Ranking Ozuna, O'Hearn and Top 10 Hitters on the Summer MLB Trade Market
After previously looking at all the starting pitchers who could hit the trade block this summer, let's pivot to the hitters who may be the top prizes available.
As far as the pool of candidates is concerned here, hitters from teams that are at least five games above .500 need not apply, as it is extremely rare for a club to plummet from that height at this point to a seller's depth by the end of July.
In fact, looking back at the standings on June 10 of each of the past three seasons, we've yet to see it happen since the expansion to a 12-team postseason format.
It's not out of the question, of course. The year before the postseason expansion, the 2021 Chicago Cubs cratered from a 38-27 start to lose 28 of their next 40 and embrace selling. However, even they probably would've just let it ride if there had been a third wild-card spot available and they hadn't been practically drowning in impending free agents, in the ideal spot for a fire sale.
With that in mind, we're only looking at hitters from the 14 teams who entered play on Monday with a winning percentage of .515 or worse.
That means no Bo Bichette. No Nolan Arenado or Willson Contreras. No Rhys Hoskins, Harrison Bader, Brandon Lowe or Randy Arozarena. Maybe one of those middling teams does end up selling next month, but it's not looking likely as of today.
Even without including those players, though, there's a solid upper echelon of hitters who figure to be available next month.
Obligatory Honorable Mention: Luis Robert Jr., CF, Chicago White Sox
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2025 Stats: .177/.265/.281, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 21 SB
Contract: $15M, $20M club option (or $2M buyout) in 2026, identical option for 2027 if 2026 is exercised
Two years ago, Luis Robert Jr. ranked top-10 in the majors in slugging with a mark of .542. He hit 38 home runs and stole 20 bases, placing 12th in the AL MVP vote even while Chicago suffered 101 losses.
Nowadays, though, that feels like a lifetime ago, as the 27-year-old hasn't homered since May 2, saddled with an OPS more than 300 points below what he posted in 2023. In fact, his OPS (.546) is barely what he slugged two years ago.
What's wild is that his average exit velocity and hard hit percentage are better than they were in 2023, and he has already drawn almost as many walks (25) as he did in nearly three times as many plate appearances in 2023 (30). But his launch angle is a bit off and he just isn't barreling balls like he used to, while also having by far the worst BABIP luck of his career.
Robert is still one of the biggest names on the trade block, and there's still time for him to turn things around. But if the other teams had to decide today whether they're in or out on him, it may well be 29 outs, especially if Chicago is still expecting to get something considerable in return.
10. Ryan McMahon, 3B, Colorado Rockies
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2025 Stats: .213/.322/.362, 7 HR, 18 RBI
Contract: $12M, $16M in 2026, $16M in 2027
The year-to-date numbers for Ryan McMahon are a bit ugly, but at least he has bounced back from a brutal start. He ended April with a .508 OPS before almost slugging that well in May, posting an .889 OPS for the month.
Though, if we're going to talk about splits with McMahon, we'd better also touch on the one that has long made teams reluctant to make any sort of massive offer to acquire him: the home/road splits.
For his career, the 30-year-old has a .266/.345/.477 triple-slash at Coors Field, compared to .214/.301/.357 everywhere else. Basically, he's Francisco Lindor (.275/.342/.477 for his career) when playing at home, but he's Jake Bauers (.210/.304/.365 for his career) in any other venue.
Worse yet, that split has been even more pronounced than usual this year, with McMahon posting a .938 OPS at home and a .478 OPS on the road.
Devoid of much else worth putting on the trade block, though, could the Rockies find a buyer for the 2024 All-Star who hits 20-24 home runs on an annual basis?
They might need to eat a decent chunk of that future salary in order to make it happen, but goodness knows that didn't prevent them from trading away Nolan Arenado a few years ago.
9. Adolis Garcia, RF, Texas Rangers
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2025 Stats: .215/.259/.364, 7 HR, 28 RBI, 6 SB
Contract: $10.5M, Arbitration-Eligible for 2026
Less than two years removed from setting the record for most RBI in a single postseason, Adolis García has lost a lot of his luster.
