The Most Likely Player to Be Traded for Every MLB Team in 2025
Though it sometimes feels like Opening Day for the 2025 Major League Baseball season was just a week ago, we are somehow almost halfway to the July 31 trade deadline.
Phase one of choosing each team's player most likely to be traded is trying to figure out who is likely to be buying and who figures to be selling. For almost three-quarters of the league, it's not much of a leap of faith. But there were some tough calls with which you may well disagree.
From there, the player chosen for the vast majority of the buyers is a prospect. Never a top-50 overall prospect, because we do want to keep things realistic. Beyond that, though, it's a bit of a guessing game, trying to identify the most prominent player in the farm system who might be on the move.
And for the sellers, the most coveted soon-to-be free agent is the name of the game—with one Sandy Alcantara-sized exception to the rule.
Teams are listed in alphabetical order. Unless otherwise noted, statistics and records are current through the start of play Tuesday.
Arizona Diamondbacks: 2B/3B Demetrio Crisantes
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Arizona presently would be several games on the wrong side of the playoff cut line, and could stand to gain quite a bit of future capital if it ends up being a seller, what with Zac Gallen, Josh Naylor, Eugenio Suárez, Merrill Kelly and Shelby Miller among its impending free agents.
For now, though, we expect the Diamondbacks to be a deadline buyer, and quite possibly a pretty aggressive one.
With the collection of Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo and top prospect Jordan Lawlar all under team control through at least 2029, other infielders in the pipeline figure to be expendable.
That includes Demetrio Crisantes, who hit .342 across 121 games played at the Rookie and low-A levels as a teenager in 2023 and 2024. He needs a few more years in the minors to finish seasoning, but he was a preseason top 100 prospect according to both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. He plausibly could be the best prospect on the move this summer.
Athletics: UTIL Miguel Andujar
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The A's as a contender was fun while it lasted, but a recent skid of nine losses in 11 games has them looking once more like a team destined for a bit of selling.
They don't have a whole lot to put on the trade block, assuming they'll only be looking to unload the impending free agents as they flirt with reaching the end of their rebuild. José Leclerc being on the 60-day IL further trims an already short list of candidates.
Miguel Andujar could be a good one, though.
He hit .285 last season while resurfacing for the first time since his big breakout in 2018, and he has bumped that batting average up to .312 in the early going. Andujar can also play first, third, left or right, so he could be a solution for darn near any contender if he continues hitting reasonably well.
Atlanta Braves: RHP JR Ritchie
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As with Arizona, Atlanta as a seller could get pretty wild. Marcell Ozuna alone would likely fetch one of the biggest returns for a two-month rental in recent years, plus they have relievers Raisel Iglesias and Rafael Montero on expiring deals.
But with Spencer Strider making his return Tuesday night and Ronald Acuña Jr. not far behind him, we're still inclined to believe the Braves will find their way back into the postseason conversation in spite of their disappointing first few weeks.
They don't have a ton of top prospect capital, but they sure could garner some interest by dangling JR Ritchie's name out there.
The 35th overall pick in the 2022 draft missed almost all of 2023 and a huge chunk of 2024 due to Tommy John surgery, but he had a 2.90 ERA in 49.2 IP last year and was masterful for seven starts at High-A Rome this season, posting a 1.30 ERA and 0.79 WHIP before moving up to Double-A.
Atlanta has so many pitchers in its farm system, though, that it could afford to part with maybe the hottest one, if that's what it takes to not squander this season.
Baltimore Orioles: CF Cedric Mullins
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Reluctant as we may be to stick a fork in the Orioles before Memorial Day even arrives, 13 losses in 15 games and the worst run differential in baseball among teams not named the Rockies is simply a bridge too far. There's still time for them to claw their way back, but selling is looking far more likely than buying.
And what a fire sale it could be. The O's have nine impending free agents making north of $5M this season, including starting pitchers Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano who would both be highly coveted on the open market.
Cedric Mullins is arguably the cream of the crop, though. Center fielders worth a darn tend to be few and far between on the summer trade block, and there are always a few contenders who could use one.
