Win-Win MLB Trade Ideas 1 Week Before 2025 Spring Training
We're a week away from pitchers and catchers reporting, but for better or for worse, Major League Baseball's offseason has increasingly dragged into spring training.
Not only are Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman still free agents, but there's also a slew of players who have been rumored as trade candidates.
With that in mind, here are five trades that make sense for both parties involved as Grapefruit and Cactus League play approach.
Arizona Diamondbacks Trade Jordan Montgomery to Minnesota Twins
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Dan Hayes and Dennis Lin of The Athletic reported in January that the Twins have shown interest in San Diego Padres ace Dylan Cease. This trade wouldn't net them a player of Cease's caliber, but it would land them a bounce-back candidate that they are only tied to for one year.
Montgomery's 2024 season with the Diamondbacks was a disaster, as he posted a 6.23 ERA over 117 innings pitched. He didn't sign with the Snakes until March 29, and often looked out of shape on the mound a year ago. Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick didn't mince words when discussing the disappointing results from Montgomery in a radio appearance in September:
Despite Kendrick's comments, Montgomery still exercised his $22.5 million option for 2025, well aware he wouldn't sniff that on the open market. But between what Kendrick said and the Diamondbacks signing former NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes to join what was already a deep starting rotation, it still feels like Montgomery will get a change of scenery before Opening Day.
For as much as he struggled last season, Montgomery posted a 3.20 ERA over 188.2 innings pitched between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers in 2023. He was a postseason hero for the Rangers, as he helped them win their first World Series title. He's an obvious rebound candidate in 2025.
So while he might not be Cease, if the Twins added Montgomery to a starting rotation with Pablo López, Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, they would be set up well to compete in a division that produced three playoff teams a year ago.
ESPN's Jeff Passan reported earlier this offseason that the Diamondbacks are willing to eat some of Montgomery's money to facilitate a trade. If Arizona ate, say, $10 million of Montgomery's 2025 salary, they could move a player that the owner made things untenable for and probably get a lower-level minor league lottery ticket.
Alternatively, Chris Paddack is set to make $7.5 million in 2025. Would the Diamondbacks be interested in taking him back in a trade to essentially be their sixth starting pitching option? He's had Tommy John surgery twice but is only 29 and has always had a great repertoire. Perhaps if the Diamondbacks took on Paddack, it would reduce the amount of Montgomery's salary they would have to eat.
Detroit Tigers Trade Spencer Torkelson to San Francisco Giants
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The Giants haven't had someone hit 30 home runs in a season since *Barry Bonds* in 2004. For as beautiful as Oracle Park is, it's not a great place for power hitters to go, and the Giants have trouble attracting free agents with options.
That means that new president of baseball operations Buster Posey needs to get creative. Trying to buy low on former No. 1 overall pick Spencer Torkelson—who doesn't currently project to be in Detroit's Opening Day lineup—would be a good way of trying to solve the power problem in San Francisco.
It's unclear where the Tigers stand on trading Torkelson, but general manager Scott Harris signed Gleyber Torres to second base, a move that will push Colt Keith to first base. Torkelson could play his way into more at-bats in 2025, but it's possible he opens the season at Triple-A Toledo.
There's a case to be made that right now is the last chance the Tigers will have to salvage anything for Torkelson. He's still only 25 and has one remaining minor-league option. The Tigers aren't going to get a top-100 prospect in return for Torkelson, but they could potentially get something useful for him right now. If he underwhelms for another season, there won't be any remaining value.
A chance to start fresh in San Francisco would benefit Torkelson. It would be something of a homecoming for Torkelson, who went to Casa Grande High School in Petaluma, which is about an hour from San Francisco. And perhaps with no longer having to carry the weight of being the first overall pick, Torkelson—who did hit 31 home runs in an uneven 2023 season—could snap the 30-home run streak for the Giants and reach the ceiling he appeared to have coming out of Arizona State.
New York Yankees Trade Marcus Stroman to Atlanta Braves
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Can't you just picture Marcus Stroman wearing a Braves uniform?
