Every MLB Team's Player Most Likely to Be Traded in 2025-26 Offseason
The Los Angeles Angels sent Taylor Ward to the Baltimore Orioles for Grayson Rodriguez on Tuesday night, officially kicking off what should be a wild few months of Major League Baseball's offseason trade extravaganza.
The first couple weeks of November are typically quiet on the trade front, with teams needing to first worry about options, qualifying offers and non-tenders. By this coming weekend, though, all of those initial offseason transactions will be in the rearview mirror, and the trade juices can officially start flowing.
There were more than 40 trades last offseason, with nearly every team participating in at least one player swap.
With that in mind, who looks likeliest to be on the move from each team this winter?
Teams are broken up by division. Within each division, we've devoted a bit of extra space to what we feel is the most intriguing trade candidate/situation.
American League East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: 1B Ryan Mountcastle
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $6.5M-$8M
Mountcastle missed all of June and July this past season, sputtering through what was the least productive year of his career, by far. As such, his trade value is negligible, but Baltimore's motivation to move him is obvious: salary dump. He's currently projected to be the fourth-highest paid player on the roster, but he's also plenty expendable with 1B/3B Coby Mayo and C/1B Samuel Basallo all but certain to be on the Opening Day roster. (Baltimore might even just non-tender Mountcastle if it's not confident about making a trade happen.)
Boston Red Sox: DH/OF Masataka Yoshida
$18.6M in each of 2026 and 2027
Speaking of expendable bats who just had their worst season but rank among the most expensive line items on the payroll, the Red Sox have no real use for Yoshida at this point, with Roman Anthony, Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Ceddanne Rafaela all now regulars in the lineup. It'd be one thing if they could put him in a platoon where they bench him against LHP, but Boston's lineup is heavily left-handed even without Yoshida. They'll probably need to eat some of his contract in order to move him, but it's also probably worth it.
New York Yankees: RHP Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz
Triple-A Pitching Prospect
The Yankees traded Carlos Narváez to Boston last December to acquire Rodriguez-Cruz. Will they now flip the 21-year-old starting pitcher with a 2.59 ERA in 333.1 IP in the minors for something they could actually use in 2026?
Gerrit Cole is unlikely to be ready by Opening Day, but he'll likely be back before Memorial Day, potentially bumping Will Warren from a rotation where they already have Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Cam Schlittler.
The specifics on that front remain to be sorted out, but the moral of the story is the Yankees have six starters signed through at least 2028 and a farm system that is almost too top-heavy with pitchers. Moving one of those prospects this winter is a near-certainty.
Tampa Bay Rays: 2B Brandon Lowe
$11.5M in 2026, Free Agent next winter
We all know how this works by now. Tampa Bay loves to backload a contract before unloading the biggest chunk onto someone else. It's honestly astounding how often it works out for them, rarely if ever getting stuck holding the bag on an expensive season or two of an untradeable asset. And after Lowe hit 31 home runs in an All-Star season in 2025, there's about a 115 percent chance they'll be able to get some solid prospects in exchange for his $11.5 million salary—if they do decide to put him on the trade block.
Toronto Blue Jays: RHP Jeff Hoffman
$12.7M in each of 2026 and 2027
Could also see the Blue Jays trading from their surplus of outfielders, especially if they're able to re-sign Bo Bichette, at which point they would be bringing back all 13 of the team leaders in plate appearances. But between the 4.37 ERA during the regular season and the Miguel Rojas home run that will live in infamy in Canada, if the Blue Jays aren't aggressively shopping Hoffman this winter, they're at least going to be receptive to offers. It helps that there are plenty of closers available in free agency to backfill that job.
American League Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: OF Mike Tauchman
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $2.5M-$3.5M
There's still a non-zero chance they'll move Luis Robert Jr.'s $20 million salary. But considering Chicago is almost surely still at least a year away from contending, its much more likely trade candidate is the soon-to-be 35-year-old outfielder who just had one of the best seasons of his career in advance of his final year of team control.