As things currently stand, Mullins and his combination of 10 home runs, seven stolen bases and good enough range on defense would be a considerable upgrade over what the Phillies, Mets, Diamondbacks and others are bringing to the table.
Boston Red Sox: IF Vaughn Grissom
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The creme de la creme of Boston's farm system—AKA Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer—won't be going anywhere. But everyone else presently in the minors ought to be on the table for a team that is kind of desperate to make it back to the postseason in what may well be its only season with Alex Bregman on the roster.
Maybe they part with next-best prospect Franklin Arias, or their outfielder with one of the greatest nicknames ever, Jhostynxon "The Password" Garcia.
But I suspect Vaughn Grissom will be at the top of their list of players they're trying to trade away if they're buyers at the deadline.
For starters, there's not going to be room for him to play in Boston's infield again any time soon, and his free agency clock is already ticking. There's also the fact that he will be forever tainted as the guy they gave up Chris Sale to get, which somehow becomes even more painful if he just never makes it back to the big leagues. Might as well try to get something for him, even though he isn't exactly raking in Worcester.
Chicago Cubs: OF Kevin Alcántara
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The Chicago Cubs are probably going to be the most aggressive suitor of Miami's Sandy Alcantara. Justin Steele is done for the year, and neither Ben Brown nor Jameson Taillon is thriving in the rotation. [Though, Taillon did smoke the Marlins on Tuesday.] If and when Colin Rea comes back to earth, they could be mashing the proverbial panic button.
It's going to take at least one (perhaps more than one) top 100 prospect to get the Marlins to part with Alcantara, but wouldn't it be fun if that top prospect had the same last name?
Kevin Alcántara had a very brief, 1-for-10 cup of coffee in the majors at the end of last season, and has been scuffling a bit this year at Triple-A Iowa. The 22-year-old outfielder is dripping with potential, though, tallying at least 13 home runs and 13 steals in each of the past three years.
They'd surely rather not part with him, with Kyle Tucker slated for free agency this winter while both Seiya Suzuki and Ian Happ are headed there after next season, too. But doing something major about this rotation is a borderline must.
Chicago White Sox: CF Luis Robert Jr.
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With a .186 batting average, a sub-.600 OPS and a below replacement level fWAR, Luis Robert Jr. certainly isn't the trade chip that he was two years ago.
He does have five home runs, though. He's also both walking (11.7 BB%) and running (leading the majors with 17 stolen bases) like never before. And there has been an awful lot of bad luck to that poor batting average, his current BABIP (.240) nearly 100 points below what his career mark was at the start of the year, this despite the best hard-hit percentage of his career.
It's not like the White Sox have any incentive to keep him, either. Robert's contract includes $20M club options for each of the next two seasons, but the club has little hope of contending again during that window.
It's much less a question of whether Chicago will make him available than it is a question of how much they'll be able to get in return when they inevitably move him.
Cincinnati Reds: RHP Emilio Pagan
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In trying to forecast who will be buying and who will be selling, Cincinnati is one of the toughest calls right now.
The Reds are one game over .500, riding a five-game winning streak into Tuesday's game against Pittsburgh. They also have the ninth-best run differential (+36), so maintaining a winning record doesn't feel unsustainable.
After this series against the Pirates, though, they'll play 39 consecutive games before their next matchup with a team that is currently bottom 10 in winning percentage, which will make keeping pace in this loaded National League mighty difficult.
It's unlikely they'll move anyone under team control beyond this season, but current closer Emilio Pagán could be a hot commodity.
He does have a 3.52 ERA, but 12 saves in 14 tries and a WHIP of 0.82 is nothing to shake a stick at. And at a prorated estimate of $2.4M at the end of July, he could easily fit into most of the contenders' budgets.
Cleveland Guardians: 1B Ralphy Velazquez
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Cleveland typically doesn't make a whole lot of noise at the trade deadline, especially if it's in position in the standings to be a buyer.
Such is life as a small-market club that simply cannot afford to be turning prospects into rentals on a regular basis.
