Fresh Trade Packages for MLB's Top Rumored Targets
Dr. Frankenstein has his laboratory, and we have ours. The only difference is that ours is strictly for cooking up trade proposals during times when there's not a whole lot happening with Major League Baseball's news cycle.
In other words, right now.
Our latest round of tinkering yielded seven trade proposals—of a purely theoretical and speculative nature, mind you—concerning players who remain attractive trade targets even as spring training draws near. It was all about looking for fits for them and then thinking of ways a deal could actually come to fruition.
Because nobody ever pitches a trade proposal with 100 percent confidence, we also sought to interrogate the practicality of each proposal with a good, ol' "Who Says No?" section.
In any case, we'll check these deals off in ascending order of plausibility.
7. Ha-Seong Kim to Atlanta
1 of 7
The Proposal: Atlanta gets SS Ha-Seong Kim, LHP Adrian Morejon; San Diego Padres get RHP Ian Anderson
Atlanta is on track to have Vaughn Grissom and Orlando Arcia compete for the club's starting shortstop gig in spring training. It's not an ideal scenario, as Grissom is unproven at short and Arcia hasn't played the position regularly since 2020.
Meanwhile, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported in December that the Padres could be open to moving Kim or center fielder Trent Grisham for a starting pitcher. Kim seems like the more logical choice to go in our eyes, as it just seems like a waste to play him at second base after he was a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop last season.
A swap of Kim for Anderson, who fell out of favor with Atlanta in 2022, would be reasonably fair talent-wise, but less so the extent that Kim is signed through 2024 while Anderson is controlled through 2026. Thus, Morejon would also go to Atlanta to balance things out.
Who Says No?
Whether two top-tier National League contenders would do this kind of trade with one another is suspect enough. And Atlanta's end is perhaps especially suspect, as they need Anderson for depth and Grissom has upside that simply can't be ignored.
The 22-year-old may have hit a wall at the end of last season, but before that he'd had tons of helium after starting the season at High-A, moving to Double-A and then skipping past Triple-A to the majors, where he was hitting .347 after 26 games.
6. Edward Cabrera to the St. Louis Cardinals
2 of 7
The Proposal: St. Louis Cardinals get RHP Edward Cabrera; Miami Marlins get LF Tyler O'Neill, SS Paul DeJong, OF Alec Burleson, SS Masyn Winn, RHP Gordon Graceffo
According to a January report from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Cardinals and Marlins have had talks about the latter's starting pitchers. This was notably before the Marlins dealt Pablo López to Minnesota, but let's assume the door remains open by way of Miami's still-dire need for offensive help.
That's where O'Neill, DeJong and Burleson would come in. The first two have upside as 30-homer sluggers who play Gold Glove-caliber defense, while Burleson had a .905 OPS at Triple-A last year. He's one of St. Louis' five best prospects, as are Winn and Graceffo.
In Cabrera, the Cardinals would get a pitcher with six more years of club control and, as denoted by electric stuff and results that included a 3.01 ERA in 14 major-league starts in 2022, huge upside. Their rotation needs a guy like that, especially with four members of it ticketed for free agency this coming winter.
Who Says No?
It's indeed quite a leap to assume the Marlins would trade another starter even after moving López, and then there's the question of whether St. Louis would make this trade.
Cabrera is certainly talented, but he hasn't proven to have the kind of durability the Cardinals need to paper over the age-related question mark attached to Adam Wainwright and the injury-related ones attached to Jack Flaherty and Steven Matz.
5. Max Kepler to the Boston Red Sox
3 of 7
The Proposal: Boston Red Sox get RF/CF Max Kepler, cash; Minnesota Twins get 1B Bobby Dalbec, RHP Tanner Houck
Aaron Gleeman and Dan Hayes of The Athletic first reported on Kepler drawing trade interest back in December, and he would now seem to be even more expendable following Minnesota's deal for Gold Glove-winning outfielder Michael A. Taylor.
Though the Red Sox haven't been linked to Kepler, they need another hitter and specifically another outfielder now that Enrique Hernández is slated to play shortstop in place of the injured Trevor Story. Kepler could platoon with Adam Duvall in center while also occasionally patrolling Fenway Park's big right field, and Boston could bank on the shift ban boosting his offensive consistency.
In return, the Twins would get a right-handed slugger in Dalbec who would be a candidate for at-bats at first base and designated hitter. In Houck, they'd get a wild-card hurler who's shown potential as both a starter (3.22 ERA) and a reliever (2.68 ERA).
Who Says No?
Because they would otherwise be the ones who benefit if the shift ban helps Kepler, the Twins have at least one good excuse to pass on trading him altogether.
This concept isn't foolproof for Boston, either. That has a lot to do with Houck, who isn't decidedly expendable just because he doesn't have a defined role going into 2023. With neither the rotation nor the bullpen clad in iron, the Red Sox could eventually be justified in keeping him around as insurance for both units.
