10 Realistic MLB Trades to Boost AL and NL's Top Teams
With just under three weeks to go until the July 31 trade deadline, we're starting to get an idea of what the top third of the league will be shopping for.
Hint: Almost all contenders are in need of some type of pitching, be it starting, relieving or both.
Here are 10 realistic MLB trades meant to boost the top teams in both the AL and NL.
Phillies Land Emmanuel Clase from Guardians
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Realistically, the Phillies' bullpen is probably three relievers away from being a World Series-caliber unit.
But if president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was able to acquire a bullpen anchor, you'd feel better about the their chances to close out games that their elite starting rotation puts them in position to win.
Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians would fit that bill about as well as anyone. He won the Mariano Rivera Award as the best reliever in the AL last season, and after a slow start to 2025, he's got a 1.33 ERA over his 27 innings of work.
What makes the 27-year-old even more attractive for a team like the Phillies is that he's signed to a team-friendly contract. He's making $4.9 million in 2025, will make $6.4 million in 2026 and then has $10 million club options for 2027 and 2028. So, he would be a long-term addition to the bullpen.
Of course, the Guardians are going to expect a lofty return for Clase. But while Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported the Phillies still don't want to trade No. 1 prospect Andrew Painter, "everyone else in the organization might be available to varying degrees."
Shortstop Aidan Miller—currently MLB Pipeline's No. 22 prospect in baseball—could headline this trade. If the Guardians got a package that included Miller, RHP Mick Abel and pitching prospect Jean Cabrera, that would be a fair deal for both sides.
This would represent the biggest deal between Philadelphia and Cleveland since the July 2009 Cliff Lee trade.
Cubs Acquire Sandy Alcántara from Marlins
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The Cubs have a World Series-caliber lineup led by Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch.
But president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has some work to do for them not to be at a starting pitching disadvantage in just about every postseason game.
Justin Steele has been lost to the season with Tommy John surgery, and righty Jameson Taillon is now out "more than a month" with a right calf strain.
Matthew Boyd is having a career year at age 34. He and Shota Imanaga are definitely worthy of taking the ball in a postseason series, but they are probably best suited to pitch in Games 2 and 3, rather than Game 1.
Is there a Game 1 starter available? It's fair to be skeptical. Even if the Milwaukee Brewers trade Freddy Peralta, they probably aren't going to send him to the division-rival Cubs. Zac Gallen is having a disastrous contract year with a 5.15 ERA in 19 starts.
We won't dispute Sandy Alcántara's season has been even worse than Gallen's, as evidenced by his 7.22 ERA. But the further Alcántara moves away from October 2023 Tommy John surgery, the better he should get.
He's also still only 29 years old, and he is signed to a team-friendly contract that will pay him $17.3 million in 2026, and he has a $21 million club option for 2027.
Alcántara would represent a big swing as the Cubs try to maximize their only guaranteed year with Tucker. But even if he doesn't pitch like an ace this year, he could remain with the Cubs for two more seasons and potentially rediscover the form that made him the NL Cy Young Award winner in 2022.
The Cubs have a farm system led by position players who are knocking on the door of the majors. OF Owen Caissie, C/1B Moisés Ballesteros, OF Kevin Alcántara and 2B/OF James Triantos are all players currently at Triple-A Iowa who could be of interest to the Marlins in return for this trade because they could join immediately.
Yankees Land Zach Eflin from Orioles
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Zach Eflin is currently on the injured list with lower back discomfort. Injuries have been a theme throughout his career, but this is someone with experience both as a starter and reliever in the postseason who could help the Yankees.
The plan in acquiring the 31-year-old would be for him to be the No. 3 starter in the rotation behind Max Fried and Carlos Rodón.
It's also possible in a postseason series that he could take the ball in Game 2, breaking up the lefties. Either way, getting another postseason starter will be imperative for general manager Brian Cashman after losing Clarke Schmidt for the year to Tommy John surgery.
Eflin is a rental, so the Yankees could acquire him from the division-rival Orioles without having to trade a top-100 prospect. That would leave them wiggle room to address other areas on the roster, such as third base and the back of the bullpen.
While Eflin spent the first seven years of his career with the Phillies, the Yankees would be his third AL East team in four seasons, joining the O's and Tampa Bay Rays.
Tigers Acquire Eugenio Suárez from Diamondbacks
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The Arizona Diamondbacks are hovering around .500, and considering they entered the year with World Series aspirations, selling would be a tough pill to swallow.
But sometimes you have to know it isn't your year, and with Corbin Burnes lost to Tommy John surgery and Corbin Carroll recovering from a left wrist fracture, general manager Mike Hazen would be wise to capitalize on all the intriguing rentals on his roster.