But the Guardians did give up three prospects to acquire 1.5 years' worth of Lane Thomas ahead of last year's trade deadline, and there may be a little extra motivation to get aggressive this summer, with both Shane Bieber and last year's unlikely hero David Fry likely to make their 2025 debuts at some point in July—Bieber perhaps making his final starts in Cleveland with a $16M player option for next season that he'll surely decline if he finishes strong.
If extra aggressiveness is in fact the case, 2023 first-round pick Ralphy Velazquez reasonably could be on the trade block.
He played in last summer's Futures Game, but he's likely still a few years away from making the big leagues, currently batting .175 through 50 games at High-A Lake County. For a few select teams currently in rebuilding mode, the not-yet-20-year-old first baseman could be exactly what they want.
Colorado Rockies: Anything That Isn't Nailed Down
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Ezequiel Tovar is signed through at least 2030 and won't be going anywhere. Kris Bryant is hopelessly untradeable. And guys like Jordan Beck and Hunter Goodman who are still in their pre-arbitration years are highly unlikely to land on the trade block.
Pretty much everyone else is fair game for a Rockies team that should probably be looking at 2028 or 2029 as the earliest time that it plausibly could be relevant again.
Whether they can get anything for Germán Márquez and his 8.78 ERA remains to be seen, but that impending free agent pitcher is definitely available.
The most intriguing option, however, is 3B Ryan McMahon.
His batting average (.201) is a bit worse than usual, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more consistent player over the past six years, repeatedly posting an OPS in the .710-.780 range while hitting 20-24 home runs each year. (He hit nine in 2020, which extrapolates to 24 in a 162-game season.)
Is that worth $16M in each of 2026 and 2027? When he has a career OPS 155 points higher at Coors Field than on the road? Probably not, but he could be on the move.
Detroit Tigers: RHP Troy Melton
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Not only do the Tigers have the best record in baseball, but they also have one of the most loaded farm systems. They could really load up for the stretch run for the AL's No. 1 seed, if they feel so inclined.
If they still hold a fairly comfortable lead in the AL Central two months from now, it's hard to imagine they'll entertain moving any of their five prospects in MLB.com's top 100.
Perhaps a pitcher a bit further down their list, though?
Troy Melton struggled to the tune of a 5.10 ERA in 23 starts at Double-A Erie in 2024, but he has reeled in the home run rate and slashed that ERA down to 3.14 through eight appearances this season, while maintaining his 10.0 K/9 rate.
He's not their top pitching prospect, but he does have potential. And the Tigers potentially could turn him into a short-term solution to their third base woes.
Houston Astros: RHP Miguel Ullola
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We'll see if it ends up being an accurate glimpse into the AL West's future, but while the Seattle Mariners boast nine of MLB.com's top 100 prospects, the Houston Astros are the only team with zero representation on that list.
They do, however, have a tantalizing strikeout machine in the form of Miguel Ullola.
He struck out 166 batters in 127.1 IP at Double-A Corpus Christi last year, and he even has improved upon that 11.7 K/9 while moving up a level, fanning 34 hitters in 24.0 IP (12.8 K/9) at Triple-A Sugar Land.
To put it lightly, though, he doesn't have the best control. In fact, he allowed more walks (77) than hits (74) last season, and has a career BB/9 rate of 6.1 in five years in the minors. Letting another team try to reel him in could be the play here, especially if the Astros are still just kind of mediocre on offense two months from now.
Kansas City Royals: C Ramon Ramirez
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With Salvador Perez nearing the end of his 1.5 decade long run with the Royals, they've clearly been thinking a lot about their future at catcher. They presently have not one, not two, but three backstops among their top 10 prospects, with No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Blake Mitchell, one of the best catching prospects in the minors.
Now, by no means are we saying they're just going to give away Ramon Ramirez because of a slight surplus of catchers. He doesn't turn 20 until next month, and he has eight home runs, five stolen bases and an .881 OPS through 33 games of Single-A ball this season. He's likely at least two, maybe three years away from the majors, but he could be an impact bat in due time.
