Ranking the MLB Trade Deadline Fire Sales That Would Shake Up the League
Every year at the trade deadline, there's at least one Major League Baseball team that admits defeat and puts together one heck of a fire sale of its soon-expiring assets.
Though Toronto never made Vladimir Guerrero Jr. available, the Blue Jays did trade away eight players in the final five days before the 2024 deadline. Tampa Bay basically did the same, dumping seven players in exchange for 15 they could hang on to for much longer (and much cheaper). And who can forget the Mets unloading Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and more ahead of the 2023 deadline?
With that in mind, let's go on a hunt for what would be the best fire sales in eight weeks' time.
With the exception of the teams that already have 35 wins and are thus extremely unlikely to become sellers ahead of the deadline—namely the Tigers, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers and Padres—every team was considered fair game for this list.
While some of those remaining 23 options are way more likely to end up as sellers than others, that doesn't factor into the rankings here. Rather, we are temporarily assuming they are all equally likely to throw in the towel on this season at the end of next month, and we are ranking them based on how much intrigue they could add to the trade block if they do sell.
Definitely Selling, But Without Much to Offer
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A proper deadline fire sale requires two components: No hope for the postseason and a stockpile of expiring assets to put on the trade block.
While these four teams certainly meet that first criterion, the latter not so much. We can at least look at what they do have to offer, though, as these players might as well already be considered up for grabs.
All players are slated for free agency this winter, unless otherwise noted.
Athletics: Miguel Andujar, Luis Urías, Gio Urshela, Jose Leclerc
Both Andujar (.730 OPS, 3 HR, can play just about anywhere) and Urías (.731 OPS, 6 HR, can play second, third or short) should have a decent amount of value on a trade block where middle-infield help figures to be in short supply. But good luck getting anything more than a low-level prospect for them, while both Urshela and Leclerc might be untradeable.
Chicago White Sox: Luis Robert Jr. (club options for 2026 and 2027), Martín Pérez, Bryse Wilson, Michael A. Taylor, Austin Slater, Mike Tauchman (arbitration-eligible in 2026)
Robert is the most intriguing trade chip here, but even his trade value is highly questionable with a sub-.200 batting average and sub-.300 slugging percentage. Someone will bite if he starts to heat up this summer, but he's the only one on this list that other teams might go out of their way to inquire about.
Colorado Rockies: Germán Márquez, Austin Gomber, Orlando Arcia, Tyler Kinley (club option for 2026), Jacob Stallings (mutual option for 2026), Kyle Farmer (mutual option for 2026), Thairo Estrada (mutual option for 2026)
With quality starts in three of his last five appearances—against the Padres, Phillies and Cubs, no less—Márquez might be on his way to becoming one of the more sought-after starting pitchers on the trade block. As is the case with the White Sox, though, there's only one player who figures to drum up any real interest.
Miami Marlins: Sandy Alcantara (signed through 2026 with a club option for 2027), Cal Quantrill
Despite an atrocious first two months, Alcantara still might be the biggest name (and biggest contract) on the move this summer. But Quantrill is the only Marlin who isn't under team control through at least 2027, so there just isn't a fire sale to be had here—unless they're already throwing in the towel on the next two-and-a-half years and making anyone and everyone available.
9. Atlanta Braves
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Marcell Ozuna ($16M), Raisel Iglesias ($16M), Rafael Montero ($3M), Alex Verdugo ($1.5M)
Other Candidates: N/A
First things first: If Atlanta does continue to languish below .500 and ends up selling at the deadline, it's not going to be any sort of multi-year fire sale. They still expect to contend this season and would certainly expect to be back in the mix in 2026, even if these next two months remain a struggle.
Specifically, Chris Sale and his club option for next season ain't going anywhere.
In Marcell Ozuna alone, though, Atlanta could introduce one heck of an unexpected variable into this year's deadline proceedings. He hasn't been slugging at nearly the same level as he did the previous two seasons, but he still has an .875 OPS thanks to an NL-leading 49 walks, a respectable .274 batting average and 10 home runs.
