MLB Trade Proposals to Save Players in Need of a Fresh Start
With Major League Baseball's Aug. 1 trade deadline getting closer by the day, all eyes are on Shohei Ohtani, Marcus Stroman, Lucas Giolito and other stars who could get moved.
Rather than about them, this article is about players who might still become stars with the right opportunity.
Call them change-of-scenery candidates. Or guys in need of a fresh start. Whatever your preferred semantics, things just aren't working out for these players in their current organizations and it's possible to imagine the trade deadline being their salvation.
We set out to imagine how, exactly, that might happen. What team could be willing to deal for them? And, with help as always from Baseball Trade Values, what could a trade look like?
Let's start with a couple veterans on bad contracts before moving on to former top prospects in need of playing time.
SS Javier Báez, Detroit Tigers
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Age: 30
2023 Stats (MLB): 93 G, 387 PA, 7 HR, 9 SB, .228 AVG, .264 OBP, .341 SLG
Contract Status: Year 2 of 6-Year, $140 Million Deal
The Tigers' pact with Javier Báez was always dripping with risk, but it's doubtful anyone saw this coming.
Formerly a purveyor of power and speed, Báez hasn't given the Tigers enough of either in his two seasons with them. His idea to reinvent himself as a patient hitter isn't a bad one but, well, we'll see if a Tiger can change his stripes.
On the plus side, the 10-year veteran remains an ace defender at shortstop. And whether one wants to look back at his glory days with the Chicago Cubs or even his brief stint with the New York Mets, he has a record of hitting better when the games mean something.
Trade Proposal: San Francisco Giants get SS Javier Báez and $55 million, Tigers get OF Mitch Haniger and OF Vaun Brown
The Giants know their middle infield needs a boost, with shortstop in particular needing one of the defensive variety. Between these things and the familiarity between Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris and his Giants counterpart, Farhan Zaidi, maybe there's a deal to be made here?
It's a long shot, but this proposed trade would see the Tigers save some money on Báez's deal while getting back a prospect ranked by MLB.com as the sixth-best in the Giants system. For them, at least, it's a best-case scenario.
3B Yoán Moncada, Chicago White Sox
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Age: 28
2023 Stats (MLB): 38 G, 147 PA, 3 HR, 1 SB, .232 AVG, .279 OBP, .370 SLG
Contract Status: Year 4 of 5-Year, $70 Million Deal
The White Sox will be sellers at the deadline, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, though his report notes four prominent players will be off limits.
Yoán Moncada is not one of them, which makes sense. He's been 23 percent worse than the average hitter since the start of 2022 and he's been on the injured list since June 13 with lower back inflammation. His value thus isn't in great shape.
Moncada is, however, on the comeback trail as he carries out a rehab stint in the minors. Should he continue to get healthy, it's not inconceivable that teams will view the one-time MVP vote-getter as a good enough upside play to give the White Sox a call.
Trade Proposal: Miami Marlins get 3B Yoán Moncada, White Sox get RF Avisaíl García and RHP Max Meyer
The Marlins signed Jean Segura hoping he could hack it at third base, but he's just not. Indeed, no team has gotten less rWAR out of the hot corner than the Marlins have.
A Moncada-García swap would be a wash financially, but Moncada's relative youth and upside would give the White Sox leverage to demand more. In this case, they'd get a pitcher ranked by MLB.com as Miami's best prospect even though he's recovering from Tommy John surgery.
OF Dylan Carlson, St. Louis Cardinals
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Age: 24
2023 Stats (MLB): 62 G, 212 PA, 5 HR, 3 SB, .232 AVG, .340 OBP, .359 SLG
Contract Status: Under club control through 2026
The Dylan Carlson hype train was strongest going into 2021, when he was notably ranked by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in MLB.
That looked about right as he ended up finishing third in the National League Rookie of the Year race, but since then his progression has flatlined. He's not even getting regular playing time now and he seems to understand his days with the organization could be numbered.
Reasons to be interested in Carlson are nonetheless there for other clubs. If not as a guy who still has the talent to be a star, then at least as a platoon guy. The switch-hitter has an .858 OPS from the right side for his career.
Trade Proposal: Los Angeles Dodgers get OF Dylan Carlson, Cardinals get RHP Gavin Stone
With Jake Marisnick and Trayce Thompson on the injured list and Mookie Betts needed on the infield, the Dodgers have been running out an all left-handed-hitting outfield most nights. Offensively, its production leaves something to be desired.
This is where Carlson could help, and a one-for-one swap for Stone technically works. He'd be a lottery ticket for the pitching-needy Cardinals, as B/R's Joel Reuter had him ranked as MLB's No. 69 prospect before things went awry for him in both the majors and the minors.
C Joey Bart, San Francisco Giants
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Age: 26
2023 Stats (MLB): 26 G, 84 PA, 0 HR, 0 SB, .231 AVG, .286 OBP, .295 SLG
Contract Status: Under club control through 2027
There was a time when Joey Bart was considered by MLB.com as the second-best catching prospect in baseball after Adley Rutschman.
But in 158 games in the majors, Bart has fallen flat to the tune of a 78 OPS+ and 0.9 rWAR. The Giants have moved on to Patrick Bailey, who's been quite good on both sides of the ball through his first 46 games.
Bart is still young, however, and he's on a roll highlighted by a .290 average and three homers over his last 17 games with Triple-A Sacramento. He should interest teams in need of not just a body behind the plate, but one with upside as an everyday contributor.
Trade Proposal: New York Yankees get C Joey Bart, Giants get RHP Deivi García
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported on Monday that the Yankees have their eyes on several upgrades, including at catcher. On Friday, Jose Trevino told reporters he's out for the season due to his wrist injury.
