MLB Players Who Should Be on the Block at 2022 Trade Deadline
Major League Baseball's Aug. 2 trade deadline is inching ever closer, and some guys already seem as good as gone from their current teams. Suffice it to say that the next rumors about Frankie Montas, Luis Castillo and Willson Contreras will be neither the first nor the last.
But rather than talk more about the usual suspects, we figured it would be more fun to speculate on 10 unusual suspects who could and indeed should find their way to market.
To be clear, there may not be any reporting to suggest any of these guys are likely trade candidates. We nonetheless picked them because we wanted to make the case that each of them ought to be. Some need changes of scenery. Others are sell-high types. Et cetera.
Let's count them down in order of how shocking it would be if they got moved, from least to most.
RHP Jorge Lopez, Baltimore Orioles
1 of 10
2022 Stats: 28 G, 21 GF, 33.0 IP, 15 H (0 HR), 34 K, 13 BB, 0.82 ERA
The Baltimore Orioles have at least two good reasons for why they shouldn't trade Jorge Lopez: He's under their control through 2024 and, oh yeah, really good at his new job.
While the 29-year-old was previously a middling starter with a good but unspectacular fastball, he's dominating in relief, largely because that fastball is playing way up in shorter stints.
The catch, of course, is that the O's are tracking toward finishing in last place in the American League East for the fifth time in six seasons. Clearly, they have more rebuilding to do.
With ace lefty John Means gone for the year after having Tommy John surgery and center fielder Cedric Mullins struggling to recapture last year's All-Star form, Lopez might be Baltimore's most valuable trade chip. Speculatively, he could bring back a multiplayer package with at least one top-100 prospect.
Lest anyone think a Lopez trade would render the Orioles closer-less for the long haul, Felix Bautista also exists, and his stuff is absolutely closer-caliber.
1B Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks
2 of 10
2022 Stats: 64 G, 259 PA, 16 HR, 0 SB, .198 AVG, .297 OBP, .463 SLG
Kudos to the Arizona Diamondbacks for not being as terrible in 2022 as they were in 2021. Rather than 110 losses, they're on pace for around 90.
Alas, this would make them an afterthought in any division, but especially so in a National League West run by three World Series contenders. Arizona's farm system is likewise flimsy, checking in at No. 20 in MLB in our most recent rankings.
Between Merrill Kelly, Zach Davies, Madison Bumgarner and even Zac Gallen, the D-backs have some quality pitchers to dangle on the summer market. However, less has been said about Christian Walker as a potential trade chip.
He's nearly matched the 17 home runs he hit across 2020 and 2021. His average and on-base percentage have less appeal, sure, but his metrics suggest he's underachieving in a big way. His .410 xwOBA, for instance, ranks 13th among all hitters.
Though Walker is under Arizona's control for two more seasons after 2022, he's also 31 years old. That makes him a little old to be a building block, which in turn makes him a prime candidate for a sell-high trade.
1B C.J. Cron, Colorado Rockies
3 of 10
2022 Stats: 65 G, 278 PA, 16 HR, 0 SB, .291 AVG, .339 OBP, .551 SLG
Speaking of slugging first basemen whose talents are going to waste on NL West afterthoughts, the Colorado Rockies should think about cashing in C.J. Cron.
They might not have anticipated this thought when they extended Cron last October. For that matter, they'd probably prefer to trade neither him nor any of the other four guys they signed to extensions last offseason.
As his deal only runs through 2023, Cron is nonetheless the most tradeable of the bunch. That's without even getting into his production, which is tracking even better than that of his 2021 season. His OPS+ is up a tick from 130 to 135 and he's more than halfway to last year's 28 home runs.
The question is whether the 32-year-old is a Coors Field creation. In his two seasons with the Rockies, he bears a 1.077 OPS at home and a .709 OPS on the road. You know, the standard Denver-elsewhere split.