At the forefront of Arizona's impending free agents is slugging third baseman Eugenio Suárez. He's picked up right where he left off after a massive second half last year by hitting 29 home runs and posting an .883 OPS in the first half of 2025, en route to his second career All-Star Game selection.
If the 33-year-old is available, he will likely garner interest from a slew of contending teams, such as the Yankees, Cubs and New York Mets. But he makes as much sense for Detroit as anybody.
Suárez would give what's still a young Tigers team a veteran presence in its lineup, but he wouldn't block Jace Jung from potentially getting another shot at the hot corner in 2026.
Zach McKinstry has fared well at the plate in 2025, seeing his largest chunk of time at third base. But McKinstry can play all over the diamond, and adding Suárez could allow manager A.J. Hinch to utilize McKinstry at shortstop and right field, among other spots.
The Tigers aren't going to give up a bounty for a rental third baseman, but minor league pitchers such as Jaden Hamm, Owen Hall and Troy Melton could all make sense for the Diamondbacks to target as possible return pieces.
Arizona will be without Burnes next year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery, while both Gallen and Merrill Kelly will be free agents. So, Melton, who is at Triple-A Toledo, might make the most sense because he could pitch out of the rotation for the Snakes in 2026.
Disgruntled Luis Severino Gets Dealt from Athletics to Blue Jays
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The Athletics needed to spend money this past offseason, both to avoid a potential grievance from the union over not reinvesting revenue sharing money and to reestablish some credibility as they try to get a stadium built in Las Vegas.
That's how they ended up giving Luis Severino a three-year, $67 million deal that includes a player opt-out after 2026, a pact no other team was going to touch. The A's also surrendered draft compensation because he had received a qualifying offer from the Mets.
Just a few months later, it seems the 31-year-old could be on the move again, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today noting in late June that "it may come as a surprise if he’s still with the organization come August."
This comes after Severino was critical of Sutter Health Park, the organization's temporary home in Sacramento.
Severino, though, is hardly the only pitcher to complain about the ballpark, and his stats indicate he's been much better on the road than at home:
Home: 0-8 with a 7.04 ERA in 61.1 IP
Away: 2-2 with 3.04 ERA in 47.1 IP
Severino has proved he can stay healthy again after struggling to do so from 2019-2023. He's also someone who has experience pitching in the biggest market for both New York teams.
If this is as simple as getting him to pitch his home games at any other stadium, it shouldn't be hard to find a taker, especially if the A's are willing to either take back a bad contract in return or pay down some of his remaining money.
The Blue Jays make sense as a landing spot because they are currently in first place in the AL East, and they could use another pitcher capable of starting a postseason game. Additionally, Severino would give Toronto an insurance policy if Chris Bassitt leaves in free agency after this season.
This would likely be more of a salary dump—even if the A's have to eat some money—so Toronto shouldn't be expected to give up a franchise-altering prospect(s) to facilitate this deal. A Single-A pitcher with a relatively live arm who's a lottery ticket might do the trick.
Dodgers Land Griffin Jax in Trade with Twins
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It's kind of difficult to know what to do with the Dodgers in regards to their pitching when they currently have Blake Snell, Tony Gonsolin, Roki Sasaki, Michael Kopech and Blake Treinen—among others—on the injured list.
Snell and Treinen recently started rehab stints, and the expectation is that all five will return in 2025.
The problem is, in addition to those five injured pitchers, the Dodgers can hardly be certain Kirby Yates, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Clayton Kershaw and Dustin May—all of whom are currently healthy—are going to be available come October given their injury histories.
Los Angeles has done such a poor job at keeping its pitching healthy that president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman just needs to throw a bunch of talented arms against the wall and hope enough are healthy for them to make a second consecutive World Series run.
One of the ways the Dodgers overcame a lack of World Series-caliber starting pitching last year was to have a deep bullpen. Between the injuries and a disappointing first season with L.A. from Tanner Scott, Friedman should double down on the bullpen this year.
Griffin Jax of the Twins would be a great fit because he can pitch the ninth inning, but HE could also be utilized in other high-leverage situations. He had a minuscule 2.03 ERA in 72 games a season ago. He's regressed to a 4.12 ERA this season, though both his 3.10 expected ERA and 1.92 FIP suggest he's been very unlucky.
Jax is 30 years old, so he likely won't cost as much as 27-year-old teammate Jhoan Durán would. But Jax has two remaining arbitration years, so he would be a long-term cog if acquired.
SS/3B Alex Freeland—the third-highest ranked prospect in L.A.'s system and No. 42 in baseball, per MLB Pipeline—could be an interesting piece to build the trade around. LHP Jackson Ferris, the No. 69 prospect in the sport, might also make sense as someone for the Twins to pursue.
