MLB's 10 Most Untradeable Contracts
The MLB offseason is here, and with it comes the annual flurry of free agency and trade rumors as teams set to work upgrading their rosters for the 2026 season.
Players have a wide range of trade value based on their contract situation, production, position and how they line up with what is available on the free-agent market, but some players are simply untradeable.
Ahead we've highlighted the 10 most untradeable contracts in baseball, with remaining money owed, diminished production and injury concerns all playing a major role in the selection process.
Don't expect to see any of these guys on the move this winter.
Others of Note
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There are a few players who were not included in our top 10, but are still worth mentioning before we dive into the list:
-While undoubtedly one of the worst contracts in baseball, Anthony Rendon is entering the final season of his seven-year, $245 million deal. It's not out of the question to think a team might be willing to absorb his salary as a means of essentially buying a prospect, though he would also need to waive a full no-trade clause.
-The Nationals are still paying Stephen Strasburg by way of a settlement that was reached upon his retirement, but there is no trading that commitment away, so he was not included in this conversation.
-They are not yet approaching the 10 most untradeable contracts conversation, but Trea Turner (eight years, $218 million) and Corey Seager (six years, $189 million) both have a ton of money left on the books entering their age-33 and age-32 seasons, respectively, so moving them would be difficult.
-It would take only one hand to count the number of teams even capable of trading for Juan Soto after he signed a record-setting 15-year, $765 million contract last winter, but including him here did not seem to be in the spirit of the conversation.
10. SP Eduardo Rodríguez, Arizona Diamondbacks
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2026: $21,000,000
2027: $19,000,000
2028: $17,000,000 mutual option, $6,000,000 buyout
Remaining Contract: 2 years, $46 million
After going 13-9 with a 3.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 143 strikeouts in 152.2 innings in 2023, Eduardo Rodríguez opted out of the final three years of his five-year, $77 million contract with the Detroit Tigers.
It proved to be the right decision, as he turned that strong performance into a new four-year, $80 million deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
With $46 million still on the books, and a 5.02 ERA and 0.5 WAR in 204.1 innings over the last two years, he looks like a sunk cost likely to fill a spot at the back of the Arizona rotation or as a long reliever out of the bullpen.
9. SP José Berríos, Toronto Blue Jays
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Remaining Contract: 3 years, $67 million
José Berríos has been one of the most durable starters in baseball throughout his career, tallying at least 30 starts in each of the past seven full seasons, and for most of that time he was a solid No. 2/3 option in the starting rotation.
However, after showing some cracks in 2024 with a 4.72 FIP backing his 3.60 ERA, he posted a 4.17 ERA and 1.30 WHIP while serving up 26 home runs in 166 innings this year. That led to him being demoted to the bullpen late in the season when Shane Bieber was activated and Trey Yesavage was promoted.
"Honestly, I don't feel happy talking about it," Berríos told reporters following the demotion.
If he were a free agent, it's not out of the question to think he might command $12-15 million on a one-year deal, but the three years remaining on his seven-year, $131 million contract are going to make it virtually impossible to trade him.
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8. RP Tanner Scott, Los Angeles Dodgers
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Remaining Contract: 3 years, $56 million
Out of everyone on this list, Tanner Scott might be the most likely candidate to return to form in 2026, considering his elite past performance and the fact that he is still only 31 years old.
However, the list of teams that can take a $56 million roll of the dice on a relief pitcher bouncing back is short.
After signing a four-year, $72 million deal last winter, Scott posted a 4.74 ERA, 1.26 WHIP and 9.5 K/9 while leading the majors with 10 blown saves. He allowed just three home runs in 72 innings in 2024, but served up 11 long balls in 57 innings in his Dodgers debut.
Expect to see him back in the late innings as part of a revamped Dodgers bullpen in 2026.
7. SP Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
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Remaining Contract: 5 years, $122.9 million
It looked like a no-brainer move when the Philadelphia Phillies brought back Aaron Nola on a new seven-year, $172 million deal shortly after he hit the open market following the 2023 season.
He was coming off an impressive six-year run of proven durability and performance, with a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 1,209 strikeouts in 1,065.1 innings during that span, including three 200-inning seasons.
The first season of his new contract was more of the same, as he went 14-8 with a 3.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 197 strikeouts in 199.1 innings, but his production cratered in 2025.
The 32-year-old had a 6.01 ERA in 94.1 innings while navigating an ankle sprain and a fractured rib, and his contributions in the postseason were limited to a two-inning start in Game 3 of the NLDS.
An offseason of rest and recovery could be all he needs to return to form, but is that a $122.9 million bet other teams would be willing to make?
6. SP Corbin Burnes, Arizona Diamondbacks
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Remaining Contract: 5 years, $154.2 million
The six-year, $210 million contract that Corbin Burnes signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks last winter stands as the fourth-largest contract among active pitchers, both in terms of total money and average annual value.
