Playoff Push or MLB Trade Deadline Seller? Making the Call on Baseball's Middle Class
Major League Baseball's trade deadline is just a little over five weeks away, but more than half of the league could go either way as a buyer or seller.
Five teams—Angels, A's, Marlins, Rockies and White Sox—are already deader than disco, more than 10 games out of the wild card picture and certain to be trading away any expiring assets that contenders might actually want.
At the other end of the spectrum are the eight teams—Braves, Brewers, Dodgers, Guardians, Mariners, Orioles, Phillies and Yankees—who presently have a better than 75 percent chance of making the playoffs, per FanGraphs. Barring an unfathomable collapse over the next five weeks, they'll all be buyers.
And then there's everything in between: The 17-team swath of "Will they buy or will they sell?" dominoes that we're dubbing this season's middle class.
That moniker has nothing to do with market size, though. It's simply the teams who are kind of stuck in the middle right now.
They don't need to decide today whether they'll be taking an all-in or all-out approach to the trade deadline, but let's get out the ol' crystal ball and make prognostications on which way they'll each go next month.
Arizona Diamondbacks
1 of 17
Current Record: 38-38, 8 GB in NL West, currently tied for No. 5 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 39.4%
Team Needs, if Buying: 3B, starting pitching, left-handed relief pitching
Players Available, if Selling: 1B Christian Walker (UFA), 3B Eugenio Suárez ($15M club option for 2025), SS Kevin Newman (UFA), DH/OF Joc Pederson ($14M mutual option for 2025), LHP Jordan Montgomery ($20-$25M vesting option for 2025), RHP Paul Sewald (UFA), RHP Miguel Castro (UFA)
Projection: Holding Steady
This season hasn't gone as well as the reigning National League champs had hoped, thanks in some part to Corbin Carroll's sophomore slump, but mostly its litany of pitching injuries.
By this point, the quartet of Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Jordan Montgomery and Eduardo Rodriguez should have made around 60 starts, but they aren't even halfway to that mark. Rodriguez has yet to make his Arizona debut. Kelly lasted just four starts before landing on the 60-day IL. And both Gallen and Montgomery have missed time.
Gallen is nearing a return from his hamstring injury, though. Both Kelly and Rodriguez are progressing in their throwing programs and could be back within the next month. And after a rough first nine starts, Montgomery has looked much better as of late. (So has Carroll, batting north of .300 dating back to late May.)
Through the injuries and underperformances, the Snakes have managed to tread water in the wild card picture and don't figure to be selling. But unless they can get a left-handed reliever for next to nothing, can't see them doing much buying, either, considering their Opening Day payroll was already nearly $50 million more than it was last year.
Boston Red Sox
2 of 17
Current Record: 40-36, 10 GB in AL East, 1 GB for No. 6 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 30.2%
Team Needs, if Buying: 2B, 1B maybe another SP
Players Available, if Selling: OF Tyler O'Neill (UFA), RHP Kenley Jansen (UFA), RHP Nick Pivetta (UFA), RHP Chris Martin (UFA), OF Rob Refsnyder ($2M club option for 2025)
Projection: Half-Hearted Buyer
Boston never even remotely committed to buying or selling ahead of either of the past two trade deadlines, and a similar approach to this summer wouldn't be a surprise.
As things stand today, the Red Sox are in solid shape. After winning consecutive series against the Phillies and Yankees and then sweeping the Blue Jays, they are right on the cusp of the postseason cut line.
Moreover, Wilyer Abreu returned from three weeks on the IL this weekend, and Triston Casas is getting close to a return after two months on the shelf. If they can get that duo back up to pre-injury production—without losing anyone else to injury in the process—that pretty well resolves the holes in the lineup. (Ceddanne Rafaela could become the primary second baseman.)
Boston should be in the market for one of the better starting pitchers on the trade block, as that whole offseason plan of trading away Chris Sale and signing Lucas Giolito blew up in their face. But we'll see if they decide to actually invest more or just let it ride.
Chicago Cubs
3 of 17
Current Record: 36-40, 8 GB in NL Central, 2 GB for No. 6 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 20.5%
Team Needs, if Buying: C, DH, bullpen
Players Available, if Selling: 1B/OF Cody Bellinger ($27.5M player option for 2025 and $25M player option for 2026), RHP Kyle Hendricks (UFA), RHP Hector Neris ($9M club option for 2025), LHP Drew Smyly ($10M mutual option for 2025)
Projection: Holding Steady
The Cubs are already slightly behind in the playoff race, and what's left on the schedule between now and the trade deadline might force them to accept that it's probably not in the cards this year.