He hit 25 home runs last season, but at nowhere near his previous level of excellence, his OPS plummeting from .836 in 2023 to .684 in 2024. He also regressed from "Gold Glove" to "good god" in right field, going from a +8 fielding run value in 2023 (second-best among RF) to a minus-10 FRV in 2024 (third-worst among RF).
Though his defense has bounced back to better than average, his depreciation on offense has continued to the point of a .623 OPS, on pace for around 18 home runs. His struggles are one of the main reasons Texas' offense has been such a disappointment this season.
But while the Rangers might be reluctant to part with an outfielder who is under team control through next season, could a change of scenery be just what the doctor ordered for García?
The 32-year-old is hitting the ball harder than ever before, with a 92.9 mph average exit velocity that ranks in the top 10 percent in the majors. But of his 17 balls that have left the bat at north of 106.5 mph, only one went for a home run. (Two years ago, he hit 62 balls that hard, 22 of which left the yard.)
Maybe in a new home, García will start hitting breaking balls (.175 AVG, .286 SLG presently) like he did in 2023 (.271 AVG, .537 SLG).
8. Isiah Kiner-Falefa, UTIL, Pittsburgh Pirates
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2025 Stats: .299/.345/.375, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 9 SB
Contract: $6.283M, Free Agent this winter
If the Pirates were willing to move Oneil Cruz, he would probably be at No. 1 on this list. His combination of unreal bat speed, sprint speed and arm strength—not to mention the three remaining years of arbitration eligibility—would fetch quite a few pennies on the trade block.
However, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier this month: "The Pittsburgh Pirates are flatly rebuking all interest from teams wanting to engage in trade talks for ace Paul Skenes, but will listen to offers on every other player but him and outfielder Oneil Cruz."
In lieu of Cruz, Pittsburgh's most intriguing trade chip (among hitters) is probably Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
The 30-year-old was also one of the big names on last year's trade block, as he was batting .292 when he got shipped from Toronto to Pittsburgh. Despite only playing in 83 games with the Blue Jays, he ended up fourth on the team in bWAR, but failed to replicate that production with the Pirates in August and September.
This season, though, he's back to his old tricks, sitting top-20 in the majors in batting average with a Gold Glove that can be slotted just about anywhere.
Another stop in the greater Lake Erie area could be his next destination, as both Cleveland and Detroit would stand to really benefit from a shortstop who can reach base on a regular basis.
7. Cedric Mullins, CF, Baltimore Orioles
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2025 Stats: .232/.324/.448, 10 HR, 31 RBI, 8 SB
Contract: $8.73M, Free Agent this winter
Cedric Mullins is working his way back from a hamstring strain, but the Orioles center fielder should be back well before the end of June, which is plenty of time to re-establish what he's bringing to the table.
The gigantic question for our ranking purposes, though, is whether he'll reestablish what he did in his first 19 games (1.104 OPS) of this season or the subsequent 31 (.586 OPS).
If it's the latter, the interest level here would be minimal, at best. Even though center fielders are hard to come by on the trade block, a sub-.600 OPS and replacement-level glove/range on defense wouldn't exactly be an upgrade for anyone.
If Mullins comes back and looks like the All-Star who had a 30/30 campaign in 2021, though, that's a drastically different story. With a pro-rated salary of slightly less than $3 million for the final two months of the season, he could well become the most coveted rental on this year's trade block—especially with the Mets, Phillies, Guardians and perhaps a few others interested in adding a center fielder this summer.
For the time being, a No. 7 ranking feels about right. Top five would be a bit aggressive for a guy who has provided almost no value dating back to April 20. But anything lower than this would be egregiously underselling a player who has operated at a 162-game pace of 32 HR/26 SB.
