics were brilliant. MLB’s regular season restarts in earnest on Friday, the opening salvo to what should be a rip-roaring second half.Let’s preview that second half by taking a look at some of the biggest storylines set to dominate the sport over the next few months.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOn the evening of May 31, a trade involving the back-to-back AL Cy Young seemed extremely likely. The Tigers were 14 games under .500, owners of the worst record in the American League. Skubal, a free agent at season’s end, hadn’t pitched since late April after undergoing a cutting-edge, never-before-done procedure on his left elbow. A comeback date loomed, but nobody could say how sharp the southpaw would look upon returning.But since the calendar flipped to June, Detroit has been the best team in the American League, playing to a 22-14 record that has the Tigers just 3.5 games out of a playoff spot. Skubal has looked good, though not elite, over six starts post injured list. Last week, a report from USA Today’s Bob Nightengale indicated that Skubal has no desire to get dealt and would prefer to spend the rest of 2026 as a Tiger. The standings, more than anything else, will dictate how things go. If Detroit is within striking distance of a playoff spot, it’ll hold onto Skubal. But if the Tigers stumble coming out of the break and tumble back down the standings a trade could be in play.Might be! Especially if Skubal isn’t on the move.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementJust eight teams enter the second half with single-digit playoff odds, according to FanGraphs. Two of those clubs — Washington and Cincinnati — might not operate as traditional sellers. And the remaining six teams — Athletics, Royals, Rockies, Giants, Angels and Mets — don’t have a cornucopia of impending free agents to deal away. There are obvious candidates to be moved including New York’s Freddy Peralta, San Francisco’s Luis Arraez and Anaheim’s Jorge Soler, but expect more sell-based trades than usual involving controllable players and teams in the playoff hunt.That could be somebody like Baltimore’s Trevor Rogers (impending free agent on a team currently just two games back of a postseason spot) or Colorado’s Mickey Moniak (doesn’t hit free agency until after 2027).Even though the deadline is less than three weeks away, it’s still too early to know which clubs plan on building for next year and beyond. As things currently stand, however, there might not be much movement.Shohei Ohtani’s best Cy Young Award showing happened in 2022 when he finished fourth in the voting as an Angel. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)(Harry How via Getty Images)The final infinity stone.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementStill just 32 years old, Ohtani has accomplished alm