Yet between Matt Holliday in the distant past and DJ LeMahieu, Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story more recently, enough former Rockies have done just fine without the benefits of thin air and huge outfield alleys. Cron should be next to get that chance.
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RHP Dinelson Lamet, San Diego Padres
4 of 10
2022 Stats: 10 G, 3 GF, 8.1 IP, 10 H (2 HR), 10 K, 7 BB, 9.72 ERA
At the other end of the spectrum in the NL West, the San Diego Padres have risen from the ashes of their 2021 season to claim first place in the division.
Not bad, considering the team's offense has gotten a lot from Manny Machado and relatively little from anyone else. Especially with Fernando Tatis Jr. nowhere near ready to return from his broken left wrist, adding a hitter needs to be a trade priority for San Diego.
Though he doesn't have enough value to land a big bopper, Dinelson Lamet might be swapped for an upside play.
Only two years ago, Lamet finished fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting. He was then largely absent from San Diego's 2021 season because of forearm issues, and the 29-year-old's dreadfully slow start to this year earned him a demotion in May.
Lamet was hitting 97 mph, though, so his arm still has an electrical current. What he was missing was his typically outstanding slider. Whether it's in relief or back in a starting role, any team that could help him find it again stands to reap huge benefits.
1B/2B Keston Hiura, Milwaukee Brewers
5 of 10
2022 Stats: 32G, 103 PA, 6 HR, 2 SB, .205 AVG, .320 OBP, .420 SLG
Elsewhere on the topic of formerly promising 20-somethings who have fallen out of favor on contenders, there's Keston Hiura.
He was a revelation for the Milwaukee Brewers as a rookie in 2019, hitting 19 home runs in only 84 games. Yet strikeouts were a problem and even more so as his productivity plummeted in 2020 and 2021.
The Brewers are trying to get the right-handed swinger on track this year by using him in a platoon role against left-handers. Given his career splits, it isn't surprising that it's not working out:
- vs. RHP: .853 OPS, 33.9 K%
- vs. LHP: .562 OPS, 39.8 K%
More balanced playing time could hypothetically solve Hiura's problem. But in Rowdy Tellez, Kolten Wong and Andrew McCutchen, the Brewers have better options at first base, second base and designated hitter, respectively.
The best thing for both player and team, then, would be for the Brewers to market Hiura as a change-of-scenery candidate and see if there are any takers. Given that he's only 25 and under team control through 2025, there should be.
RHP Kyle Hendricks, Chicago Cubs
6 of 10
2022 Stats: 12 G, 12 GS, 63.2 IP, 64 H (11 HR), 43 K, 19 BB, 4.95 ERA
Sticking in the National League Central, the Chicago Cubs look ticketed for what would be their second straight trade-deadline fire sale.
Willson Contreras is sure to be their most sought-after player, and teams will also have interest in fellow pending free agents Wade Miley and David Robertson. Though he's under team control through 2023, Ian Happ is an intriguing sell-high candidate.
Kyle Hendricks, on the other hand, would seem to be a sell-low candidate. He got Cy Young Award votes as recently as 2020, but he's since made 44 starts and pitched to a 4.82 ERA.
Yet the 32-year-old—who's signed through 2023 with a vesting option for 2024—has value as an innings eater. Even as much as he's struggled over the last two seasons, he's pitched into the sixth inning more often than not.
As he's posted a 6.05 ERA since last year's trade deadline, there might be something to the notion that Hendricks' heart isn't in it as the Cubs seek to rebuild. To this extent, he's as much a change-of-scenery candidate as Hiura and Lamet.
INF/OF J.D. Davis, New York Mets
7 of 10
2022 Stats: 43 G, 145 PA, 2 HR, 1 SB, .260 AVG, .338 OBP, .370 SLG
Shifting to New York, it's a credit to the Mets that they still have a comfortable lead in the NL East even as Atlanta has charged hard at them in June.