6. Josh Naylor, 1B; 5. Eugenio Suarez, 3B, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Naylor's 2025 Stats: .283/.338/.438, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 9 SB
Naylor's Contract: $10.9M, Free Agent this winter
Suárez's 2025 Stats: .233/.308/.517, 18 HR, 48 RBI
Suárez's Contract: $15M, Free Agent this winter
Will the Arizona Diamondbacks actually be sellers at the trade deadline?
Losing Corbin Burnes for the year—and likely all of next year—puts an already struggling rotation in a state of disarray, and dropping completely out of the running between now and July 31 isn't all that far-fetched, already three games below .500.
If the Snakes do end up throwing in the towel, they'll be able to put not just one but maybe the two best infielders on the trade block in Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez.
Naylor was an All-Star last year and an AL MVP vote recipient in 2023. He posted an OPS of at least .770 in each of his last three seasons in Cleveland before getting traded to Arizona this winter, and he is thus far doing more of the same. He is one of 16 players with at least 75 home runs, 100 doubles and 30 stolen bases since the beginning of 2022, and that list is mostly made up of names like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Bryce Harper, José Ramírez and Bobby Witt Jr.
Suárez is the bigger bopper of the two, already with 18 home runs this season, including a four-homer game in April. He has at least 30 home runs in five of the past seven seasons, and one of the two exceptions there was the 2020 season in which his 15 home runs extrapolated to 40 in a regular year.
Both of these corner infielders could slot right into the heart of many lineups.
In fact, it sure would be fun if Seattle put together a deal for both of them, as the current arrangement of Rowdy Tellez and Ben Williamson—with occasional starts for Donovan Solano and Miles Mastrobuoni—isn't exactly scaring anyone (other than Mariners fans).
4. Taylor Ward, LF, Los Angeles Angels
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2025 Stats: .212/.264/.490, 18 HR, 45 RBI
Contract: $7.825M, Arbitration-Eligible in 2026
As far as FanGraphs and Baseball-Reference are concerned, Taylor Ward's value added this season has been borderline negligible.
At the plate, his on-base percentage ranks 161st among the 166 qualified hitters. Even the wildly disappointing, sub-.200 hitting Anthony Santander, Willy Adames and Luis Robert Jr. are getting on base at a better clip than Ward.
In the field, he has never been particularly valuable, Statcast putting his career fielding run value at negative-6 and his career outs above average at negative-5. He's considerably more valuable than, say, Nick Castellanos, who has a negative-73 outs above average dating back to 2018. However, it's far from a "well, the low OBP doesn't seem as problematic when you factor in the excellent defense" situation.
But the 31-year-old has quietly done quite a bit of mashing, with his 18 home runs good for fifth-most in the majors, trailing only Cal Raleigh, Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.
Moreover, there is a notable expectation of improved on-base percentage. Not only had Ward posted an OBP greater than .320 in each of the past five seasons, but he has had some horrific BABIP luck. Sitting at .215 in that department is the lowest among all players with at least 250 plate appearances. And it's the first time since his rookie season that he has been lower than .284.
Throw in the team control of one more season at what should be around a $10 million-$11 million salary in arbitration, and the general interest level in acquiring this slugger should be extremely high.
3. Marcell Ozuna, DH, Atlanta Braves
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2025 Stats: .257/.397/.430, 10 HR, 28 RBI
Contract: $16M, Free Agent this winter
After an impressive seven-year run of postseason appearances, Atlanta has hit a recently unfamiliar low point, sitting 10 games below .500 for the first time since the end of 2017.
And that means for the first time in a long time, the Braves might be sellers at the trade deadline.
If that's the case, the bidding war for Marcell Ozuna's services might be the story of the summer.
Since the beginning of 2023, Ozuna has put up numbers (.284/.369/.533, 89 HR, 232 RBI) that stack right up there with those of Juan Soto (.275/.410/.526, 87 HR, 249 RBI). Only six players have hit more homers than Ozuna during that time, and he has suddenly mastered the art of drawing walks, on pace to demolish his previous career best for free passes in a season.