They do have one three-game series at home against the Angels, but also six games against the Brewers, three each against the Phillies, Orioles and Royals and four-game road series against both the Cardinals and Giants.
Stranger things have happened, but it's tough to see them clawing back to a winning record any time soon.
What are they going to sell, though?
Cody Bellinger's contract with two years of player options attached is effectively untradeable. Hector Neris has been a mess, blowing three saves in the past month. Kyle Hendricks has been better as of late, but only after ending May with an ERA north of 10.
Maybe someone wants to trade for Smyly, but that might be the only move Chicago makes.
Cincinnati Reds
4 of 17
Current Record: 36-39, 7.5 GB in NL Central, 1.5 GB for No. 6 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 17.8%
Team Needs, if Buying: SP, OF
Players Available, if Selling: RHP Frankie Montas ($20M mutual option for 2025), RHP Nick Martinez ($12M player option for 2025), RHP Emilio Pagan ($8M player option for 2025), RHP Buck Farmer (UFA), LHP Brent Suter ($3.5M club option for 2025)
Projection: Frugal Buyers
Similar to the Cubs, the Reds simply don't have much to offer if they did embrace a selling mentality.
With the exception of backup catcher Luke Maile, every position player on the active roster is under team control through at least 2026. The player options (and ERAs north of 4.00) make it hard to imagine Nick Martinez or Emilio Pagan are going anywhere. Frankie Montas probably doesn't have much trade value, either.
It's basically Buck Farmer or Bust.
So, if they're still within a stone's throw of the playoff picture a month from now, the Reds will probably try to make some cheap moves to improve—like getting Tommy Pham from the White Sox, bringing back Jesse Winker if the Nationals are sellers or finding a buy-low veteran pitcher who might provide some value down the stretch.
Detroit Tigers
5 of 17
Current Record: 35-40, 13 GB in AL Central, 5.5 GB for No. 6 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 8.4%
Team Needs, if Buying: Bats
Players Available, if Selling: RHP Jack Flaherty (UFA), OF/1B Mark Canha (UFA), 3B Gio Urshela (UFA)
Projection: Seller
Since May 1, the Tigers have had one of the worst records in the majors. They did beat the woebegone White Sox Friday night, but that only brought them to 17-27 in their last 44 contests.
Maybe they turn a corner and go on a run. However, it's not looking good, and they do have three nice trade chips to put on the block.
The big one is Jack Flaherty, who lowered his ERA to 2.92 in that win Friday. After struggling with walks in recent seasons, Flaherty has an incredible K/BB ratio of 8.3 and is probably going to be the most coveted of the two-month-rental pitchers on this year's market.
Mark Canha and Gio Urshela won't fetch anywhere near what Flaherty will, but there's surely a market for the expiring veterans who have been marginally better than replacement level this season.
Houston Astros
6 of 17
Current Record: 36-40, 7 GB in AL West, 5 GB for No. 6 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 40.8%
Team Needs, if Buying: 1B, SP
Players Available, if Selling: 3B Alex Bregman (UFA), RHP Justin Verlander ($17.5M vesting player option for 2025, but it's highly unlikely he'll pitch enough innings for it to vest), OF Kyle Tucker (arbitration-eligible in 2025), LHP Framber Valdez (arbitration-eligible in 2025), RHP Ryan Pressly ($14M vesting/mutual option for 2025)
Projection: A Whole Lot of Nothing
The Houston Astros could make this trade deadline exponentially more interesting by selling. And after recently losing both Cristian Javier and José Urquidy to Tommy John surgery—while still waiting for both Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia to make their 2024 debuts—there may be some mounting temptation to throw in the towel.
If they do, though, they wouldn't throw it too far.
Though we've listed both Kyle Tucker and Framber Valdez above, there's no realistic chance either of those two-time All-Stars will be traded. They didn't re-extend Jose Altuve in February just to embrace a multi-year fire sale in July.
They might be willing to part with Alex Bregman if they're hopelessly out of the running a month from now, but even that still feels unlikely.
It's really just a question of whether they'll aggressively pursue a package of, say, Pete Alonso and Luis Severino, or just risk letting Bregman and Justin Verlander go down with the ship without adding much else.
Our guess, for now, is the latter.