4. Brendan Rodgers to the Chicago White Sox
4 of 7
The Proposal: Chicago White Sox get 2B Brendan Rodgers; Colorado Rockies get LHP Garrett Crochet, 3B Bryan Ramos
The White Sox project to get the least WAR of any team out of second base in 2023, so it suffices to say the position is in need of an upgrade. Kansas City Royals infielder Nicky Lopez interests them, according to Rosenthal, but they can aim higher.
Rodgers, meanwhile, was reportedly involved in trade discussions between the Rockies and Miami Marlins. Nothing came of those, yet he still looms large on the trade market not just because of his Gold Glove-winning defense, but also underlying metrics that hint at a higher offensive ceiling than the one he's reached so far.
In this deal, the Rockies would be swapping three years of Rodgers for four years of Crochet and as many as seven of Ramos. The former's high-velocity, relatively low-spin fastball fits with what the Rockies look for in pitchers, while the latter's power makes him a compelling long-term upside play.
Who Says No?
Probably the Rockies.
Given their history of loyalty toward their own guys, they're probably as likely to extend Rodgers as to trade him. And even if they do trade him, it would presumably be for something more bankable than a bat-first prospect and a left-hander who, while definitely talented, is unproven as a starter and coming back from Tommy John surgery to boot.
3. Jorge Mateo to the Los Angeles Angels
5 of 7
The Proposal: Los Angeles Angels gets SS Jorge Mateo; Baltimore Orioles get LF/RF Jo Adell
Rosenthal reported in December that the Orioles were receiving trade interest regarding Mateo, and it makes sense for teams to keep trying as long as he's slated to back up super-prospect Gunnar Henderson at shortstop.
Adell was a super-prospect in his own right not too long ago, largely by way of his truly prodigious raw power. But the 23-year-old now finds himself in roster limbo with the Angels. That's largely of his own making, as he hit just .215 and struck out 194 times in 161 games with the big club.
A one-for-one swap would give the Angels a speedy defensive-wiz shortstop with club control through 2025, while the Orioles would be getting a big-time lottery ticket whose club control runs all the way through 2027.
Who Says No?
Potentially both teams, as the Angels would be selling low on Adell and the Orioles would be risking a self-inflicted shot to the foot ahead of a season in which they'll look to build on last year's 83-win breakout.
Mateo may look superfluous on paper, but he'll be needed back at short if either Henderson or Ramón Urías can't hack it in starting roles...which seems possible, given that neither is proven as a sure thing. And as Mateo himself can vouch, Oriole Park at Camden Yards' new dimensions wouldn't exactly be accommodating to Adell's right-handed power.
2. Gleyber Torres to the Milwaukee Brewers
6 of 7
The Proposal: Milwaukee Brewers get 2B Gleyber Torres; New York Yankees get RHP Adrian Houser, OF Joey Wiemer
As Rosenthal wrote in January, the Yankees would "almost certainly" prefer to clear up their infield logjam by trading Josh Donaldson. It's Torres, though, who is "probably of greater interest" to other teams.
The Brewers should be interested in Torres, because as much as their defense is looking solid heading into 2023, their offense needs another bat. By hitting 24 home runs, Torres reestablished in 2022 that he has a good one. Plus, he's still only 26 and under team control through 2025.
Houser would be a much-needed piece of rotation depth in New York, though his trusty sinker could potentially make him much more than that. Yet arguably the real get here would be Wiemer. At 6'5", 215 pounds, he's a big dude with big power. The Yankees seem to like hitters with that profile.
Who Says No?
Given how high his ceiling is, one can imagine the Brewers being reluctant to trade Wiemer for anyone right now. That said, this one is probably more of a no for the Yankees.
DJ LeMahieu's presence makes Torres seems vaguely expendable on paper, but the Yankees shouldn't take anything for granted after the second half of LeMahieu's 2022 season was wrecked by a toe injury. As Frankie Montas is only due to miss the first month of 2023 with shoulder inflammation, they also don't need to be in a rush to add a starter.
1. Bryan Reynolds to the Los Angeles Dodgers
7 of 7
The Proposal: Los Angeles Dodgers get CF Bryan Reynolds; Pittsburgh Pirates get RHP Bobby Miller, RHP Ryan Pepiot, OF James Outman
Reynolds has made it clear that he wants out of Pittsburgh, but the Pirates are unsurprisingly driving a hard bargain in trade talks. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported their ask to be "[Juan] Soto-like," with Jon Morosi of MLB.com getting a little more specific:
It doesn't seem like an accident that Morosi would hint toward the Dodgers as a fit for Reynolds, who's under club control through 2025. They're slated to use Trayce Thompson as a regular in center field, which is far from optimal. He's 32, and he's never started more than 26 games in center in a season.
Reynolds would obviously solve that conundrum, and this package would outfit the Pirates with baseball's No. 21 and No. 83 prospects (Miller and Pepiot) and an outfielder (Outman) who had a .978 OPS in the high minors last season.
Who Says No?
Probably the Pirates, though not necessarily because this would be a bad haul for Reynolds.
Rather, they might assume they could do better by waiting to move him at the trade deadline, which may not be incorrect. His trade request isn't exactly helpful for their negotiating leverage right now, but that could change if he continues to play at an All-Star-caliber level and more teams find that they have deficiencies in their outfields.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