Because Ozuna is exclusively a DH at this point in his career, it wouldn't make any sense for the Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees or Red Sox to get into the mix here, already possessing quality full-time DHs of their own. Can't imagine Atlanta would dream of helping out the Mets, either.
But could the 34-year-old be the answer to Texas' poor-hitting woes?
Or might a reunion with St. Louis be in the cards?
Maybe the Padres bring him in and make Gavin Sheets the full-time left fielder?
Even without what are the usual suspects any time the words "bidding war" pop up, there would be no shortage of interested parties if Atlanta continues to crash and burn.
2. Ryan O'Hearn, 1B/LF/RF/DH, Baltimore Orioles
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2025 Stats: .316/.397/.500, 9 HR, 24 RBI, 3 SB
Contract: $8M, Free Agent this winter
Despite the recent sweeps of the White Sox and the Mariners, it remains far more likely than not that Baltimore will be a seller at the deadline.
And despite barely generating replacement-level value over the course of his first seven seasons combined, it's looking like Ryan O'Hearn is going to be the crown jewel of the O's fire sale.
We shall see if he can keep this up, of course.
The 31-year-old has yet to hit more than 15 home runs in a single season, and it bears mentioning that his expected home run count in most ballparks would be five or fewer, yet to hit a single no-doubter.
It's kind of hard to argue with a triple-slash of roughly .300/.400/.500, though, especially given the lack of quality bats expected to be available this summer.
And it's not like any of the underlying data suggests he's due to fall apart. O'Hearn is in the 98th percentile of expected batting average (.319), with Statcast suggesting he ought to be hitting .386 and slugging .633 against fastballs, compared to his already incredible marks of .358 and .566, respectively.
It's also not like he hit poorly over the prior two seasons with Baltimore. O'Hearn wasn't previously this good, but he also low-key triple-slashed (.275/.329/.450) in 2023-24—all but exactly the same as Julio Rodríguez did (.274/.329/.450).
While Marcell Ozuna is limited to DH duty, the positional flexibility is what pushes O'Hearn ahead of him on this list. Just about every contender could use an upgrade at first base, left field, right field or designated hitter, and he could be that guy.
1. TBD Outfielder(s), Boston Red Sox
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Wilyer Abreu is under team control through 2029, but he has been mentioned as a trade candidate off and on dating back to November. Jarren Duran (under team control through 2028) trade rumors have been percolating in recent days. I made the case for Ceddanne Rafaela as a trade candidate last month, even though he is only in the second season of his eight-year contract.
It all stems from the same general idea that Roman Anthony should really start hitting his 497-foot bombs at the MLB level but Boston needs to unload a quality, controllable outfielder in order to make room for the best prospect in baseball.
Too many cooks in the kitchen, if you will.
Duran started slow, but he has been red hot since around Mother's Day. Abreu is one spot behind Rafael Devers for the team lead with 13 home runs. And Rafaela is providing the most value of the bunch because of his excellent, versatile defense. Save for what the Cubs and Yankees are bringing to the table, it's probably the best three-man outfield in baseball—and one that could get even better when they finally pull the trigger on Anthony.
Regardless of which one they decide to put on the trade block, the return ought to be quite substantial. Maybe the haul of prospects won't quite be in the same zip code as what the Padres gave up to get two-and-a-half years of Juan Soto in the summer of 2022, but it would almost certainly be more than what the Yankees gave up for one year of Soto two winters ago.
For what it's worth, Masataka Yoshida ($18.6 million in each of 2025, 2026 and 2027) is probably going to be on the trade block, too, if he makes it back from his labrum surgery before the trade deadline. Boston's former DH has yet to embark upon a rehab assignment, but the plan upon making Devers the primary DH was to bring Yoshida back as an OF. But now we're talking five outfielders for three spots, and the Red Sox might as well try to turn two of those into assets they can actually use on a regular basis.
Even if they battle back from their current sub-.500 hole to become buyers at the deadline, dealing one of these outfielders still makes a ton of sense. They would simply be more willing to accept expiring contracts who can help this fall.