Unlike others on this list, Burnes is not untradeable because of diminished production, but instead because he is now coming off Tommy John surgery and will need to prove he is back to the pitcher he was pre-injury.
Prior to going under the knife, his D-backs debut was going well, as he had a 2.66 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 63 strikeouts in 64.1 innings over his first 11 starts.
That's all the more reason for his current team not to sell low, as any trade now would likely mean eating salary and accepting a middling return. Don't rule out a trade in the future, though, as the D-backs eventually flipped Zack Greinke in the fourth season of his six-year, $206.5 million deal.
5. SP Yu Darvish, San Diego Padres
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Remaining Contract: 3 years, $46 million
It was announced earlier this week that Yu Darvish would miss the entire 2026 season after undergoing UCL surgery on his right elbow, as well as an internal brace procedure.
At 39 years old, and with a combined 3,159.1 innings on his arm between the Japanese League and both the regular season and postseason since coming stateside, it's fair to wonder how much he will have left in the tank once he is ready to return to action.
He logged a 3.31 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 78 strikeouts in 81.2 innings in 2024, but struggled to a 5.38 ERA in 72 innings this year after missing the first three months of the season with elbow inflammation.
His salary is not unreasonable on a year-by-year basis, but committing to $46 million with one year and $16 million of sunk cost as part of the equation would be a difficult sell.
4. 2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
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Remaining Contract: 4 years, $92 million
Jose Altuve had a productive season at the plate in 2025, posting a 112 OPS with 24 doubles, 26 home runs, 77 RBI and 10 steals, but his defensive shortcomings have begun to take a significant bite out of his overall value.
With ugly metrics at second base (499.1 INN, -8 DRS) and in left field (371.0 INN, -10 DRS), his negative-2.2 defensive WAR was the second-worst total among all players, and that led to a mere 0.5 WAR overall while playing on a $33 million salary.
That diminished value, coupled with two more years of a $33 million payroll hit before his salary dips at the backend of his current contract, would make him of little interest to other teams in the hypothetical scenario that he were to hit the block in an Astros rebuild.
The most likely scenario is that he plays out his current contract with the Astros and rides off into the sunset with one of the more polarizing Hall of Fame cases in recent memory.
3. DH Kris Bryant, Colorado Rockies
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Remaining Contract: 3 years, $81 million
There's a very real chance Kris Bryant is finished playing Major League Baseball.
"It's not in the best shape, and that's pretty disheartening for me. It's exhausting for me waking up and hoping to feel (better). I can't tell you the last time I woke up feeling I'm in a good spot," Bryant told reporters on Nov. 1 while giving an update on his nagging back issues, caused by lumbar degenerative disk disease.
Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post floated the idea of retirement and a settlement agreement similar to the Washington Nationals handling of Stephen Strasburg, and that could be the point we get to in 2026 if he is unable to take the field.
All of that makes a trade highly, highly unlikely, and at this point the question is simply whether we have seen the last of the 2016 NL MVP on a big league field.
Any trade that were to take place would simply be a moving around of money, perhaps with a similar salary dump on the other end, or the Rockies attaching a prospect to Bryant and sending him to a rebuilding team with a willingness to absorb the salary. That's still enough to make him No. 3 on this list, rather than No. 1.
2. OF Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
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Total Remaining: 5 years, $185.6 million
Would name recognition be enough for another team to swing a deal for Mike Trout, especially if the Angels were to absorb a significant portion of his remaining money in the process?
Maybe, but it's almost impossible to envision the Angels doing that with a franchise icon, and Trout also has a full no-trade clause he might opt to exercise.
To that point, if he hasn't demanded a trade now to a contending team after 10 straight losing seasons, there is no reason to think he's going to force the club's hand any time soon.
After playing in just 266 total games across the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons, Trout stayed healthy enough to take the field for 130 games this year, and he had a good-not-great offensive season with a .232/.359/.439 line that equated to a 121 OPS with 26 home runs and 64 RBI.
He was used primarily as a DH, seeing just 22 games of action in the outfield, and ultimately provided 1.5 WAR on a $37.1 million salary.
At this point, the salary figure is simply too high and the remaining runway of years too long for another team to realistically view Trout as a trade target.
1. SS Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres
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Remaining Contract: 8 years, $203.6 million
The 11-year, $280 million contract the San Diego Padres gave to Xander Bogaerts looked like a mistake from the jump, and three years into the deal he is already seemingly in decline with more than $200 million still on the books.
After logging a 117 OPS and 4.2 WAR in his first season with the Padres, he has tallied a combined 3.2 WAR in 247 games the last two years while providing below-average offensive production with a .263/.319/.386 line and a 96 OPS in 1,015 plate appearances.
A middling defender at shortstop even in the prime of his career, his value has always been largely tied to what he does in the batter's box, so to already see him producing below a league-average rate in his age-32 season was alarming.
The remaining years here is enough to make this a true albatross, and the most untradeable contract in baseball entering the 2025-26 offseason.
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