7 Sneaky Good MLB Trade Deadline 2025 Pickups
Now that the dust has settled on the 2025 MLB trade deadline and we've dissected all the biggest blockbuster deals of the summer, it's time to dig a bit deeper into some of the under-the-radar moves that could have a real impact.
Whether it's a contender putting the finishing touches on its bullpen or bench, or a team out of contention looking ahead to the future, there are less flashy moves to be made during the whirlwind of activity that is the annual trade deadline.
Ahead we've highlighted seven such moves that have a chance to yield sneaky good returns, from a late-inning reliever who could be the steal of the deadline to a former top prospect getting a much-needed change of scenery.
Keep an eye on these seven players as they suit up for their new club.
OF Alex Call, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Age: 30
Stats: 237 PA, 119 OPS+, .274/.371/.386, 14 XBH (3 HR), 26 RBI, 1.2 WAR
Contract: Arbitration-eligible through 2029
Projected Role: Fourth outfielder, platoon starter against LHP
Call quietly excelled in a part-time role with the National last season, hitting .343/.425/.525 for a 169 OPS+ over 113 plate appearances, and he is having another productive season as a role player.
The 30-year-old is batting .314/.359/.443 in 81 plate appearances against left-handed pitching this year, but it's not out of the question to think he could carve out a bigger role with a hot start in Los Angeles and siphon off some playing time from Michael Conforto.
He ranks among the MLB leaders in chase rate (97th percentile) and whiff rate (86th percentile), and a healthy 11.0 percent walk rate and .371 on-base percentage help offset his lack of power.
SP Bailey Falter, Kansas City Royals
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Age: 28
Stats: 22 GS, 3.73 ERA (4.87 FIP), 1.18 WHIP, 70 K, 113.1 IP, 1.2 WAR
Contract: Arbitration-eligible through 2028
Projected Role: No. 4 starter
Falter has been an effective backend starter for the Pittsburgh Pirates over the past three seasons since coming over from the Philadelphia Phillies at the 2023 trade deadline, posting a 4.32 ERA and 99 ERA+ over 296.0 innings of work.
His numbers don't jump off the page, and his 4.87 FIP is an indication that there might be some regression in his future, but he is a league-average innings-eater who fits nicely at the back of any rotation.
He should help absorb some innings down the stretch with Cole Ragans, Kris Bubic, Michael Lorenzen and Alec Marsh all on the injured list, and next spring he will compete for a spot at the back of the rotation or a multi-inning role in the bullpen.
RP Caleb Ferguson, Seattle Mariners
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Age: 29
Stats: 46 G, 10 HLD, 3.65 ERA (3.14 FIP), 1.06 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 0.7 WAR
Contract: Rental
Projected Role: Middle reliever
Few pitchers have done a better job limiting hard contact this year than Caleb Ferguson, who ranks among the MLB leaders in average exit velocity allowed (100th percentile), hard-hit rate allowed (100th percentile) and barrel rate allowed (98th percentile).
He doesn't miss many bats with a 19.0 percent strikeout rate and 18.5 percent whiff rate, but he doesn't have to when guys are consistently failing to square him up and making weak contact.
The 29-year-old will give the Seattle bullpen a reliable second left-hander alongside Gabe Speier, and it's not hard to envision him pitching in high-leverage spots against tough left-handed hitters since he has limited them to a .164 average and .432 OPS on the year.
C Freddy Fermin, San Diego Padres
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Age: 30
Stats: 208 PA, 81 OPS+, .255/.309/.339, 10 XBH (3 HR), 12 RBI, 1.3 WAR
Contract: Arbitration-eligible through 2029
Projected Role: Platoon starter
Led by the light-hitting platoon of Elias Díaz and Martín Maldonado, the catcher position has produced a .211/.267/.329 line on the season for the San Diego Padres, and both of those veterans were simply stopgap options behind the plate.
Fermin is by no means an offensive juggernaut, but he has been slightly more productive at the plate, and he gives the club more of a long-term option at the catcher position while providing a similar impact defensively.
The late-bloomer did not carve out a regular role in the majors until his age-28 season in 2023, but he followed that up with a 3.0-WAR campaign last year and has done a nice job once again this season splitting time with Salvador Perez.
2B/3B Curtis Mead, Chicago White Sox
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Age: 24
Stats: 132 PA, 85 OPS+, .226/.318/.339, 6 XBH (3 HR), 8 RBI, 0.4 WAR
Contract: Arbitration-eligible through 2030
Projected Role: September call-up
Mead was a Top 100 prospect in baseball prior to the 2022 (No. 97) and 2023 (No. 35) seasons, but he has yet to carve out a regular role in the big leagues, and he has split the 2025 season between the active roster, Triple-A and the injured list with a fractured wrist.
He has hit .238/.307/.322 for a 78 OPS+ in 356 plate appearances in the majors over the last three seasons, but he has an impressive .297/.371/.504 line over 1,731 plate appearances in the minors.
The White Sox bought low on Miguel Vargas at the deadline last year and appear to have found a long-term building block in the process. Mead has the potential for a similar change of scenery breakout, and he should compete for the starting second base job next spring, especially if he can show something as a September call-up.
SP Chris Paddack, Detroit Tigers
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Age: 29
Stats: 22 GS, 4.77 ERA (4.25 FIP), 1.24 WHIP, 88 K, 117.0 IP, 1.4 WAR
Contract: Rental
Projected Role: No. 4/5 starter
After pitching a combined 27.1 innings during the 2022 and 2023 season, Paddack held down a spot at the back of the Minnesota Twins rotation last year, posting a 4.99 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 88.1 innings over 17 starts.
The club stuck with him as their No. 5 starter this year, and he had a 4.95 ERA in 111 innings over 21 starts before he was traded to the Tigers on July 28 in an under-the-radar deal that sent low-level catcher Enrique Jimenez the other way.
He made his Tigers debut on Wednesday and tossed six innings of three-hit, one-run ball against the D-backs for his second consecutive quality start. The Tigers also acquired Charlie Morton on deadline day, and Paddack will likely compete with him down the stretch for the potential No. 4 starter job in the playoffs behind Tarik Skubal, Casey Mize and Jack Flaherty.
RP Louis Varland, Toronto Blue Jays
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Age: 27
Stats: 51 G, 17 HLD, 2.02 ERA (2.89 FIP), 1.10 WHIP, 8.6 K/9, 1.8 WAR
Contract: Arbitration-eligible through 2030
Projected Role: Setup reliever
With a fastball that averages 98.1 mph and a nasty knuckle curve that is carrying a whiff rate just under 40 percent, Varland has the stuff to make an impact in the late innings, and he likely would have slid into the closer's role in Minnesota after Jhoan Durán and Griffin Jax were traded if were not also sent packing.
Instead, he joins fellow newcomer Seranthony Domínguez and incumbents Brendon Little, Yariel Rodríguez and Jeff Hoffman to give the Blue Jays a potentially dominant late-inning contingent.
With club control through the 2030 season and legitimate closer-caliber stuff, acquiring him along with Ty France in exchange for outfielder Alan Roden and left-hander Kendry Rojas has a chance to be one of the steals of the deadline.