Kansas City Royals
7 of 17
Current Record: 42-35, 7 GB in AL Central, Current No. 5 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 40.3%
Team Needs, if Buying: Relief pitching, basically every position other than catcher and shortstop
Players Available, if Selling: LHP Will Smith (UFA), OF Hunter Renfroe ($7.5M player option in 2025), RHP Michael Wacha ($16M player option in 2025), UTIL Garrett Hampson (UFA), 2B Adam Frazier ($8.5M mutual option in 2025)
Projection: Aggressive suitor of inexpensive pieces
The Kansas City Royals have basically been a big six of Bobby Witt Jr., the catcher tandem of Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin and the SP trio of Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans and Brady Singer.
But, somehow, it's working for them, as they remain in decent shape for a playoff spot, even after the recent gauntlet of six consecutive series against the Twins, Padres, Guardians, Mariners, Yankees and Dodgers that brought the Royals back to the pack.
If they have the funds available to be deadline buyers, there's no shortage of things they could be looking to improve. Their entire outfield situation is a mess, and save for 24-year-old reliever Angel Zerpa, the bullpen might be in even worse shape. Adding at least one viable closer and at least one serviceable outfielder feels somewhat imperative if they're going to continue this quest for the postseason.
Notably, no part of their big six appears above in the "Players Available, if Selling" section, and frankly none of the players listed there has much trade value. So even if they fall apart in these next five weeks, the Royals don't figure to be sellers.
Minnesota Twins
8 of 17
Current Record: 41-35, 7.5 GB in AL Central, Current No. 6 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 68.7%
Team Needs, if Buying: SP, OF Depth
Players Available, if Selling: 1B Carlos Santana (UFA), OF Max Kepler (UFA), OF Manuel Margot ($12M mutual option in 2025), RHP Josh Staumont (UFA), RHP Jorge Alcalá ($1.5M club option in 2025)
Projection: At least a little more willing to spend than they were this past offseason
Royce Lewis has been a blistering inferno since returning from the IL in early June, and Carlos Correa has certainly caught some of that fire, recently going through a 12-game stretch in which he hit .529.
When that infield duo is healthy and cooking, the Twins sure feel like a lock to be buyers next month.
But with Pablo López, Chris Paddack and Bailey Ober all struggling in the rotation, Minnesota's deadline approach is very much up in the air.
If they do sell, both Carlos Santana and Max Kepler would be coveted veteran rentals. The Twins wouldn't get all that much for either of them, though, so it's more likely they'll be buyers—unless things completely go off the rails for the next month.
How aggressive they will be as buyers is the big question. Adding a starting pitcher to replace either Paddack or Ober would be huge, but let's see if they're willing to spend money after (amid the RSN uncertainty) entering this season with a payroll more than $25 million below where they started last year.
New York Mets
9 of 17
Current Record: 36-38, 12.5 GB in NL East, 1 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 31.3%
Team Needs, if Buying: Bullpen, 2B
Players Available, if Selling: 1B Pete Alonso (UFA), RHP Luis Severino (UFA), OF Harrison Bader (UFA), DH J.D. Martinez (UFA), LHP Sean Manaea ($13.5M player option in 2025), RHP Jose Quintana (UFA), RHP Adrian Houser (UFA), RHP Adam Ottavino (UFA), RHP Drew Smith (UFA)
Projection: Steve Cohen finds more room in the budget
This is the big kahuna right here.
The Toronto Blue Jays theoretically could burn it all down and trade away the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt with a year of team control remaining. But that's unlikely to happen, no matter how much we theorize about it.
If the Mets decide this isn't their year, though, the fire sale of two-month rentals would be incredible, highlighted by Pete Alonso.
That fire sale is looking less likely by the day, though.
It felt inevitable when they were 11 games below .500 in early June, but the Mets have had the best record in baseball dating back to June 3, reeling off victories in 12 of their last 15 games to surge right back into the thick of the postseason picture.
Don't expect them to cool off much, either. New York's first 18 games in July are against the Nationals, Pirates, Rockies and Marlins, so they may well chase down Atlanta for the projected No. 4 seed over the course of the next four weeks.
If that's the case, they'll likely be shopping for bullpen help.