The fact that he has only played 14 innings in the field since the end of 2022 is a bit of a wrinkle that effectively eliminates any team that already has a full-time DH. But an Ozuna rental would spark quite the bidding war all the same.
Beyond that, Raisel Iglesias has struggled (to put it lightly) this season, but that was also true three years ago when Atlanta traded for him in the first place, after which he became a bullpen god with a change of scenery. There's bound to be some team willing to buy low in hopes of a similar revival.
And at a prorated cost of just $500,000 for the final two months, Alex Verdugo would certainly generate some interest.
Three or maybe four players is hardly a proper fire sale, but Atlanta as a seller would definitely make some sparks fly.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Andrew Heaney ($5.25M), Isiah Kiner-Falefa ($6.283M), Caleb Ferguson ($3M), Tommy Pham ($4.025M), Adam Frazier ($1.525M), Andrew McCutchen ($5M), Ryan Borucki ($1.15M), Tim Mayza ($1.15M)
Other Candidates: David Bednar ($5.9M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026), Dennis Santana ($1.4M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026), Oneil Cruz ($785k in 2025, arbitration-eligible through 2028)
With Andrew Heaney plummeting back to earth in a major way after his hot start to the year, Pittsburgh's forthcoming fire sale has gotten a lot less interesting.
Major "quantity over quality" vibes here, although Isiah Kiner-Falefa batting around .300 with the ability to play virtually anywhere is noteworthy. Caleb Ferguson could be a setup man in a lot of competent bullpens. Adam Frazier is having a bit of a bounce-back year with an IKF-like versatility on defense. And despite his recent struggles, Heaney still has an impressive-looking 3.39 ERA for the year.
Whether Pittsburgh actually has an interesting fire sale, though, depends upon how far into the future they're willing to sell.
Paul Skenes isn't going anywhere, but co-closers David Bednar and Dennis Santana each with one year of team control remaining? They would generate a good amount of buzz on the trade block.
And while putting Oneil Cruz on the list of candidates is a reach, Pittsburgh just might be willing to move anyone and everyone other than Skenes. It traded away Gerrit Cole two years before he hit free agency, and it wasn't this bad back then.
Might take a "king's ransom" amount of prospects to move Cruz, but never say never. Goodness knows the Pirates have made some baffling choices as a franchise lately.
7. Tampa Bay Rays
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Zack Littell ($5.72M), Travis Jankowski ($1.05M), Eloy Jiménez ($2M)
Other Candidates: Brandon Lowe ($10.5M in 2025, $11.5M club option in 2026), Pete Fairbanks ($3.817M in 2025, $7M club option in 2026), Danny Jansen ($8M in 2025, $12M mutual option in 2026), Yandy Díaz ($10M in 2025, $12M in 2026, $10M club option in 2027), Ha-Seong Kim ($13M in 2025, $16M player option in 2026)
Tampa Bay already had a pretty aggressive fire sale last summer, trading away Randy Arozarena, Zach Eflin, Isaac Paredes and more—most of whom were more than just two-month rentals—in the name of both trimming payroll and restocking their farm system.
Lather, rinse, repeat, perhaps, should they slip out of postseason contention?
Their impending free agents aren't of particular interest. Zack Littell has a respectable 3.86 ERA, but he has allowed a staggering 16 home runs and is striking out opponents at a much lower rate (5.8 K/9) than the previous four years. Maybe someone would take a flyer because he's so inexpensive, but that someone isn't going to give up much of anything to make it happen.
But Brandon Lowe has been hot over the past few weeks and healthier than usual throughout this season. He and his reasonable-for-most-but-maybe-a-bit-rich-for-Tampa-Bay's-blood club option for next season would be highly coveted on the trade block.
That's even truer of Pete Fairbanks, who has a 2.83 ERA and 59 saves since the beginning of 2023. Not only would a lot of teams gladly add him to the back of their bullpen right now, but his $7 million club option for next season is a no-brainer to be exercised. He and Lowe would both fetch a pretty penny.