The Mets pitching staff, however, has been about as volatile as anyone could have expected. Both Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom are on the injured list, and Tylor Megill began his second IL stint Friday after leaving his start Thursday with shoulder discomfort.
To bolster their moundstaff, the Mets could look to subtract from their 14th-ranked farm system. If they run into teams that ask for major league talent, they could offer the recently demoted Dominic Smith or, even better, J.D. Davis.
Davis, who's 29 and under club control through 2024, has put up good numbers since joining the Mets in 2019, but his everyday role has never been set in stone. This is again the case in 2022, as he's started only 33 of the club's 66 games.
It isn't just Davis' production and club control that could attract interested parties if the Mets make him available. There's also the promise that he has more to give. Like Walker, his expected results far outweigh his actual results.
OF Joey Gallo, New York Yankees
8 of 10
2022 Stats: 53 G, 186 PA, 9 HR, 1 SB, .191 AVG, .296 OBP, .383 SLG
In fairness, Joey Gallo has been better in June after slumping through April and May. He's put up a .923 OPS and four home runs, including two in one game June 9.
Yet the 28-year-old's numbers since coming over to the New York Yankees last July still elicit a cringe. He's played in 111 games and hit at .174/.300/.383, and even his Gold Glove-winning defense has been a letdown.
Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote May 30 that Gallo "consistently seems overwhelmed and defeated by the moment," and even the Yankees seem to have lost confidence in him. Manager Aaron Boone has mostly batted him ninth since May 28.
You could say all of this makes Gallo an obvious trade candidate, but you could just as easily say he's so radioactive that no team would dare to go near him. Especially not with free agency looming at the end of the year.
But hey, if ever there was a change-of-scenery candidate, right? Gallo also has at least one obvious suitor in the Padres, who tried to get him last summer and again this spring. Just sayin': A Gallo-for-Lamet swap might work.
3B Eugenio Suarez, Seattle Mariners
9 of 10
2022 Stats: 64 G, 271 PA, 12 HR, 0 SB, .237 AVG, .328 OBP, .449 SLG
Let's go back out west, where the Seattle Mariners' season started strong but has deteriorated into yet another disappointment. They've won just 18 of their last 48 games.
This puts the Mariners on track to cut their losses at the trade deadline, most likely through deals of pending free agents like Adam Frazier and, if healthy, Mitch Haniger. Otherwise, they'll probably hold on to their controllable guys and look to try again in 2023.
But dare we say they should listen if teams call after Eugenio Suarez?
We clearly do dare say that, though we grant it's not the most intuitive take. Suarez, 30, has been one of the team's most effective hitters in 2022. He's also under contract through 2024 with a team option for 2025.
It was just last year, though, that Suarez had one of the worst 30-homer seasons of all time. Between that and his likewise subpar 2020 campaign, he was essentially a replacement-level player for 202 games. Thus, it makes some sense to capitalize on his heightened value before it has a chance to plummet again.
C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
10 of 10
2022 Stats: 53 G, 221 PA, 10 HR, 0 SB, .214 AVG, .253 OBP, .429 SLG
There's no way the Kansas City Royals will trade Salvador Perez, right?
No franchise is as loyal to its veteran players, and the Royals have every reason to be especially loyal to Perez. He's the last remaining member of their World Series teams of 2014 and 2015, and he still has value as a team leader and everyday catcher.
But if the question is what should happen, well, then the Royals should trade Perez, and he should waive his 10-and-5 rights if it's a deal to a contender.
Kansas City has been loyal to a fault with some of its players, notably with Eric Hosmer and Lorenzo Cain in 2017 and Whit Merrifield more recently. Though the bigger picture is much more complicated, these are reasons why the Royals are in dire shape at the major league level (22-41 record) and down on the farm (No. 22 system).
Trading Perez, who's fresh off a 48-homer season and signed through 2025, would therefore mean the Royals don't repeat their same ol' mistakes. It would also clear the way for 23-year-old top prospect MJ Melendez, who's ready to take over behind the dish.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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