Pittsburgh Pirates
10 of 17
Current Record: 36-39, 7.5 GB in NL Central, 1.5 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 11.2%
Team Needs, if Buying: RF, SP
Players Available, if Selling: LHP Aroldis Chapman (UFA), C Yasmani Grandal (UFA), 1B Rowdy Tellez (UFA), OF Michael A. Taylor (UFA), DH Andrew McCutchen (UFA), LHP Martín Pérez (UFA)
Projection: Not really buyers, not really sellers
It has been a while since Pittsburgh's deadline approach was even open to debate. The Pirates have been at least 10 games below .500 on trade deadline day in five consecutive seasons—yes, even in 2020.
So, do they dive in with both feet if they're anywhere close to a wild card spot, hoping to put an end to what is presently an eight-year postseason drought?
To a considerable extent, it depends upon whether they plan to limit the innings of their star rookie pitchers.
Jared Jones has thrown at least 120 innings in each of the past two seasons in the minors and might be good to go for the full season. But it hasn't even been a full calendar year since they drafted Paul Skenes, so are they really going to let him approach 160 innings pitched this season?
If not, and if they're already planning on shutting him down at some point in the second half, perhaps they just kind of sit out the deadline, regardless of where they're at in the standings. Because outside of maybe Aroldis Chapman if he can keep his walks under control for the next month, they don't have much of interest to put on the trade block.
San Diego Padres
11 of 17
Current Record: 40-40, 8 GB in NL West, currently tied for No. 5 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 47.8%
Team Needs, if Buying: Pitching
Players Available, if Selling: OF Jurickson Profar (UFA), RHP Dylan Cease (arbitration-eligible in 2025), SS Ha-Seong Kim ($7M mutual option in 2025), IF Luis Arráez (arbitration-eligible in 2025), C Kyle Higashioka (UFA), IF Donovan Solano (UFA)
Projection: Perhaps the most likely team to swing big for a starting pitcher
Though their playoff odds are basically a coin flip, the Padres are maybe the least likely seller of this 17-team middle class.
They slashed payroll this past offseason, yet they are sitting at .500 after 80 games, even with Joe Musgrove and Xander Bogaerts both on the IL after brutal starts to the season.
That feels like found money, and there's just no way they're going to throw it away by putting key contributors on the trade block.
While it'd be almost impossible for them to be as aggressive ahead of the deadline as they were two years ago—when they added all of Juan Soto, Josh Hader, Josh Bell and Brandon Drury—the Padres do figure to remain aggressive.
They already traded for Dylan Cease in March and for Luis Arráez in early May, and there has been a lot of scuttlebutt about them wanting Garrett Crochet from the White Sox.
Whether it's Crochet, Jesús Luzardo, Erick Fedde, Jack Flaherty, Luis Severino, Yusei Kikuchi or Tyler Anderson, look for the Padres to add one of the five most noteworthy starting pitchers on the move this summer. They already have the offense to potentially make a World Series push, and getting one more solid arm in the rotation could be a game-changer.
San Francisco Giants
12 of 17
Current Record: 36-40, 10 GB in NL West, 2 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 24.2%
Team Needs, if Buying: SP, SS
Players Available, if Selling: OF Michael Conforto (UFA), RHP Alex Cobb (UFA), LHP Blake Snell ($30M player option in 2025), LHP Robbie Ray ($25M player option in 2025), 3B Matt Chapman ($18M player option in 2025, $18M player option in 2026, $20M mutual option in 2027), IF Wilmer Flores ($3.5M player option in 2025)
Projection: Stuck between a rock and a hard place
Guys with player options are difficult to trade, as they need to be simultaneously viewed as two-month rentals (play well down the stretch before electing free agency) and as possible multi-year sunk costs (play poorly or suffer a significant injury and accept next year's money).
Unfortunately for San Francisco, four of what could be its biggest trade chips are in possession of player options, and thus probably aren't going anywhere.
Well, Wilmer Flores' almost negligible player option would be tradeable if he wasn't currently struggling through his worst season in over a decade. After leading the Giants with 23 home runs last season, his OPS is down more than 250 points. If San Francisco does throw in the towel, though, maybe someone takes a flyer on him.
Unloading any of Blake Snell, Robbie Ray or Matt Chapman might not be feasible, though, leaving the Giants with really just Michael Conforto atop their list of trade chips—which isn't even much of a chip, as he has an OPS+ of 100 and a negative-0.2 WAR.
Buying isn't much of an option, either, as the Giants already have a payroll north of $200 million and have been reluctant to even approach the luxury tax cut line over the past half-decade.