Interest in Danny Jansen and/or Yandy Díaz would be less pronounced, but neither is exactly untradeable. The former at least provides value at a position (catcher) where he might be the clear-cut best option available, and the latter is a former batting champ who does have eight home runs.
To be determined on Ha-Seong Kim, who is nearing his Tampa Bay Rays debut, but the player option will make him tough to move.
6. Toronto Blue Jays
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Chris Bassitt ($22M), Bo Bichette ($17.6M), Max Scherzer ($15M), Chad Green ($10.5M), Erik Swanson ($3M), José Ureña ($1.6M)
Other Candidates: Kevin Gausman ($23M in 2025, $23M in 2026), Daulton Varsho ($8.2M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026), George Springer ($24.2M in 2025, $24.2M in 2026), Yimi García ($7.5M in 2025, $7.5M in 2026), Eric Lauer ($1.8M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026)
Unlike last year when it would've made some sense for Toronto to burn it all down and trade away the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and Chris Bassitt with one-and-a-half seasons remaining before free agency, the "Other Candidates" above don't really need to be mentioned. With Guerrero now signed for life while Anthony Santander, Andrés Giménez, Alejandro Kirk and others are already signed through well beyond next season, a multi-year rebuild simply isn't happening.
Just in the rentals, though, Toronto could make a lot of noise this summer.
Bichette wouldn't have been worth much of anything on the trade block a year ago, but he has bounced back to at least a solid 85 percent of what he used to be, on track for close to 200 hits and 20 home runs. If Milwaukee and/or Cleveland ends up being a buyer at the deadline, maybe one of those small-market clubs could find the $6 million necessary to drastically upgrade their woeful shortstop situation.
Bassitt isn't quite the ace he was as a three-time Cy Young vote recipient, but the 36-year-old is still a good, durable starting pitcher with a sub-4.00 ERA. His price tag (without even factoring in the prospects it would take to acquire him) might take a lot of teams out of the running, but surely at least one deep-pocketed club with a weak spot in the rotation would want him.
Scherzer is the wild card who has been out of commission for more than two months at this point, but who should be back on the mound before the All-Star Break, provided there are no more setbacks. Even when healthy over the past two seasons, the near-41-year-old hasn't been anywhere near the force he used to be. He's still a formidable strikeout machine, though, and the same hope of one last good ride that got him $15.5 million in the offseason surely would drive some team to trade for him.
5. Milwaukee Brewers
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Aaron Civale ($8M), Nestor Cortes ($7.6M), Tyler Alexander ($1M)
Other Candidates: Rhys Hoskins ($18M in 2025, $18M mutual option in 2026), Jose Quintana ($2M in 2025, $15M mutual option in 2026), Brandon Woodruff ($5M in 2025, $20M mutual option in 2026), Freddy Peralta ($8M in 2025, $8M club option in 2026)
Mutual options almost never get exercised, and Milwaukee agreeing to its half of these particular $15 million-plus mutual options is even more unlikely than most mutual options. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the Brewers have six impending free agents in addition to one of the biggest potential trade chips ever: Freddy Peralta.
If they actually are willing to move Peralta and his preposterously team-friendly contract/option, the prospect haul they could get in return would rival what Cincinnati got for Luis Castillo three summers ago.
Per FanGraphs, Peralta has been a top-25 pitcher dating back to the beginning of 2021. And, well, ace-caliber pitchers like that almost never have $8 million club options. Teams would be tripping over each other trying to snatch him up if Milwaukee said he's available.
Even without realistically including Peralta for ranking purposes, though, there's plenty of intrigue here.
Jose Quintana returned from the IL on Sunday and now has a 2.77 ERA through seven starts, continuing what has been a solid late-career run dating back to 2022. He didn't sign until March and ended up settling for way less than what he made the previous two years with the Mets. At this point, the 36-year-old is a bargain.
Brandon Woodruff is nearing his 2025 debut after nine minor league starts with a 2.11 ERA. He does have a full no-trade clause, and his mutual option contains a $10 million buyout, so it's pretty unlikely he'll be going anywhere. But that won't stop teams from inquiring if he looks anything like his old self.
