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8 Blockbuster MLB Trades We Want to See in 2023
When is wishful thinking an appropriate perspective from which to hypothesize about potential Major League Baseball trades? Oh, basically never. Heck, definitely never.
But if nobody minds indulging us at least for a little while, we're going to do it anyway.
Ahead are eight trades that we just plain want to happen in 2023. This is not a list of predictions. It is blatantly a wish list based on what we think would be cool pairings of players and teams, though it was with some reluctance that we paused to ponder the likelihood of each deal we dreamed up.
All the same, we'll count down to the one we want to see the most.
8. Chris Sale to the Philadelphia Phillies
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Why It Would Be Cool
Say what you will about the decision to sign him to a $145 million extension in March 2019, but the initial trade that Dave Dombrowski made to bring Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox in December 2016 sure worked out.
Could he do it again this summer, this time to bring the seven-time All-Star to the Philadelphia Phillies? We obviously can't say he will, but we don't mind saying he should.
As star-studded as the Phillies may be, there's some question about whether they have a proper No. 3 starter behind Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler. Numbers from last season make the newly signed Taijuan Walker look like a regression candidate, while Ranger Suárez (forearm) and superprospect Andrew Painter (elbow) both have wounded arms.
Granted, Sale has battled plenty of his own injuries in making just 11 starts for the Red Sox since 2020. But the 33-year-old is fully healthy going into 2023. And at the risk of saying something totally meaningless, he's sure looked like his old self in spring training.
But How Likely Is It?
It seems safe to put this one in the "Maybe" file. There was trade interest in Sale this winter, so one presumes it could pick up again in more aggressive fashion if he indeed bounces back while the Red Sox fall out of the American League playoff race this season. After the offseason they had, the latter doesn't exactly seem unlikely.
7. Javier Báez to the Miami Marlins
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Why It Would Be Cool
So, recency bias. You might have heard of it. If not, here's a totally nonsanctioned definition: it's a sort of mentral trap that ensnares people who make decisions based solely on the appeal of a recent event.
Like, for example, us thinking that Javier Báez would go well on the Miami Marlins because of how well he performed in the five games he played for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, every one of which was played at loanDeport park.
But, really, can you blame us for gravitating toward any possible explanation for Javier Báez suddenly playing like Javier Báez again? He's arguably the most entertaining player in baseball when he's right, so watching him struggle in every which way during the first season of his six-year, $140 million contract with the Detroit Tigers in 2022 was the antithesis of fun.
Besides, there is a clear spot for him in Miami. The Marlins have a wide-open hole at shortstop after trading Miguel Rojas to the Los Angeles Dodgers, and they need another impact hitter to place alongside Jazz Chisholm Jr.
But How Likely Is It?
It's a reach. Báez still has a lot of value to rebuild before Scott Harris, the Tigers' new president of baseball operations, can even think about offloading his contract. And even then, the Marlins' history of cheapness makes them an unlikely absorber of it.
6. Tim Anderson to Atlanta
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Why It Would Be Cool
This idea can only begin to make sense in conjunction with doubts about Vaughn Grissom as Dansby Swanson's replacement at shortstop for Atlanta, which are getting harder to have.
Grissom made an immediate impact in the majors last year, after all, and that was after beginning the season in High-A and making the leap from Double-A. He's now hitting .323 in spring training, all while putting in work with Ron Washington to get ready to play short.
And yet, we're still talking about a 22-year-old who wasn't able to keep a grip on a starting job at second base last season. So, what if Atlanta is eventually forced to look outside the organization for a shortstop? And what if they end up looking at Tim Anderson?
He'd be a good target simply on the merits of being, you know, an annual .300 hitter who handles the spotlight with the best of 'em. To the latter end, he'd be granted access to quite a bright one if he were to end up with a team that won the World Series in 2021 and 101 games in 2022.
But How Likely Is It?
Even setting aside Grissom-related doubts, there's still the question of whether the White Sox would trade Anderson this summer. They wanted no part in such an idea this past winter. That's presumably only going to change if disaster befalls them this season, which isn't what projections portend.
5. Alexis Díaz to the New York Mets
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Why It Would Be Cool
As soon as Edwin Díaz collapsed in a heap while celebrating Puerto Rico's 5-2 victory over the Dominican Republic last Wednesday, the word "catastrophe" came quickly to mind.
It surely stayed in mind when the news subsequently came out that Díaz had torn the patellar tendon in his right knee. The cost for Puerto Rico was its best reliever for as many as three games. For the New York Mets, it was of a $102 million closer for potentially the whole season.
What are the Mets to do now? Potentially nothing, given that they have one of the best relief pitchers of the 21st century standing by to fill in for Díaz. But, just sayin', they could also try to go get the closest thing to another Edwin Díaz: his brother, Alexis.
The Díaz brothers aren't just similar in how they throw high-octane fastballs and sliders that turn legs to jelly. The two were mirror images of each other valuewise in 2022, with Alexis falling just 0.1 rWAR short of Edwin's output.