Maybe that changes if they catch fire in July, but it's looking likely the Giants do a bunch of nothing ahead of the trade deadline for a third straight summer.
St. Louis Cardinals
13 of 17
Current Record: 37-37, 6 GB in NL Central, currently tied for No. 5 seed
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 32.3%
Team Needs, if Buying: OF bats, SP
Players Available, if Selling: 1B Paul Goldschmidt (UFA), RHP Kyle Gibson ($12M club option in 2025), RHP Lance Lynn ($11M club option in 2025), RHP Sonny Gray ($25M in 2025, $35M in 2026, $30M club option in 2027), RHP Andrew Kittredge (UFA), RHP Ryan Helsley (arbitration-eligible in 2025), SS Tommy Edman ($9.5M in 2025)
Projection: Relatively aggressive buyers
The Cardinals were a last-place mess in mid-May, but they've turned quite a corner since then, with Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Gorman, Alec Burleson and Brendan Donovan all hitting much better than they did through those first 39 games of the season.
Better yet, they should be getting Willson Contreras back from his broken forearm any day now, and he was their best offensive weapon by a landslide prior to suffering that injury.
Thus, though they could have quite the fire sale if they did sell, it is much more likely they'll be buyers.
Adding an outfielder should be at the top of their to-do list. However, don't expect the Cardinals to get into a bidding war for Luis Robert Jr. With all of Donovan, Burleson, Lars Nootbaar, Dylan Carlson, Michael Siani, Jordan Walker and Victor Scott II in their age-27 (or younger) season with at least two more years of team control on each, they really just need a band-aid solution until more of those young guys ideally start to pull their weight next season.
Maybe they bring Tyler O'Neill back from Boston for a few months?
A multi-year solution in this elderly rotation could be in order, though. St. Louis should be one of the primary suitors of Jesús Luzardo and/or Garrett Crochet. And if they are in on Crochet, maybe a little "two birds, one stone" action in which they get the White Sox to include outfielder-on-an-expiring-deal Tommy Pham in the trade.
Tampa Bay Rays
14 of 17
Current Record: 37-39, 13 GB in AL East, 4 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 19.5%
Team Needs, if Buying: SP, OF
Players Available, if Selling: RHP Zach Eflin ($18M in 2025), OF Randy Arozarena (arbitration-eligible in 2025 and 2026), SS Amed Rosario (UFA), IF Brandon Lowe ($10.5M club option in 2025 and $11.5M club option in 2026), RHP Phil Maton ($7.75M club option in 2025), RHP Shawn Armstrong (UFA)
Projection: Savvily embraces a seller's market
Tampa Bay is perpetually operating with one of the lowest payrolls, but it has been a hot minute since the Rays were trade deadline sellers. Got to go back to 2016 for that, when they traded away all of Matt Moore, Steve Pearce and Brandon Guyer on deadline day.
But at a couple games below .500 and saddled with what is by far the most difficult remaining schedule, that's probably going to change.
Assuming they do sell, the two big ones are Zach Eflin and Randy Arozarena.
Eflin has given Tampa Bay a solid 3.68 ERA over the past 1.5 seasons, including some Cy Young votes in 2023. However, if they can get another team to take on the entirety of his $18 million salary next season, that's pretty much a no-brainer for a team that was very motivated to trade away Tyler Glasnow's $25 million salary this past offseason.
Arozarena is making $8.1 million this season, and that figure is only going to go up from here, even though he is hovering below the Mendoza Line with a .191 batting average. He's hitting .309 in June, though, and is one of just 11 players thus far this season with at least 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases. They could get some serious prospect packages by putting him on the block.
Texas Rangers
15 of 17
Current Record: 35-40, 7.5 GB in AL West, 5.5 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 13.3%
Team Needs, if Buying: OF/DH
Players Available, if Selling: RHP Kirby Yates (UFA), RHP Jose Leclerc (UFA), RHP José Ureña (UFA), RHP Max Scherzer (UFA), LHP Andrew Heaney (UFA), RHP Michael Lorenzen (UFA), OF Travis Jankowski (UFA), OF Robbie Grossman (UFA), RHP David Robertson ($7M mutual option in 2025)
Projection: Slight Sellers
In theory, the Rangers are going to upgrade simply by getting healthy.
Max Scherzer and Josh Jung are almost back—the former for what will be his 2024 debut, the latter looking to play in his fifth game of the season. Jacob deGrom, Tyler Mahle, Evan Carter and Cody Bradford might all return before the trade deadline, too.