What they need, though, is impact bats right now, as the current state of relying almost exclusively on Bobby Witt Jr. and Maikel Garcia for offense is quite the house of cards.
Turning Ramirez's long-term potential at catcher into an outfielder who can help with this year's hunt for October could be huge.
Los Angeles Angels: LHP Tyler Anderson
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With their rivalry weekend sweep of the Dodgers, the Angels made things at least a little more interesting for themselves. However, having lost 20 of 28 heading into that series and still several games below .500, selling at the deadline remains a very likely portion of their summer plans.
To that end, the Halos have quite a few interesting names to put on the block.
Save for a six-run implosion in a non-save situation, Kenley Jansen has been stout at closer, going a perfect 9-for-9 thus far. Yoán Moncada is flirting with an .800 OPS and has gone two weeks without suffering an injury. Taylor Ward has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining, but he has 13 home runs and could be a top name on the move.
But Tyler Anderson is their best / most likely trade chip, with a 3.04 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in the final season of his three-year deal. He was an All-Star in both 2022 and 2024 and might be the Angels' best candidate for the upcoming mid-summer classic.
Best two-month rental starting pitcher on this year's block could be a 1A/1B situation between Anderson and Baltimore's Zach Eflin.
Los Angeles Dodgers: RHP Nick Frasso
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To a considerable extent, what the Dodgers are willing to give up depends upon the health level of their pitching staff.
They could have Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Emmet Sheehan and even Shohei Ohtani available as rotational options by the All-Star Break. Or with the way things have gone in recent seasons, they could be down four more starters and desperately scraping the bottom of the barrel for anyone with an intact arm.
If that's the case, calling up Nick Frasso probably makes more sense than trading him away. But after he missed the entire 2024 season to recover from shoulder surgery, the 26-year-old right hander has spent the first few weeks of this season building up his stamina at Triple-A Oklahoma City, going north of 80 pitches in each of his last two outings.
Physically, he's just about ready for his big league debut, but whether he has the goods to become a part of the Dodgers rotation is questionable at best, his level of dominance on the mound nowhere near what it was pre-surgery. Certainly worthy of a flyer for a lot of other teams, though.
Miami Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara
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Though his statistics—7.99 ERA and a 5.0 BB/9 ratio more than double what it had been in each of 2021, 2022 and 2023—have not been good at all, Sandy Alcantara is at least looking like his pre-Tommy John self.
In his last start, the velocity on his four seamer (98.3 MPH) and sinker (97.7 MPH) were higher than what he averaged in 2023 (98.0 and 97.6, respectively). And though he has yet to even pitch into the seventh inning of a game this season, he has eclipsed 100 pitches in three of his past five outings.
That suggests his early struggles have nothing to do with his recovery from the surgery. Rather, he's just getting hit harder, and has gone from having one of the best chase rates in baseball (94th percentile or better in each of 2021-23) to an atrocious 8th percentile this year.
Those things could be fixed, though, either by a new pitching coach or just getting more comfortable being back on the mound. And as long as there continues to be nothing physically awry, the list of suitors for Alcantara will be miles long.
Milwaukee Brewers: 1B Rhys Hoskins
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Another tough one here on the "buyer or seller?" front, with the Brewers two games below .500 and not that far gone in the NL Central race. Sweep the four-game set in Pittsburgh this weekend and contending seems more viable, especially considering the stockpile of starting pitchers likely to return from the IL in the next month or so.
Got to lean "seller" for now, though, in which case the small-market Brewers will be highly motivated to unload Rhys Hoskins into what definitely looks like a sellers' market at first base.
Hoskins is making $18M this season—which will be roughly $6M prorated at the deadline—with an $18M mutual option (or $4M buyout) for 2026. Thus, if they don't need to eat any money in order to move him, the Brewers could save themselves $10M. That's a pretty big deal for a team that otherwise only has Christian Yelich making at least that much money this season.