But How Likely Is It?
The idea of trading for the other Díaz brother reportedly occurred to the Mets months before Edwin's injury. The hard part would be getting the Cincinnati Reds to part with him, but that may not be impossible on account of how they're mired in a rebuild that has a long way to go still.
4. Bryan Reynolds to the Los Angeles Dodgers
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Why It Would Be Cool
If "wait, who says the Dodgers need a new center fielder?" is your question, you might be Trayce Thompson.
Klay's brother is a darn good baseball player, but he's 32 years old and his past workloads have maxed out right around 80 games and 250 plate appearances. It's thus unfair to expect him to be a rock in center field or in the Dodgers lineup, the latter of which badly needs an impact bat after the losses of Trea and Justin Turner to free agency and Gavin Lux to injury.
Which brings us to Bryan Reynolds, whose future with the Pittsburgh Pirates is hardly set in stone. He either wants to be traded or extended, and the club's history of financial responsibility rank cheapness under Bob Nutting surely makes the former more likely.
As he has a career 127 OPS+ with 51 home runs over the last two seasons, scoring Reynolds would be good enough in and of itself for the Dodgers. Further, it would be a nice bonus to be able to parade him in front of the San Francisco Giants asking, "You guys lose this?"
But Will It Happen?
Eh, we're not so sure. As much as the Dodgers could clearly use a guy like Reynolds, the Pirates' purported asking price for him is beyond prohibitive. Unless it comes down, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman might shop elsewhere.
3. Joey Votto to the Toronto Blue Jays
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Why It Would Be Cool
As this is the final guaranteed year of his 10-year, $225 million contract, this season is probably the end of the line for Joey Votto. Per what he said last April, he'd prefer to still be a Cincinnati Red when it comes.
Here's a better idea: What if Votto was a Blue Jay instead?
That whole prodigal son returning cliché? Yeah, that would apply. Votto is, after all, a Toronto native and potentially destined to join Larry Walker and Fergie Jenkins as the only Canadian-born players in the Hall of Fame. Him finishing his playing days right back where they started, then, would be danged wholesome.
And besides, the Blue Jays would be able to offer a chance that, unless they go back in time to 2010 and make a bunch of clones of Votto's MVP-winning self from that year, he's not going to get with the Reds: to win a World Series ring that has thus far eluded him.
But Will It Happen?
Maybe if Brandon Belt goes down with an injury and the Blue Jays suddenly have a need for a veteran left-handed-hitting first baseman. Which is possible! But even then, Votto would have the option of exercising his no-trade rights if he wanted to abide by his wish to retire a Red.
2. Corbin Burnes to the New York Yankees
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Why It Would Be Cool
Do the Yankees really need another ace, though? They already have Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón, who've only struck out about 12 batters per nine innings over the last two seasons.
Well, yeah, but haven't you ever heard the rule that good things come in threes? Trust us when we say it totally applies in this case.
The Yankees even already have a good reason to have Corbin Burnes in their sights, as their rotation will still be down Frankie Montas (shoulder surgery) even if Rodón returns from his elbow strain on schedule. Another starter figures to be on their midsummer shopping list, and it'll be hard to do any better than Burnes.
All he's done over the last three years is win a Cy Young Award, make two All-Star teams and pitch to a 156 ERA+ with 456 more strikeouts than walks. That trail of carnage has mostly been caused by a cutter that's the stuff of even Freddy Krueger's nightmares.
But Will It Happen?
It might! The part about the Yankees potentially needing a starter sure holds water, and it's no secret that Burnes is disgruntled after a contentious salary-arbitration process. If the Milwaukee Brewers don't recover from a 29-32 slide at the end of 2022, it's not beyond the pale to think they'll shop him around.
1. Shohei Ohtani to the San Diego Padres
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Why It Would Be Cool
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Padres are already planning to be "all-in" on Shohei Ohtani when he reaches free agency next winter. A fine idea, to be sure, and yet we ask: Why wait?
The sooner the Padres move on Ohtani, the sooner he might slide in alongside Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Fernando Tatis Jr. to form a quintet that would have even the 1927 Yankees feeling shown up. If they had been teammates in, say, 2021, they would have combined for a 144 wRC+, 168 home runs and 77 stolen bases.
This is to say nothing of the not-at-all-big deal of Ohtani also sharing a rotation with his World Baseball Classic teammate, Yu Darvish, as well as fellow aces Joe Musgrove and Blake Snell. Such a foursome would have 1971 Orioles vibes.
What could a team like this do? At the least, win the World Series for the first time in Padres history. At best, conquer the world, one dinger and strikeout at a time.
But Will It Happen?
It's highly doubtful. The Los Angeles Angels are equipped to at least be a wild-card contender. And even if they aren't, it sure seems like team owner Arte Moreno has no interest in dealing Ohtani under any circumstances. Frustrating? A little. Understandable? Totally.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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