That's quite a haul of 'incoming' talent for a team that isn't too far gone from the playoff picture, and it makes one wonder if they'll even feel a need to acquire any new pieces this summer.
Here's another big factor to consider: luxury tax.
The Rangers slightly exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax (CBT) threshold last season—paying a $1.8 million fine for doing so—and they are on pace to land in a similar spot this year.
However, it's possible that just by offloading Andrew Heaney's roughly $4.3M prorated salary for the last two months of the season, they could avoid becoming a CBT offender in consecutive seasons—which results in getting taxed at a higher rate, and opening the door to an even higher rate if it then happens for a third straight year.
With three (better) starting pitchers on the mend, why not do that, if another team is happy to pick up what's left on Heaney's tab?
Of note: If the reigning World Series champions bottom out and become a seller, Kirby Yates has been one of the best closers this season, entering Saturday with a sub-1.00 ERA. Between him and a hopefully healthy Scherzer, the Rangers would have two very intriguing rentals to put on the trade block.
But it's shaping up to be a pretty inactive deadline for Texas.
Toronto Blue Jays
16 of 17
Current Record: 35-40, 14.5 GB in AL East, 5.5 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 8.4%
Team Needs, if Buying: 2B, OF, SP
Players Available, if Selling: LHP Yusei Kikuchi (UFA), C Danny Jansen (UFA), DH Justin Turner (UFA), OF Kevin Kiermaier (UFA), RHP Yimi Garcia (UFA), RHP Trevor Richards (UFA), 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (arbitration-eligible in 2025), SS Bo Bichette (arbitration-eligible in 2025), RHP Chris Bassitt ($22M in 2025), RHP Jordan Romano (arbitration-eligible in 2025)
Projection: Sellers, but not multi-year fire salers
For the better part of two months now, there has been a lot of speculating about what the Blue Jays could do with / get for Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette.
But why do we just assume that if they're giving up on 2024, they'll also be giving up on 2025?
For the White Sox, Angels and Rockies, sure, feel free to try to get prospects in exchange for guys hitting free agency next winter, because next season probably isn't going to go any better than this one is.
The Blue Jays, on the other hand, could unload a nice haul of two-month rentals—Yusei Kikuchi and Danny Jansen, in particular, could be among the 10-15 most noteworthy players on the move this summer—before fielding a team that reasonably should be a contender again next season.
That's the most likely approach here, especially with a brutal schedule between now and mid-August. Toronto will play seven games against BAL and seven games against NYY before their next game against any of CHW, COL, LAA, MIA or OAK. Winning enough games to get into a position of buying probably isn't happening.
Washington Nationals
17 of 17
Current Record: 37-38, 12 GB in NL East, 0.5 GB for third wild card
FanGraphs Playoff Odds: 3.1%
Team Needs, if Buying: 1B, DH
Players Available, if Selling: RHP Trevor Williams (UFA), OF Jesse Winker (UFA), OF Eddie Rosario (UFA), 1B/OF Joey Gallo (UFA), RHP Dylan Floro (UFA), RHP Kyle Finnegan (arbitration-eligible in 2025), Lane Thomas (arbitration-eligible in 2025), Hunter Harvey (arbitration-eligible in 2025)
Projection: Sellers, but not quitters
The Washington Nationals have been much better than expected, and might be getting even better soon.
Both Opening Day starter Josiah Gray and highly touted prospect Cade Cavalli are currently on rehab assignments and nearing returns to the rotation. And speaking of top prospects, OF James Wood recently returned from a hamstring injury to Triple-A action and should be back on the fast track to the majors, while 2023 No. 2 overall pick OF Dylan Crews was promoted to Triple-A last week and might not be far behind Wood.
Is that enough for the Nationals to give it the ol' college try and maybe do some buying ahead of the trade deadline?
Or are all those impending additions to the 26-man roster just putting Washington in a unique position to turn a few of their soon-to-be free agents into prospects while still trying to make the playoffs this season?
Had this team been well on its way to a fifth consecutive season with a sub-.440 winning percentage, trading away Lane Thomas, Kyle Finnegan and Hunter Harvey with a year of team control remaining definitely would have been on the table. At this point, though, it's highly unlikely those guys get moved.
Moving Jesse Winker, Trevor Williams (if healthy) and Joey Gallo (if anyone wants him) could happen, though.
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