Each MLB Team's Top Trade Chip to Unload in 2022-23 Offseason
Will the Los Angeles Angels part with hitting/pitching unicorn Shohei Ohtani to expedite an inevitable rebuilding situation?
Would the Los Angeles Dodgers trade away top pitching prospect Bobby Miller in hopes of avoiding yet another unceremonious exit from the postseason?
Those are two of the biggest names that should be available—for the right price, of course—on the trade block this offseason.
We've identified each team's top trade chip, with the only caveat being that there has to be a realistic chance of that player being traded.
Houston isn't dealing Yordan Alvarez, and no one is trading for Washington's Stephen Strasburg. But it wouldn't be a huge surprise if any of the following 30 players are on the move this offseason.
Both 10-year veterans and prospects with no MLB experience are on the table, as teams either look to solidify a championship-caliber roster or cut costs in advance of a rebuilding year.
Teams have been broken up by division and listed in alphabetical order by location.
American League East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: LHP DL Hall
We open the discussion with a great big shrug emoji. Baltimore doesn't have any pricey assets to unload, nor is it in a spot where trading away a top prospect for an established MLB commodity makes much sense. But if the O's can get something solid in exchange for their 2017 first-round draft pick, it's worth exploring.
Hall has been a top-100 overall prospect according to both MLB.com and Baseball America heading into each of the past four seasons, but he missed all of 2020 (pandemic) and most of 2021 (elbow injury) and was hit or miss this season, ending up with a 4.68 ERA across all levels in 2022. He was impressive in a relief role over the final month in Baltimore, though, and could possibly be flipped for a solid DH.
Boston Red Sox: 2B/SS Trevor Story
Boston is in somewhat of a holding pattern, with three players (Xander Bogaerts, Chris Sale and Eric Hosmer) in possession of player options for 2023, Tommy Pham on a mutual option and James Paxton . As such, it's hard to say what the Red Sox are even going to try to do this offseason.
What we do know, however, is Story's price tag for the next half-decade. He's headed for $20 million in 2023, $22.5 million in each of 2024-25 and $25 million in 2026 and 2027, with a possible club option for $25 million in 2028.
And in an offseason where Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Xander Bogaerts could fetch north of $30 million per year, Story is almost a budget option for the teams willing to invest nine figures in a middle infielder.
Perhaps Boston could unload Story for some MLB-ready prospects and salary relief, re-sign Bogaerts and extend Rafael Devers. That'd be a home run of an offseason swing.
New York Yankees: 3B Josh Donaldson
This is purely a "salary dump to make room in the budget for Aaron Judge's massive contract" type of trade chip—if New York can find someone willing to pay $21 million for a soon-to-be 37-year-old third baseman.
Despite hitting .222 with a modest 15 home runs, Donaldson did still provide good value this season. And it's slim pickings this year as far as free-agent third basemen go. He could be a good fit in Texas or Detroit, both of whom got next to nothing from third base in 2022.
Tampa Bay Rays: SS Carson Williams
A first-round draft pick in 2021, Williams had 19 home runs, 28 stolen bases and 10 triples this season with Single-A Charleston. It might be another two-to-three years before he's ready for the big leagues, but he's a promising prospect with 25 HR/40 SB potential.
But with shortstop Wander Franco under contract for literally another decade, maybe Tampa Bay could do what it did with its 2018 first-round pick, Matthew Liberatore. After a respectable year of Single-A ball, the Rays shipped him to St. Louis in January 2020 and ended up with Randy Arozarena.
Toronto Blue Jays: 2B/OF Whit Merrifield
In 44 games played after coming over from Kansas City at the trade deadline, Merrifield gave the Blue Jays a .281 batting average with five home runs.
Not spectacular, but much better than he was faring with the Royals. Most importantly, for our purposes today, maybe it was enough to convince a team like the White Sox that Merrifield still has at least one good year left in him and could be their everyday second baseman in 2023.
We'll get to Chicago's top trade chip in just a second, but let's just say Toronto wouldn't mind trading Merrifield for a reliable middle reliever.
American League Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: RHP Kendall Graveman
Graveman doesn't have a ton of experience as a closer. In fact, he was a starting pitcher until 2020. But he did save 16 games with a 2.53 ERA over the past two seasons and could be ready to step out of Liam Hendriks' shadow and into a full-time ninth-inning gig.
With Edwin Díaz, Kenley Jansen, Aroldis Chapman and Craig Kimbrel among the list of relievers hitting free agency this season, there are certainly openings for closers. And at just $8 million for each of the next two seasons, Graveman could be a fantastic, not-that-expensive alternative.
To be clear, the White Sox will be in no rush to part with their set-up man. But it wouldn't be a surprise if one of the Los Angeles teams or one of the New York teams shows a lot of interest here.