The starting rotation in Atlanta has an extremely high upside led by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale. But between Sale, Reynaldo López and Spencer Strider—who won't be ready for Opening Day as he returns from an internal brace procedure on his right elbow—it's clear this isn't going to be a team that gets through the regular season with five or six starters.
Stroman certainly isn't an ironman, either, but there's a high ceiling with the two-time All-Star. There's evidence that if you get him away from Yankee Stadium, he will rebound, as he had a 3.09 road ERA last season, as opposed to 5.31 at home. And Atlanta president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos was the top baseball executive in Toronto when the Blue Jays selected Stroman in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft.
For all the talent the Braves have in their starting rotation, they lost both Max Fried and Charlie Morton in free agency. If any team is aware of how important having extra depth is, it's Atlanta, as Brian Snitker's squad was crushed by injuries a year ago. If Stroman's addition pushes Grant Holmes or Ian Anderson to the bullpen to open the season, so be it. They'll likely both be needed as starters at some point in the season.
It's possible the Yankees could try to get Anderson or Holmes—both of whom are out of minor-league options—back for Stroman. That seems unlikely. The primary goal of this trade for the Yankees would be to get a significant chunk of Stroman's $18.3 million salary for 2025 off the books, even if that means eating a portion. Also, if Stroman logs 140 innings this year, he would get an $18.3 million player option for 2026, which the Yankees probably don't want to set themselves up to be on the hook for.
If the Yankees get a fringe Major Leaguer or lower-level minor league piece with some upside back for Stroman, great. But shedding $10-plus million is the most important objective here.
San Francisco Giants Trade LaMonte Wade Jr. to Cincinnati Reds
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If the Giants were to acquire Torkelson, it would make LaMonte Wade Jr.—who has already been mentioned as a trade candidate this offseason—even more expendable.
Enter, the Cincinnati Reds.
Spencer Steer is currently penciled in as the starting first baseman for the Reds, but he's shown an ability to play all over the diamond, and whether it's because of injury or underperformance, new manager Terry Francona will likely utilize his versatility at some point in 2025.
Even if Steer plays 162 games at first base, Roster Resource has Gavin Lux listed as the DH for the Reds right now. Lux is a former top prospect and worth a flier as a change-of-scenery candidate. But he posted a .709 OPS in parts of five seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, so it's hardly a sure bet Lux proves to be a valuable contributor in the lineup for the Reds.
Wade would give the Reds an option to DH, play first base or left field. He's got some pop, and would likely benefit from getting to play his home games at Great American Ball Park, a drastic upgrade for a hitter over Oracle Park. His best skill, though, is that he gets on base, with 138 walks since the start of the 2023 season. Adding that type of piece makes sense for just about any lineup, particularly one with uncertainty at three positions he could potentially fill.
In his final year of arbitration eligibility, Wade is due to make $5 million. If the Reds took that on, it likely wouldn't take a significant return to pry him away from the Giants. And the guess here is they would get more than their money's worth.
San Diego Padres Trade Michael King to Baltimore Orioles
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The Orioles lost the aforementioned Burnes in free agency after he logged 194.1 innings and finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting a year ago. Adding a 41-year-old Morton and 35-year-old Tomoyuki Sugano—who is coming over from Japan—is hardly enough to try to win the loaded AL East.
When you also factor in that Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez have injury histories of their own—and that Kyle Bradish won't be available until the second half of the season, if at all, as he recovers from Tommy John surgery—it's clear that general manager Mike Elias needs to add another arm before the season starts.
In addition to Cease, the Padres have listened to offers for Michael King, who is also entering his contract year. King finished seventh in NL Cy Young Award voting a year ago after being acquired from the Yankees in the Juan Soto trade. He struck out 12 batters in a Game 1 NLDS win over the Braves last October.
Perhaps King would only be an Oriole for a year, but you don't get the sense that Elias—who has made his name off of tremendous drafting—minds collecting compensatory draft compensation after a free agent who rejected a qualifying offer leaves. And in that year, King could help the O's to compete for a World Series.
Dean Kremer—who has a 4.11 ERA over 56 starts the past two seasons—could be a piece that goes back to San Diego as part of the deal. The 29-year-old isn't King, but he's logged over 300 innings since the start of the 2023 season and can't become a free agent until after the 2027 season.
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