6 MLB Teams in Danger of Making a Panic Trade
Three Major League Baseball teams have already fired their managers this spring, but the real "panic button" mashing typically comes in the form of trades forged in the flames of desperation.
There's a fine line between a panic trade and just a regular old move or two at the deadline. Panic trades tend to be made by teams trying to make the most of what they feel is a closing window of opportunity—like when the Angels mortgaged their future for a few rentals two years ago, trying like mad to make the playoffs before losing Shohei Ohtani to free agency.
Sometimes those last-ditche efforts end up panning out nicely, at least in the short term. But fingers crossed for the half a dozen teams who look the part of a panic trader this summer, because the wrong move could take years to recover from, especially when it already feels like the window might be closing.
Teams are presented in alphabetical order by location.
Arizona Diamondbacks
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In signing Corbin Burnes to a six-year, $210M contract in late December, the Arizona Diamondbacks all but officially announced that they are all-in on winning right now.
That massive signing came about a week after they traded for Josh Naylor, who will reach free agency this winter. So, too, will Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly, Eugenio Suárez and possibly Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (player option).
Though Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo, Brandon Pfaadt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Justin Martinez aren't going anywhere any time soon, each signed through at least 2028, there's definitely a sense that this is the prime year for the snakes to strike.
Or, at least, it was supposed to be.
The offense has been stout, ranking fifth in the majors in runs scored, even with Marte missing nearly a month on the IL. Maybe they look to upgrade one of their non-Carroll outfield spots, but any sort of trade figures to be something to upgrade the pitching staff—in particular, the bullpen—that hasn't gotten the job done thus far.
Washington's Kyle Finnegan, Tampa Bay's Pete Fairbanks and Angels closer Kenley Jansen all figure to be available to the highest bidder, and the Diamondbacks might mess around and try to acquire more than one of them, depending on whether A.J. Puk is healthy and whether Kevin Ginkel can bounce back from his disappointing start to the year.
Those wouldn't really be panic trades, though. Contenders adding bullpen arms for the stretch run is standard fare.
The panic move would be giving up a prized prospect or two to add another starting pitcher, booting Rodriguez into a long-relief role if he continues to struggle and they continue to languish in fourth place in the NL West. Wouldn't be all that surprising to see it happen, though, if that run differential doesn't start to come around.
Baltimore Orioles
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Would buying or selling actually be the bigger panic move for the Orioles?
Baltimore is practically overflowing with impending free agents, several of whom could be quite valuable as rentals on the open market.
Tomoyuki Sugano and Zach Eflin are the only two starting pitchers on this roster who have amounted to anything in 2025, and they're both headed for free agency. Could be two of the biggest names on the move in the next 10 weeks. Ryan O'Hearn and Cedric Mullins have been two of Baltimore's top contributing hitters, also slated for free agency. Relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto would surely generate some interest.
Could be a nice little fire sale, while still hanging onto the long-term nucleus guys like Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, etc.
We've seen teams battle back from rough starts before, though. And with Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells and Albert Suárez all potentially re-joining the rotation at some point in the next three months, maybe things aren't as hopeless as they seem?
The 2019 Washington Nationals were perhaps the most famous comeback case, winning the World Series after starting out 19-31. But just last year, the Houston Astros were 12-24 and the New York Mets were 24-35 before they got right and stormed back to make the postseason.
Do they lean into that hope and go get a starting pitcher or two who can help them tread water until the other arms heal up?
Or do they just throw in the towel now and see how much they can get for Sugano, Eflin and Mullins while—and I can't believe this is actually on the table, given their preseason expectations—tanking to the point of getting the best odds in the 2026 lottery?
Fortunately, they don't need to decide anything today, but some sort of panic move could be in the offing for what has been, by far, the most disappointing team through the first seven weeks of the regular season.
Boston Red Sox
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Offseason acquisitions Alex Bregman, Garrett Crochet and Aroldis Chapman have been three of the most valuable players on Boston's roster. Throw in fellow newcomers Kristian Campbell trying to keep pace with the A's Jacob Wilson for AL Rookie of the Year, Walker Buehler's three quality starts in April and both Lucas Giolito and Liam Hendriks now on the mound after missing all of 2024 and...the Red Sox might be worse than they had been over the past three mediocre seasons?
Got to say, didn't see that one coming two months ago.
Though I wrote a Rafael Devers Landing Spots column earlier this week, I don't think there's any realistic chance the Red Sox actually panic trade away their star third baseman designated hitter. Not before the July 31 trade deadline, at any rate, unless there's at least one more relationship-shattering chapter of that story coming in the next 75 days.
But with Devers still not playing first base—even after Romy González joined Triston Casas on the IL, albeit for what is expected to be a much shorter stay there—first base is a colossal need for a Red Sox team that slipped back below .500 by getting swept in Detroit.
Even before Casas' season-ending knee injury, it's not like things were going great at that position. Now, however, they've gone from a near-everyday first baseman with a .580 OPS to just a huge unknown from one day to the next.
At this point, it's probably not even a case of Boston being in danger of making a panic trade, but rather being in danger of standing pat and not making a trade that feels borderline necessary, if only for morale purposes.
As far as external options go, though, it's not pretty—at least not compared to this time last year, when Paul Goldschmidt, Pete Alonso, Christian Walker and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all looked like possible trade candidates.