And then there's Rhys Hoskins, enjoying a bounce-back year with an .815 OPS. The $4 million buyout on his mutual option for 2026 isn't as much of a deal-breaker, especially considering how many contenders could really use an upgrade at first base.
4. Los Angeles Angels
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Tyler Anderson ($13M), Kenley Jansen ($10M), Luis Rengifo ($5.95M), Yoan Moncada ($5M), Kyle Hendricks ($2.5M), Hector Neris (<$1M), Hunter Strickland (<$1M), Chris Taylor (<$1M)
Other Candidates: Taylor Ward ($7.825M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026), Jorge Soler ($13M in 2025, $13M in 2026), Robert Stephenson ($11M in 2025, $11M in 2026), Travis d'Arnaud ($6M in 2025, $6M in 2026), Kevin Newman ($2.5M in 2025, $2.5M club option in 2026), Brock Burke ($1.15M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026)
Even if the Angels were to stick solely to moving their impending free agents, they should be able to drum up some decent prospects in return.
Tyler Anderson is having yet another above-average season for the third time in four years. Kenley Jansen's overall numbers are as shaky as they've ever been, but he's 12-for-12 in save chances. Yoan Moncada quietly has an .841 OPS and has been mostly healthy for a month at this point. All three may rank among the 20 or so most coveted two-month rentals at this year's deadline. Luis Rengifo could get there, too, if he ever snaps out of what has been a brutal first two months.
Should the Halos also choose to throw in the towel on next year—maybe with hopes of making their move in 2027 when Anthony Rendon's massive salary is mercifully no longer on the payroll—they'd have a few significant 1.5-seasons guys to offer, too.
The biggest of the bunch would be Taylor Ward, whose 17 home runs in what is thus far his fifth consecutive season with an OPS north of .740 would be highly coveted. He might even be the top outfielder up for grabs.
Robert Stephenson just made his Angels debut last week and is already injured again, but he was lights-out for Tampa Bay in 2023 and could be one of the premier relievers available if he can reestablish himself in the coming weeks.
Veterans Jorge Soler and Travis d'Arnaud haven't been worth much of anything since going from Atlanta to Los Angeles early in the offseason, but there could be some interest in either.
3. Arizona Diamondbacks
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Zac Gallen ($13.5M), Merrill Kelly ($7M), Josh Naylor ($10.9M), Shelby Miller ($1M), Eugenio Suárez ($15M), Jalen Beeks ($1.25M)
Other Candidates: Randal Grichuk ($2M in 2025, $5 mutual option in 2026)
Can't imagine many people saw this possibility coming two months ago.
After the December additions of Corbin Burnes and Josh Naylor, I thought Arizona might be the second-best team in the majors, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even two-and-a-half weeks ago, that was still on the table, then 26-22 and just 3.5 games back for the best record in the National League.
But then came the doom spiral, dropping nine out of 10, including losing series at home to both Pittsburgh and Washington, which is borderline unforgivable. They went from four games over .500 to four games under .500 in a hurry, and it is suddenly "Well, what do they have to offer?" time for the Snakes.
The answer: Quite the haul of two-month rentals.
Josh Naylor is batting close to .300 and on pace for around 20 home runs and 25 stolen bases. And plenty of contenders could use an upgrade at first base.
Across the diamond, Eugenio Suárez has swatted 16 dingers this season, including four in a single game in late April. He has long been one of the top slugging third basemen in the game, eight away from 300 home runs in his career. New York Yankees on line one.
On the mound, Merrill Kelly is having another quietly solid campaign. He now has a 3.45 ERA in 89 starts dating back to the beginning of 2022, and his $7 million price tag ensures there will be a ton of interest so long as he's healthy.
Zac Gallen is very much not having a solid campaign, but he was a borderline top-10 pitcher in all of baseball from 2020-24 and could be one heck of a buy-low candidate.