Cleveland Guardians: OF Steven Kwan
Two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $8M-$9M
One winter removed from trading away all of Josh Naylor, Andrés Giménez and Myles Straw in the name of reducing costs, it wouldn't surprise anyone to see the Guardians part with their final two years of control on this two-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove left fielder. In fact, this could be where the aforementioned Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz (and more from NYY) lands, as the Yankees could clearly use Kwan.
Detroit Tigers: RHP Jack Flaherty
$20M in 2026, Free Agent next winter
Tarik Skubal is a stone-cold lock to be talked about the most as a trade candidate—not just among Tigers, but in all of baseball this winter. However, it's hard to imagine anyone is going to offer enough for one year of the two-time reigning Cy Young winner to get Detroit to move him.
With Gleyber Torres accepting his qualifying offer, it becomes even more likely Detroit will try to trade away Flaherty, lest they have four players (Torres, Flaherty, Javier Báez and possibly Skubal, whose salary in arbitration remain to be seen) making at least $20 million next season.
Not only would moving Flaherty save some coin, but it also better enables them to use 2026 to find out which pitchers they can count upon for 2027 and beyond. But that hinges to some extent on how confident they are in Reese Olson, Ty Madden and Keider Montero being both healthy and part of the starting rotation mix heading into next season.
Kansas City Royals: LHP Kris Bubic
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $4.5M-$6M
For all the talk of the Brewers and Tigers possibly moving Freddy Peralta and Tarik Skubal, why aren't more people speculating about this 2025 All-Star's final season before free agency? The Royals already have Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Cole Ragans, Noah Cameron and quite a few more-than-viable No. 5 starters at their disposal, so if they can turn Bubic into a similarly-priced outfielder who can actually contribute on offense, why wouldn't they pursue that?
Minnesota Twins: RHP Bailey Ober
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $4.5M-$7M
If the Twins trade any of Joe Ryan, Pablo López or Byron Buxton, they're probably trading all of them and Ryan Jeffers to steer headlong into a rebuild. But with Ober, they could dump some salary without setting off another fire-sale chain reaction, as a projected Ober-less rotation of Ryan, López, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Taj Bradley and David Festa/Zebby Matthews/Mick Abel could be solid.
American League West
3 of 6
Athletics: OF JJ Bleday
Three years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $1M-$2.5M
The A's are much more likely to trade for MLB-caliber arms than to trade away MLB-caliber position players, but they may need to embrace the latter in order to accomplish the former. And if they're reasonably all-in on Denzel Clarke as the long-term solution in center, Bleday is the odd man out who is also starting to get more expensive in arbitration. It would be a full-circle situation if they traded him for a closer, considering they traded A.J. Puk to the Marlins to acquire Bleday in the first place. [Note: Bleday was designated for assignment late in the day on Tuesday, so the trade clock is officially ticking.]
Houston Astros: OF Jesús Sánchez
Two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $6.5M
With seven known salaries north of $17 million and nine more expected to land in the $3 million-$10 million range in arbitration, the Astros are surely looking to trim some payroll—if only so they can turn around and throw those savings at a free-agent ace like Dylan Cease.
In addition to Sánchez, they also have Mauricio Dubón entering his final year of eligibility, each likely to cost somewhere in the $4.5 million-$7 million range. And while positional depth can be a wonderful thing, it's more than plausible that neither is part of their planned starting lineup for Opening Day, provided they're content with Cam Smith or Zach Cole in right field.
Dubón figures to be the one they're most reluctant to move, given his Gold Glove-winning versatility all over the field. Sánchez is probably both the most expendable to them and most desirable for tentative trade partners because of the extra year of team control.
Los Angeles Angels: RHP Robert Stephenson
$11M in 2026, Free Agent next winter
Well, the original pick here was Taylor Ward. But that slugging outfielder has already been traded to Baltimore for Grayson Rodriguez—which sure seemed to be a decision of a team already thinking about 2027, if not outright waving the white flag on 2026. With that in mind, maybe they can get something for Stephenson, who missed the vast majority of the past two seasons, but was a remarkable high-leverage reliever at his peak?