The man who drafted Bart in 2018, Brian Sabean, just so happens to work in the Yankees front office. If he were to push for a reunion with Bart, García could go back the other way as a similar upside play (i.e., former prospect turned depth piece) for the Giants bullpen.
C Sam Huff, Texas Rangers
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Age: 25
2023 Stats (MLB): 8 G, 14 PA, 0 HR, 0 SB, .167 AVG, .286 OBP, .167 SLG
Contract Status: Under club control through 2027
Elsewhere on the topic of formerly hyped catching prospects, Sam Huff appeared in MLB.com's preseason top 100s for both 2020 and 2021.
Now he's looking up on the Rangers' depth chart at Jonah Heim, who's fresh off being voted in to the All-Star Game as the American League's starting catcher. As Heim is under club control through 2026, a starting job for Huff in Texas is a ship that seems to have sailed.
Prior to being recalled Saturday to take Corey Seager's place on the Rangers roster, Huff had been keeping his value in good shape at Triple-A Round Rock. He had a .935 OPS and 14 homers through 54 games.
Trade Proposal: Tampa Bay Rays get C Sam Huff, Rangers get RHP Luis Patiño
While it's little secret that the Rays' primary needs are on the mound, it wouldn't kill them to upgrade behind the plate. Christian Bethancourt and Francisco Mejía, who suffered a sprained knee on Thursday, have produced only 0.6 rWAR.
Jon Daniels, who was running the Rangers when they drafted Huff in 2016, is now in working in the Rays front office. If we once again apply the Sabean-Bart model, a deal sending Huff to Tampa could bring back Patiño as a fallen prospect who could be useful in a relief role.
2B/SS Vaughn Grissom, Atlanta
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Age: 22
2023 Stats (MLB): 19 G, 70 PA, 0 HR, 0 SB, .277 AVG, .314 OBP, .308 SLG
Contract Status: Under club control through 2028
Vaughn Grissom seemed to come out of nowhere last year, hitting .347 through his first 26 games before running out of steam. Even still, he entered 2023 as the favorite to take over for Dansby Swanson at shortstop.
So much for that. Orlando Arcia took the job and ran with it so well that he was selected to start for the National League in the All-Star Game. And with him at short and Ozzie Albies at second base, Grissom has no daylight for playing time in Atlanta.
Like Huff, though, he's fighting the good fight down in the minors. Through 70 games with Triple-A Gwinnett, he's hitting .318 with 24 doubles and 11 stolen bases in 13 tries.
Trade Proposal: Chicago White Sox get 2B/SS Vaughn Grissom, Atlanta gets RHP Michael Kopech
Shortstop is actually the biggest problem on the infield for the White Sox this year, but at least they can hope for a rebound from Tim Anderson in 2024. No such hope exists at second base.
A trade for Grissom would fix that, and this deal would see Atlanta get a wild, yet electric pitcher in return. Even if they couldn't succeed where the White Sox have failed in molding Kopech into a viable starter, one can still imagine him as an ace multi-inning reliever.
OF Estevan Florial, New York Yankees
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Age: 25
2023 Stats (AAA): 71 G, 338 PA, 21 HR, 18 SB, .291 AVG, .388 OBP, .583 SLG
Contract Status: Under club control througb 2028
Even if he's still only 25 years old, it feels like forever ago that Estevan Florial was widely regarded as one of the best outfield prospects in the minors.
This is not to say his fall from grace is unearned. He didn't have great seasons in the minors in 2019 or 2021 and the 30 games he's played with the Yankees have yielded nothing of consequence. It felt almost inevitable when they designated him for assignment in April.
But since he cleared waivers and reported to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Florial has played like a man on a mission. And since the Yankees don't seem interested in giving him another shot, they might as well look around for takers on the trade market.
Trade Proposal: Colorado Rockies get OF Estevan Florial, New York Yankees get OF Randal Grichuk
The Yankees are indeed interested in Grichuk, according to Feinsand, and there's no denying the fit. Their outfield needs as much help as it can get, and he'll have a lot to offer if he stays on a track on which he's hit .299 so far.
For their part, the Rockies need whatever upside they can get for an outfield that, despite Grichuk's efforts, is in the red with minus-0.5 rWAR. Especially where his power and speed are concerned, Florial has lots of that.
OF Taylor Trammell, Seattle Mariners
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Age: 25
2023 Stats: 20 G, 54 PA, 3 HR, 0 SB, .133 AVG, .278 OBP, .333 SLG
Contract Status: Under club control through 2027
Taylor Trammell was a top-100 prospect annually between 2018 and 2021, a span in which he was the centerpiece of not one, but two blockbuster trades.
He's had his moments in the majors since then, but not enough of them as he's racked up an 80 OPS+ and minus-0.3 rWAR over 114 games. As seen in his 37.0 strikeout percentage, he has no greater demon than the whiff.
Like Florial, though, Trammell is keeping his value alive with his play for Triple-A Tacoma. In 445 games, he's put up a .924 OPS with 12 home runs and a non-terrible 25.4 strikeout rate. He's just as worthy of an upside play as Florial.
Trade Proposal: Kansas City Royals get OF Taylor Trammell, Mariners get RHP José Cuas
Even more so than the Rockies, the Royals badly need some talent in their outfield. Its total output of minus-1.1 rWAR is the worst in the majors, and there's nary a bright spot to be found among the individual contributors to that figure.
The Mariners bullpen, meanwhile, has gone from major strength in 2022 to something more like a weakness in 2023. As he's on a run of 15 scoreless appearances in 18 tries, they'd get a hot arm if they were to swap Trammell for Cuas.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
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