And Shelby Miller has been just about the only bright spot in this bullpen, tallying five saves with a 1.82 ERA. He's only making $1 million this season, too, making him 10 times more intriguing than Kenley Jansen is on a $10 million deal.
2. Baltimore Orioles
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Ryan O'Hearn ($8M), Cedric Mullins ($8.725M), Zach Eflin ($18M), Tomoyuki Sugano ($13M), Seranthony Dominguez ($8M), Gregory Soto ($5.35M)
Other Candidates: Ramon Laureano ($4M in 2025, $6.5M club option in 2026), Andrew Kittredge ($9M in 2025, $9M club option in 2026), Jorge Mateo ($3.55M in 2025, $5.5M in 2026), Ryan Mountcastle ($6.787M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026)
With wins in eight of their last 10 games, the Orioles are finally showing at least a bit of life.
But it's almost certainly too little, too late.
The 2019 Washington Nationals famously rallied from a 19-31 start to win the World Series, but Baltimore was 16-34 through 50 games and simply does not have the pitching necessary to mount that sort of comeback.
That said, the O's do have a few compelling pitchers to put on the trade block.
Zach Eflin got lit up in a start against Washington a few weeks ago, but he has recorded a quality start in four of his seven outings and would be an extremely coveted rental option. So, too, would Tomoyuki Sugano, with six quality starts of his own to go along with one of the lowest walk rates in the majors. Either could be a strong No. 3 starter in an October rotation.
Arguably even more noteworthy, though, are Ryan O'Hearn and Cedric Mullins.
The latter is presently on the IL with a hamstring strain, but he has 10 home runs and eight stolen bases at a position (center field) where demand far outweighs supply. The hamstring injury isn't expected to keep him out for long, and contenders might be fighting in the streets to acquire him later this summer.
Same goes for O'Hearn if he continues to hit at anything close to this same level. His .328 batting average and .940 OPS rank top-10 among qualified hitters, and he may well be the only player in the top 25 on either of those lists who lands on the trade block.
It's not likely Baltimore will be looking to move any of the "Other Candidates" under team control beyond this season, as this isn't a multi-year rebuild sort of situation. Then again, if they can save some 2026 money by unloading a few players who aren't part of the long-term plan beyond next season, it's worth exploring.
1. St. Louis Cardinals
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Impending Free Agents (and Their 2025 Salaries): Erick Fedde ($7.5M), Miles Mikolas ($17.7M), Ryan Helsley ($8.2M), Steven Matz ($12.5M), Phil Maton ($2M)
Other Candidates: Sonny Gray ($25M in 2025, $35M in 2026, $30M club option in 2027), Nolan Arenado ($21M in 2025, $16M in 2026, $15M in 2027), Willson Contreras ($18M in 2025, $18M in 2026, $18.5M in 2027, $17.5M club option in 2028), JoJo Romero ($2.26M in 2025, arbitration-eligible in 2026)
Heading into the season—heck, heading into the offseason—it seemed the only unknown in regard to the inevitable Cardinals fire sale was where the various veterans would land.
Despite months of Nolan Arenado trade rumors, though, they never did sell off any of their expensive/expiring assets. And instead of a painful crawl to both a spot in the NL Central basement and a summer full of trading MLB players for prospects, the Cardinals are six games over .500 and very much in the postseason hunt.
At this point, it looks like the only thing they'll be selling is more tickets for the remainder of their home games.
If things go even a bit south in these next eight weeks, though, the Cardinals could still end up putting together quite the fire sale. They're barely clinging to the final wild-card spot as it is, and if they enter July 31 four or more games out of the field, this could be the biggest sale of them all.
All five impending free-agent pitchers would have value on the trade block, presently ranking among St. Louis' nine best arms from a WAR perspective. Erick Fedde and Ryan Helsley, in particular, have been discussed as major trade candidates for a while now.
On the "Other Candidates" front, St. Louis would likely need to eat some money in order to move Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and/or Arenado, but doing so would help them sort of reset the franchise while making the transition from John Mozeliak to Chaim Bloom calling the shots.