Cleveland Guardians: 2B/SS Brayan Rocchio
Most likely, the Guardians will have a quiet offseason, as their only players hitting free agency are catcher Austin Hedges and reliever Bryan Shaw.
But they do have an interesting decision to make at shortstop, with Amed Rosario one year away from free agency and 21-year-old Rocchio possibly ready for a shot in the big leagues.
If they manage to extend Rosario this offseason, Rocchio becomes expendable, as it would likely be Rosario at short, Andrés Giménez at second and José Ramírez at third for the next half-decade.
Conversely, if they think Rocchio is ready for Opening Day 2023, maybe Rosario is the big trade chip, fresh off a fantastic 2022 campaign with one year of arbitration eligibility remaining.
Detroit Tigers: SS Javier Báez
The player option in Báez's contract is brutal for the Tigers, to the point where trading him away this offseason might be their best course of action.
If he's good enough in 2023 to be worth a lot of money next offseason, the soon-to-be 30-year-old shortstop can opt out of the 2024-27 portion of the six-year, $140 million deal that he signed last offseason.
He does have a 10-team no-trade clause, but that still leaves 19 trade partners at Detroit's disposal. However, the player option may well frighten those 19 teams away.
Kansas City Royals: CF Michael A. Taylor
Taylor might be the top trade chip on this entire list due to a combination of price and positional scarcity.
To the former point, he is owed $4.5 million in 2023 before hitting free agency. For a player who was worth 5.7 bWAR over the past two seasons, that's an absolute steal.
To the latter point, Taylor has an excellent glove in center field, which is a position where the list of available free agents gets ugly in a hurry. The teams that don't get Brandon Nimmo will be left fighting over injury-prone Kevin Kiermaier, and I guess Jackie Bradley Jr. could still play center.
Should they fail to re-sign Nimmo, trading for Taylor is probably the Mets' next-best course of action. And they might be willing to flip Kansas City a legitimate prospect to make it happen.
Minnesota Twins: RHP Kenta Maeda
Maeda missed a chunk of 2021 and all of 2022 after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but he still has one year left on his incentive-heavy contract. (The baseline is $3.125 million, but there are so many escalators based on starts and innings pitched that he could make $12.625 million if he starts 32 games and logs 200 innings pitched.)
As far as its impending offseason decisions go, Minnesota is most likely going to keep Sonny Gray ($12.7 million club option) and let both Chris Archer ($10 million mutual option with a $750,000 buyout) and Dylan Bundy ($11 million club option with a $1 million option) walk. As such, there's certainly room for Maeda to return to the rotation.
But giving more starts to the likes of Bailey Ober, Joe Ryan and Devin Smeltzer would be better for the team's long-term outlook than trying to enjoy one last ride with a pitcher who turns 35 in April.
American League West
3 of 6
Houston Astros: OF Drew Gilbert
Generally speaking, recommending trading away a prospect who just got drafted in the first round a few months ago is a bad idea. However, five of the top eight guys in Houston's farm system play the outfield, and only one (2B/OF Pedro Leon) is likely to make it to the big leagues within the next two years.
Maybe Gilbert blossoms into a star rookie by 2025, but the Astros also have several other outfielders in that same boat. If it improves the team's outlook in 2023 and 2024, trading away the top OF prospect has to at least be on the table.
Los Angeles Angels: RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani
I have no idea what it will take for the Angels to give up Ohtani. I think what our Joel Reuter offered up the other day as a possible package to get him to the Dodgers was a bit outlandish, but Ohtani is an unprecedented star. Maybe some team will go bonkers and deplete its entire farm system to get him for what might only be one year (for $30 million).
But the Angels need to at least be considering the possibility of trading Ohtani, if not actively calling other teams to see what they'd be willing to give up for him. Their farm system is a disaster, and for as great as Ohtani is, he can't salvage a team that is basically himself, Mike Trout and a few role players who might never be All-Stars.
Giving up Ohtani would be painful, but the haul the Angels would get in return for him could shave a good three years off their rebuilding timeline.
Oakland Athletics: C Sean Murphy
Not much of a debate here. If you could bet on whether or not each individual MLB player will be traded this offseason, the "Yes" line on Murphy would be something like -500.
Murphy has three years of arbitration eligibility remaining and provides great value at a tough position, so he will be a highly coveted commodity. The A's have MLB-ready catchers (yes, multiple) in their farm system, and they are in the process of getting rid of everyone with any value and aren't part of the plan for 2026 and beyond.
Maybe they'll hold onto him for a little bit longer and make their move at next summer's trade deadline, but there's basically no chance he'll be on the roster 11 months from now.
Seattle Mariners: RHP Emerson Hancock
Seattle's a tough one. The Mariners plan to win it all in 2023, so they're not going to trade away anyone likely to help them this season. They also don't have much left in the farm system after all they gave up to get Luis Castillo from Cincinnati.