If AL East rivals don't mind trading within the division, Baltimore's Ryan Mountcastle and Tampa Bay's Yandy Díaz might be the best options. Washington's Nathaniel Lowe could be a good one, too, or Milwaukee's Rhys Hoskins if the Brew Crew drops far enough out of contention to sell.
Or, you know, just make Devers bring his glove to the park...
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Chicago Cubs
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It's possible that by early June, the Cubs will be sitting pretty, comfortably atop the NL Central and nowhere near making a desperation trade.
After this current series with the White Sox, they'll consecutively face Miami, Cincinnati, Colorado, Cincinnati again and Washington. Just game after game against teams with losing records. Meanwhile, four of St. Louis' next five series are against Detroit, Arizona, Texas and Kansas City.
Golden opportunity to turn what is presently a tight two-horse race into a runaway.
Of course, that's assuming the injury-riddled starting rotation doesn't let them down.
Justin Steele's season is over. Javier Assad's season has yet to begin. Shota Imanaga is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury. And though at least Jameson Taillon is healthy, he has regressed in a big way from a strong 2024 campaign, allowing the most home runs of any NL pitcher.
And in what may well be their only season with Kyle Tucker on the roster—with an offense that has been exquisite aside from a mediocre third base situation—it's hard to imagine they'll just stand pat and hope for the best with the rotation.
Frankly, it's a bit surprising they haven't already done something more about the loss of Steele, aside from sliding Colin Rea from middle relief into the rotation.
Thus far, that move has worked out better than anyone could have imagined, Rea sitting at 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA through 36.1 IP. But the 34-year-old entered this season with a career ERA of 4.57 and could be holding a one-way ticket to Regression-ville.
The even bigger variable now is rookie Cade Horton, called up a week ago and possessing a 6.00 ERA through his first nine innings in the bigs.
If the luxury of getting to face White Sox, Marlins, Rockies and Nationals in the first four starts of his career puts him on the fast track to success, that's fantastic news for the Cubs, who might not need to do much at the trade deadline. If he struggles, though, panic could set in quickly.
Philadelphia Phillies
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Before this season even began, the Phillies were perhaps the top candidate to make some sort of panic trade this summer, given that this might be the final year of the window in which they are built to be one of the top World Series contenders.
Kyle Schwarber, JT Realmuto, Ranger Suárez and others will hit free agency this winter. Trea Turner, Bryce Harper and Aaron Nola will all be entering their age-33 season in 2026. Nick Castellanos will be 34. Zack Wheeler turns 36 next May.
And it's clear they know it. After three consecutive years paying a luxury tax, they increased their Opening Day payroll by another 17 percent to north of $280M, desperate to win one before the difficulty level begins to escalate considerably.
Though they are presently in position for a playoff spot, things haven't gone according to plan in a few key spots, namely third base and center field.
Alec Bohm's last 20 games at the hot corner have certainly gone better than the first 20, but he still has a negative bWAR for the year and was a spot of much trade speculation since the moment the Phillies lost in last year's NLDS. There was talk of trading for Nolan Arenado or signing Alex Bregman, and they might be regretting not getting either of those deals done.
As with first base, though, the pickens are looking mighty slim at third base, and both the Dodgers and Yankees might also be in that market. Whether Colorado's Ryan McMahon would even be an upgrade over Bohm is debatable, but the Phillies might push hard to make it happen.
Meanwhile, in center, Brandon Marsh has gotten out to a brutal start, and Johan Rojas isn't faring much better. At least there are outfielders to be found, though, including Luis Robert Jr. and maybe Cedric Mullins.
Bullpen is also a major need for the Phillies, although that's nothing new.
Whether they pursue those avenues likely depends on the gaps between them and the Mets heading into the deadline. Got to think they'll be aggressive, if necessary. And maybe a little too aggressive for their own good.
Seattle Mariners
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We spent much of the offseason wondering if the Mariners might trade away Luis Castillo to free up some room in the budget and go get a Pete Alonso or Alex Bregman to improve what had been a disappointing offense in 2024.
After all, even removing Castillo from the equation, they still figured to have a stout rotation anchored by George Kirby, Logan Gilbert, Bryce Miller and Bryan Woo.
But with Kirby yet to make his 2025 debut (shoulder) while both Gilbert and Miller recently landed on the IL with elbow issues, goodness is it ever a good thing they didn't unload Castillo from a rotation that is presently him, Woo and a whole bunch of question marks.
Despite the rampant injury bug, Seattle has spent the past few weeks in sole possession of first place in the AL West.
Only by the slimmest of margins, though, with just two games separating the M's from the fourth-place A's heading into play on Friday.
The current hope is that all three of those injured starters will return by the end of May, but can they tread water without them?
And after blowing what was a 10-game lead 75 games into last season, are they even going to wait and see?
With a pretty please and a decent prospect, they could probably go get Andrew Heaney's 3.15 ERA from Pittsburgh right now. Colorado's Germán Márquez is surely also attainable, if they're trying to go with much more of a "buy low" candidate. Could also at least make a run at Sandy Alcantara, though it's highly unlikely Miami would move him when his value is about as low as it has ever been.
The longer the Mariners wait to do something, the more desperate they are liable to become—especially if that Memorial Day weekend four-game set in Houston goes sideways.
Seattle has holes in the lineup, too, particularly at first base, where what is mostly a Rowdy Tellez/Donovan Solano platoon has amounted to an "As 1B" triple slash of .157/.224/.314. And with Boston, San Francisco and possibly Texas likely also in the market for a first baseman, the M's might overpay for the first decent one that hits the block.
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