As far as the market goes, Boston, Seattle and San Francisco desperately need some help at first base, where Hoskins' .854 OPS is a whole heck of a lot better than anything else likely to hit the trade block.
Minnesota Twins: UTIL Brandon Winokur
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Over the past two seasons, Minnesota has done basically nothing at the trade deadline. The Twins have also been very quiet in each of the past two offseasons, as we wait to see if the Pohlad family is actually going to sell the team.
As such, we're not exactly expecting any blockbusters here.
Even if they're buying, top prospects Walker Jenkins, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Luke Keaschall are virtually untouchable, and they probably won't move any of the pitchers liable to become key cogs by the time Joe Ryan, Pablo Lopez, Bailey Ober and Jhoan Duran possibly all hit free agency in November 2027.
Selling could be even less eventful, especially with Danny Coulombe on the IL with a forearm injury. Could get something for Harrison Bader, but that's about it.
So let's forecast Minnesota as a sort of, kind of buyer, willing to part with 20-year-old Brandon Winokur, who has a versatile glove and a .659 OPS thus far at High-A Cedar Rapids.
New York Mets: RHP Paul Blackburn
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Paul Blackburn has yet to pitch in the majors this season. But he's getting close, logging 73 pitches in a rehab start last Friday.
What are the Mets planning to do with him, though?
Their current rotation has been arguably the best in the majors to date, and they have both Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas likely to make their 2025 season debuts some time in June. Hard to envision them trying to squeeze him in there, unless someone else gets hurt.
There has been speculation of using Blackburn as a middle reliever, but why bother stretching him out in the minors if that's the plan for the rest of the season?
Kind of feels like they're just getting him ready to be made available to the highest bidder.
Not that there's any reason to anticipate a particularly high bid. He has a 5.11 ERA over the past seven seasons, and this spring has been a far cry from the first rehab assignment of his injury-plagued career. Though he is in his final year of arbitration eligibility, he's only making $4.05M.
But that's a price point that makes him an attractive back-of-the-rotation option for any team in need.
New York Yankees: RHP Cam Schlittler
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When our Joel Reuter put together his updated farm system rankings last month, the Yankees landed in dead last, with only 19-year-old infielder George Lombard Jr. rating as a top 100 prospect.
Don't expect that to stop them from trying to turn a few minor leaguers into the final piece(s) of their pennant push, though. They just might need to package a bunch of them together to grease the wheels on a deal.
Though he's not close to top 100, Cam Schlittler has become an intriguing trade chip. Since the beginning of last season, he has racked up 198 strikeouts in 158.1 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.24. We'll see if he can get it to translate to Triple-A and eventually the majors, but he has been mowing down the Eastern League competition so far this season.
Perhaps a spot for a rare New York-New York trade, as Paul Blackburn wouldn't be a bad option for a No. 5 starter in the Bronx? They've only made one actual trade in the past two decades, though.
Philadelphia Phillies: CF Dante Nori
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Third base, center field and especially the bullpen are all areas of concern for the Phillies, even though they have surged back into first place in the NL East by winning 12 of their last 16 games. And staying in first place in the division should be huge, even though the NL East champ has been immediately eliminated in the NLDS by a different NL East team in each of the past three years.
To accomplish that goal, they could be willing to trade anyone down on the farm not named Andrew Painter.
It would take a lot to pry Aidan Miller or Justin Crawford from their grasp, but how about their first-round draft pick from last summer, Dante Nori?
He's only slugging .299 through 50 games played at Single-A Clearwater, but he has good speed and is only 20 years old with plenty of room for growth. Then again, speedy center fielder with minimal slugging prowess is exactly what's not working for them these days with Johan Rojas, so maybe they can flip him for a setup man who isn't suspended for 80 games and ineligible for the postseason.
Pittsburgh Pirates: LHP Andrew Heaney
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There will inevitably be nonsense scuttlebutt about Paul Skenes as a trade candidate, as there was about Mason Miller last summer. But for as much as Pirates ownership sometimes seems to hate its own team and fans, there's no way that's happening.