But maybe they would be willing to part with the No. 6 overall pick in 2020?
With Castillo, Robbie Ray, Logan Gilbert, George Kirby, Marco Gonzales, Chris Flexen and Matt Brash all under contract/team control for at least two more years, the M's shouldn't need to call up a starting pitcher any time soon. And Hancock didn't have a great 2022 with Double-A Arkansas anyway.
That isn't to say they're actively shopping him, but they'd probably at least answer the phone if someone called with an offer.
Texas Rangers: 2B/3B Justin Foscue
With $500 million committed to Corey Seager and Marcus Semien, there certainly shouldn't be an opening in the middle infield at any point in the next six seasons in Texas. Third base shouldn't be open any time soon, either, after Josh Jung got called up and clubbed five home runs in September.
As such, Texas could afford to part with its 2020 first-round pick, who could make a real impact at either second base or third base for several teams as early as 2023.
The Rangers would need to be getting back a solid No. 2 or No. 3 starter in order to consider it, but as we'll get to momentarily, Miami could fit the bill there.
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National League East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: C Travis d'Arnaud
Atlanta would love to get rid of Marcell Ozuna and the two years and $33 million left on his contract, but would anyone be willing to take him?
The more likely bit of cost-cutting that the Braves could do to help in their quest to re-sign Dansby Swanson would be parting with d'Arnaud, who was named an All-Star this season for the first time in his career and who is owed $8 million in 2023 with an $8 million club option (no buyout) for 2024.
William Contreras would become the primary catcher, with veteran Manny Piña (who is owed $4.5 million in 2023) serving as the backup, and Atlanta could get a half-decent prospect in return for d'Arnaud to begin repopulating the depleted farm system.
Miami Marlins: RHP Pablo López
In the shadow of Sandy Alcantara's greatness, López quietly racked up 174 strikeouts with a 3.75 ERA, giving the Marlins a season about on par with what Chris Bassitt did for the Mets.
He has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining before hitting free agency, and Miami is almost overrun with capable young arms who won't become free agents until at least 2026. It just makes sense to trade him now while they can still extract maximum value.
New York Mets: 2B Jeff McNeil
McNeil had a fantastic season, leading the majors with a .326 batting average. And it didn't exactly come out of nowhere, considering he hit .319 from 2018-20.
But if the Mets wanted to do something big this offseason, they could part with McNeil—who is 30 years old with two years of arbitration eligibility remaining—and still be in good shape at second base with Luis Guillorme holding down the fort.
Alternatively, they could slide Eduardo Escobar over to second base to make room for rookie Brett Baty at third base and keep Guillorme as a utility man.
Either way, 2022's third-most valuable second baseman could be on the trade block.
Philadelphia Phillies: OF Ethan Wilson
If he played center field, I'd say hang on to the 2021 second-round pick. But as a corner outfielder for a team that has Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos all signed through at least 2025—and for a team that has higher-rated outfield prospects in Justin Crawford and Johan Rojas—Wilson is the definition of expendable.
The Phillies wouldn't get much for him, as he's not a top-100 overall prospect. But Wilson could be a key secondary piece in a larger trade.
Washington Nationals: CF Victor Robles
The Nationals have three players with two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, all of whom reasonably could be on the move this offseason.
But of Luke Voit, Erick Fedde and Robles, the center fielder with outstanding range is arguably the top trade chip.
Robles' power from 2019 (17 home runs) has completely vanished, so the team that trades for him needs to know it is doing so for a glove who will bat ninth and occasionally steal a base. But if Myles Straw could make that work in Cleveland, several teams are bound to be interested.
National League Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: LF Ian Happ
In his sixth season in the majors, Happ had 50 more hits in 2022 than he had in any previous season. Out of nowhere, he made a run at leading the majors in doubles, racking up 42 two-baggers and 61 total extra-base hits.
Are the Cubs going to extend the left fielder with one year remaining until free agency, or will they trade him away in advance of what currently looks like another rebuilding year?
If they decide to spend big on free agents and try to make a run at the postseason in 2023, let's retroactively put outfield prospect Brennen Davis here instead. He had a brutal, injury-riddled 2022 campaign in the minors, but he was once a highly-touted prospect capable of playing any of the three outfield positions.
Cincinnati Reds: IF Kyle Farmer
Cincinnati is not going to trade away any of its prospects or young MLB stars, and it's probably not going to be able to get anything in return for the big salaries of Joey Votto and Mike Moustakas.
So, Farmer? Yeah?
Farmer has 30 home runs with a .259 batting average since the start of 2021, playing primarily shortstop or third base. He's 32 and won't be a highly coveted asset, but he should be relatively inexpensive (arbitration-eligible) and serviceable at a better-than-replacement level in both 2023 and 2024.