Giants Solve First Base Issue by Landing Ryan O'Hearn from O's
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Rafael Devers may one day be a full-time first baseman, but we remain a little skeptical about how that will go.
If Devers is going to be primarily DH for the remainder of the season, president of baseball operations Buster Posey needs to upgrade from Dom Smith at first base.
Ryan O'Hearn is an All-Star for the first time in his age-31 season as he's hit 11 home runs and posted an .840 OPS in what's otherwise been a disastrous year for the Orioles. He'll be a free agent at the end of the season, so unless they think he could be a qualifying-offer candidate after the year (which seems unlikely), there's not much reason to hold onto him.
O'Hearn could take over at first base, DH or do some combination of the two for Bob Melvin and the Giants without even having to switch colors. He could serve as the bridge to 2026, when top prospect Bryce Eldridge will likely be ready to take over at first base.
For as good as O'Hearn has been this year, the O's can't expect a major return for him given his profile. But GM Mike Elias is one of the best talent evaluators in the sport, so perhaps he'll be able to find a diamond in the rough in San Francisco's system.
Astros Get No. 3 Starter with Addition of Seth Lugo from Royals
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With Framber Valdez set to become a free agent after the season, the Astros would probably be best served acquiring a controllable starter who's sure to be with them in 2026.
But even if Seth Lugo is likely to opt out of the final year of his three-year, $45 million deal after the season, last year's AL Cy Young Award runner-up is too good of a fit for the Astros to pass up.
And the small-budget Royals probably can't afford to just let him walk in the offseason, even if it comes after he declines a qualifying offer.
The Astros have a great one-two punch with Valdez and Hunter Brown. But their rotation has a pretty steep dropoff after that, which Lugo would fit. His 4.28 FIP suggests he hasn't been as effective as he was a year ago, but he still has an impressive 2.67 ERA to show for 17 starts. He would give the Astros a newly formed starting rotation trio to pair with perhaps the best bullpen in baseball.
Since Lugo is probably a rental, the Royals have to be realistic about their asking price.
With that said, general manager J.J. Picollo needs to get enough that it doesn't make more sense for the Royals to hold onto Lugo and give him a qualifying offer in the winter.
RHP Ethan Pecko—the No. 7 prospect in Houston's system, who is 22 and at Double-A—might be a piece that would make sense to go back to Kansas City.
Mets Bolster Rotation by Acquiring Merrill Kelly from Diamondbacks
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The Mets' starting rotation has been better than what was expected coming into the season, but president of baseball operations David Stearns still needs to upgrade the unit before the postseason.
Merrill Kelly would be a rental, but he's a steady pitcher to add to a rotation with David Peterson, Kodai Senga and Clay Holmes as the Mets try to build a group that can compete in October.
Perhaps Sean Manaea will play a role down the stretch, but the Mets can't expect him to be the same pitcher he was in the second half of last season.
Not only does Kelly have a 3.49 ERA over 111 innings this season, but he is playoff tested after posting a 2.25 ERA during a magical 2023 postseason run for the Diamondbacks.
Blade Tidwell—a 24-year-old who has struggled in limited MLB appearances this season but has a five-pitch arsenal that includes a 95.8 mph average fastball—might make sense as someone the Diamondbacks could bring back.
That might feel underwhelming for a pitcher who has thrown so well for the D-backs over the last seven years, but Kelly is a rental who is going to turn 37 in October.
Padres Pry Adolis García from Rangers
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Considering he was suspended for performance-enhancing drugs during his first week on the Atlanta Braves, the Padres were smart not to re-sign Jurickson Profar this past offseason.
That doesn't mean they haven't missed the presence Profar brought a year ago, though, because left field has become a black hole for them.
If the Padres can acquire a left fielder, Gavin Sheets can shift back to DH, which is probably the role he's best suited for.
While Jarren Duran has been a name linked with the Padres, Adolis García makes quite a bit of sense. He's got 11 defensive runs saved in right field this year, and he would shift to left field if acquired by the Padres. He and Fernando Tatis Jr. would give San Diego two elite corner outfield defenders.
Since the start of 2024 season, García has just a .673 OPS, but he's two years removed from hitting 39 home runs.
San Diego president of baseball operations A.J. Preller loves to make big moves, and if a change of scenery is able to reinvigorate the 32-year-old at the plate, this would be one of the biggest moves of the trade deadline.
García has one remaining year of arbitration eligibility. He's too good to non-tender, but the Rangers might prefer not to commit what will likely be a sizable salary to him next year if they don't believe he's the same player offensively.
Most of San Diego's top prospects are in the lower levels of the minors, and Single-A outfielder Kavares Tears could be someone worth targeting for the Rangers.