Andrew Heaney, on the other hand, might as well already have his bags packed for a TBD location, as his combination of a hot start (3.02 ERA through nine starts) on a one-year, $5.25M deal for a team 18 games below .500 is basically the Holy Grail of trade potential.
As long as he stays healthy, the 34-year-old southpaw is all but guaranteed to be on the move this summer. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Caleb Ferguson and Tommy Pham are as good as gone, too.
(Though it'd be a nice gesture to ship Andrew McCutchen to a team that might finally get him to an ALCS or NLCS before he retires, they've been reluctant to trade him over the past two years and will probably do the same this year.)
San Diego Padres: RHP Henry Baez
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Offseason talk of the Padres trading away Dylan Cease, Michael King and/or Luis Arraez sure has vanished, as one of the most formidable pitching staffs in the majors continues to hold its own in the relentless NL West.
Plenty of time for things to change before the end of July, but San Diego surely looks like a buyer that will be looking for an upgrade in left field, plus maybe a starting pitcher if Yu Darvish's impending return from the IL doesn't pan out.
Most of what San Diego has to offer in the minors is long-term investments. Seven of its top eight prospects are playing either Single-A or Rookie ball, none of the eight with an ETA prior to 2027. That certainly doesn't eliminate any of them as potential trade chips, but let's look a little bit older.
How about Henry Baez?
Aside from Jackson Merrill, the 22-year-old right-hander at Double-A San Antonio is the only player on San Diego's 40-man roster who hasn't already turned 25. He had a 2.99 ERA across 26 starts last season and is sitting at 3.11 so far year.
San Francisco Giants: LHP Joe Whitman
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If the Giants were supposed to drop out of the projected playoff picture by now, they clearly missed the memo. Even with big offseason acquisition Willy Adames woefully underachieving, they're sitting at 28-20, possibly one good day away from moving into first place in the NL West.
That starting rotation needs some help, though.
They've already bumped Jordan Hicks from the rotation to put Hayden Birdsong back in the mix, and neither Landen Roupp nor Justin Verlander has been much more effective than Hicks was.
Calling up Carsen Whisenhunt (3.00 ERA in 51.0 IP at Triple-A this season) could be the solution. So, too, could trading away fellow lefty Joe Whitman.
A second-round pick in 2023, Whitman had a 4.63 ERA last season and is at 4.88 so far this year with Double-A Richmond. Still, he is regarded as one San Francisco's better prospects with a mid-90s fastball and a pretty lethal slider.
Seattle Mariners: SS Felnin Celesten
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At No. 64 overall in MLB.com's latest ranking of top prospects, Felnin Celesten is the highest ranked prospect that we're suggesting may be on the move this summer.
If the price is right, though, we've previously seen the Mariners willing to part with top prospects.
When they acquired 1.5 years of (and shortly thereafter extended) Luis Castillo from the Reds in 2022, they gave up not one, but two top 100 prospects to get it done, Edwin Arroyo ranked No. 93 overall at the time, while Noelvi Marte was all the way up at No. 18. Prospects Levi Stoudt and Andrew Moore were also part of that trade, as the M's were desperate to finally end their 21-year postseason drought.
And while Celesten is highly regarded, he is merely Seattle's third highest-rated middle infielder, behind both Colt Emerson and Cole Young, slightly ahead of Michael Arroyo, all of whom rank among Seattle's nine prospects in the top 100 overall.
The price has to be right, though. We're not saying they'll give away the 19-year-old just because they have other options at shortstop. But Celesten is much more expendable than your standard top-75 prospect.
St. Louis Cardinals: C Leonardo Bernal
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Definitely would not have guessed two months ago that we'd be proposing a prospect here instead of trying to figure out which of St. Louis' veterans on an expiring contract is most likely to be on the move.
The Cardinals have been red hot, winning 13 of their past 15 games, including taking two of three from each of the Mets, Phillies and Royals. They entered Tuesday one game back in the NL Central, as well as one game behind San Francisco for the NL's No. 6 seed.