Milwaukee Brewers: RHP Brandon Woodruff
The Brewers are in a rough spot with most of their key players hitting free agency either after 2023 or after 2024 and with nowhere near enough money to re-sign all of them. Whether it's this offseason or next, they will need to get creative/desperate if they want to remain competitive in the NL Central in 2024 and beyond.
Trading away either Woodruff or Corbin Burnes this offseason just might be their saving grace.
Woodruff turns 30 in February, has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and has a 2.84 ERA dating back to the start of 2020. Milwaukee reasonably could get for him a good bit more than what Cincinnati got for trading 1.5 years of Luis Castillo to Seattle at this year's trade deadline.
Pittsburgh Pirates: CF Bryan Reynolds
How close was Pittsburgh to actually parting with Reynolds at the deadline?
It seemed absurd that the Pirates would be willing to part with one of their best players who was, at that time, still under team control for three-and-a-half seasons. But if they don't feel they'll be able to eventually sign him to a long-term deal, better off trading him now than waiting another year or two, right?
As previously mentioned in regard to Michael A. Taylor, it's a rough year to be a team looking for a center fielder. If the Pirates do make Reynolds available, the Phillies, Mets, Red Sox and Padres would all be very interested.
St. Louis Cardinals: LF Tyler O'Neill
3B/OF extraordinaire Jordan Walker is coming. And unless Nolan Arenado opts out of the remainder of his deal, the 2020 first-round pick will play in the outfield. So, it's really just a question of which current outfielder the Cardinals are willing to part with to make room for him.
O'Neill will be a free agent after the 2024 season, while both Dylan Carlson and Lars Nootbaar are under team control through at least 2026, so he makes the most sense. However, St. Louis isn't going to just give away a guy who hit .286 with 34 home runs one year ago. They need to find a trade partner willing to believe that O'Neill will reharness that MVP-caliber form in 2023 and 2024.
Because if they don't get a great return for O'Neill, they'll be happy to just roll into 2023 with O'Neill, Carlson, Nootbaar and Walker as the quartet primarily responsible for the outfield and the DH spot.
National League West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: LHP Blake Walston
If the Diamondbacks don't expect to contend this season, 1B Christian Walker is easily their top trade chip. He hit a career-high 36 home runs this season and is a well-deserved finalist for a Gold Glove. He has two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and would be—by no small margin—the best first baseman on the trade block.
But they could be a contender in 2023, so trading away one of their best pitching prospects is something they should be willing to do if it helps plug any holes.
Walston was Arizona's first-round pick in 2019, but he had a 5.16 ERA in 21 starts at the Double-A level this season. There's still potential there, but it's highly unlikely he will get the call to the big leagues this coming season.
Colorado Rockies: 1B C.J. Cron
The Rockies really should have traded Cron away ahead of the August 2 deadline. He was nearly on pace for 40 home runs in late July and would have been a major name on the trade block with one more year for $7.25 million left on his contract.
But better late than never. The Rockies could still extract a decent amount of value for this powerful first baseman. And unless they're delusional enough to think that they'll contend for a playoff berth in 2023, they might as well part with Cron a year before he hits free agency.
Los Angeles Dodgers: RHP Bobby Miller
Whether the Dodgers would actually trade their prized pitching prospect remains to be seen, but Miller is undeniably a huge trade chip to consider utilizing.
It would have to be a major return for them to move him, but we've seen it before.
The Dodgers gave up top prospects Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner in 2021 and sent Jeter Downs and Alex Verdugo to get Mookie Betts and David Price in 2020.
They would probably give up Miller (and perhaps others) if it meant getting Shohei Ohtani or maybe someone like Sandy Alcantara or Corbin Burnes, all of whom could help them win it all in 2023.
San Diego Padres: LHP Josh Hader
If I were the Padres, I wouldn't dream of trading away Hader. When he's on, he's the best in the business. And we've seen in this postseason how unhittable and how impactful he can be.
But...
Hader will hit free agency after the 2023 season, and re-signing him—with Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and others also hitting free agency and with so much money tied up in Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove, Fernando Tatis Jr. and, eventually, Juan Soto—probably isn't in the cards.
They could trade him away this offseason and easily get back more than they gave up to get him a few months ago.
San Francisco Giants: 3B/1B/DH J.D. Davis
After a miserable first half of the season with the Mets, Davis turned a corner with the Giants, batting .263 with eight home runs over his final 49 games played.
They could hang onto the 29-year-old corner infielder for another two seasons, or they could try to sell high on a guy who looked like his old 2019 self again after a much-needed change of scenery and a return to regular playing time.
Of course, if they don't bring back Evan Longoria for another season, the Giants almost have to hang onto Davis just to have both a first baseman and a third baseman on the roster. If that's the case, Alex Wood could be a trade chip for a team that might need to embrace a rebuilding year or two.
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