At this point, they're looking like buyers, which could mean parting with one of the three catchers who rank top seven in their farm system.
Maybe they give up Jimmy Crooks instead, who posted a .908 OPS at Double-A Springfield last season. Or 18-year-old Rainiel Rodriguez, whose 1.223 OPS in 53 games of Rookie ball is downright ludicrous. But Leonardo Bernal—the switch hitter of the bunch, with the least pop in his bat—is likely the one they'd be most willing to move.
Tampa Bay Rays: RHP Zack Littell
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If the question was "who is the team most willing to trade?" the answer for Tampa Bay is either Brandon Lowe or Yandy Diaz, each of whom is making eight figures this season and not hitting at anything close to his former level of excellence.
However, getting anybody to take either of them for two months at a price point of close to $4M will be a challenge if they don't turn a corner.
Zack Littell, on the other hand, comes at about half the price with a respectable 4.31 ERA, despite allowing home runs at a rate (2.15 HR/9) way higher than both his previous career norm (1.34) and the MLB average this year (1.10).
That doesn't mean he's destined to improve, as he also has the worst strikeout rate of his career. But there will be no shortage of teams willing to take a flyer on a starting pitcher with a sub-4.00 ERA dating back to the start of 2023 who has a prorated salary of around $2M for two months.
Texas Rangers: OF Dylan Dreiling
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In 71 games played for the Tennessee Volunteers last season, Dylan Dreiling clubbed 23 home runs with a .341 batting average. But in 58 games at the High-A level since the Rangers took him in the second round of last year's draft, Dreiling has four home runs, batting .210 and showing no signs of mashing his way to the majors in a hurry.
Now, it'd be wildly premature to write him off less than a year after he was drafted. However, he has been ineffective enough thus far that the Rangers would probably have no reservations about trading him away if it meant acquiring a reliever who they could call upon with even the slightest amount of trust in the ninth inning.
Luke Jackson lasted barely a month in that closer role. Shawn Armstrong tallied back-to-back saves last week, only to follow it up with a "four runs allowed, zero outs recorded" nightmare. And they've been reluctant to use Chris Martin or Robert Garcia in the ninth inning, preferring their success as set-up guys with a combined two saves, 18 holds and only one blown save.
But maybe the Nationals or Angels would accept Dreiling in exchange for Kyle Finnegan or Kenley Jansen, respectively?
Toronto Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette
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Of all 30 teams, I'm least confident in projecting a buyer or seller with the Toronto Blue Jays.
They haven't played particularly well, last boasting a winning record a full month ago. But they've also invested so much money into this season that it's kind of hard to see them throwing in the towel—unless they can somehow shave close to $30M off their payroll to get below the luxury tax threshold, which only becomes possible if they start unloading guys with multiple years of team control remaining.
If their sub-.500 ways continue, though, the calls about impending free agent Bo Bichette (as well as Chris Bassitt) may become too much to ignore.
Bichette had a dreadful and injury-filled season in 2024, but he's looking back to at least 90 percent of his old self these days, batting .292 and only a few slugging percentage points away from matching what fetched him AL MVP votes in each year from 2021-23.
They won't be shopping Bichette, so to speak, but they might be willing to be blown away by an offer.
Washington Nationals: RHP Kyle Finnegan
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With the exception of Pittsburgh's Andrew Heaney, this is the biggest no-brainer selection of the bunch.
The Washington Nationals do have impending free agents aside from Kyle Finnegan. Eight of them in total, actually. But getting anyone to take Josh Bell, Paul DeJong or Michael Soroka off their hands could prove challenging.
With Finnegan, though, they might already be rebuffing offers on a daily basis.
Including Tuesday night's save against the Atlanta Braves, each of Finnegan's last 17 appearances has come in a save situation, going 15-for-17 with a 2.55 ERA for the year.
Even though the Nationals are five games below .500, no one has more saves than Finnegan, who is also up to 81 since the beginning of 2023. Only Emmanuel Clase has more.
And with just a $5.4M price tag before hitting free agency again, he will be highly coveted on the trade block.