Seattle Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo
$24.15M in 2026, $24.15M in 2027, $25M vesting option for 2028
It's not likely Seattle would move Castillo. We should probably throw a dart at one of the prospects instead, maybe 21-year-old middle infielder Michael Arroyo. But now they've re-signed Josh Naylor, in order to do anything else even remotely noteworthy to improve the roster, passing the buck on the up to $73.3 million still owed to La Piedra sure would help with the bottom line. Notably, Castillo had a full no-trade clause for the past three years, but that has now expired, leaving the M's with far more flexibility to shop him than they had last winter.
Texas Rangers: OF Adolis García
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $12M-$13M
With a sub-.700 OPS in each of the past two seasons, Rangers fans have really soured on García, many outright hoping all the talk of trimming payroll is a thinly veiled promise to either trade or non-tender the right fielder. He did end up posting a 2.7 bWAR in 2025, at least reaching that threshold for the fourth time in five years. However, a change of scenery could be just what the doctor ordered.
National League East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: RHP JR Ritchie
Triple-A Prospect
It would take something significant for Atlanta to part with arguably its top pitching prospect, but this is a team trying to win right now with a rotation in which Chris Sale, Spencer Strider, Reynaldo López, Spencer Schwellenbach and AJ Smith-Shawver is the plan with Grant Holmes, Bryce Elder and even Alek Manoah (remember him?) among its injury replacement options. If they can turn Ritchie into a legitimate closer or a slugger who can play in the outfield, they might need to consider it.
Miami Marlins: RHP Edward Cabrera
Three years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $3.5M-$4M
Sandy Alcantara remains Miami's big name everyone is going to be asking about, but Cabrera could be the sell-high candidate who is actually on the move. He just had both the healthiest and most productive season of his career, and a Miami team with plenty of options for its starting rotation might decide swapping his arm for a controllable bat beats the alternative of paying Cabrera a salary that is only going to go up from here.
New York Mets: RHP Kodai Senga
$15M in 2026, $15M in 2027, $15M conditional option for 2028
The Athletic's Will Sammon reported from last week's GM meetings that he was hearing a fair amount of trade interest in Senga, which could make sense for the Mets, provided they sign at least one of the big-name arms available. They already have almost too many options for their rotation, but only rookie Nolan McLean seems worth getting excited about. For every arm they sign, they may look to get rid of (at least) one currently on the roster. And they could surely get more than just salary relief if they moved Senga.
Philadelphia Phillies: 3B Alec Bohm
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $10M-$11M
Were we asking which player the Phillies would most like to trade away, there's little question it's Nick Castellanos, who is going to make about twice as much as Bohm in 2026 and who has been worth a grand total of 1.3 bWAR through the first 80 percent of his five-year, $100 million contract.
However, the name of the game here is most likely, and Bohm falls right into the three-pronged sweet spot of: pricy enough that the team would consider moving him, affordable enough that several teams would be interested and replaceable with players already on the roster.
To that latter point, Edmundo Sosa would be the first choice to replace Bohm, but heck, the Phillies may look to trade him, too, if Spotrac is anywhere close with its estimate of $7.5 million for Sosa's final year of arbitration eligibility. They also have Otto Kemp and the versatile Weston Wilson if both Bohm and Sosa are gone.
Washington Nationals: LHP MacKenzie Gore
Two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $5M-$6.5M
The Nationals most likely aren't actively trying to trade away Gore, but there's a good chance they'll at least listen to phone calls from teams who are appalled at the asking prices for one year of Tarik Skubal or Freddy Peralta. Could also see Luis García Jr. as a trade candidate here, with two years of arbitration eligibility remaining and likely landing in the $7 million-$8 million range for 2026.
National League Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: OF/DH Seiya Suzuki
$19M in 2026, Free Agent next winter
As is, the Cubs aren't in much of a "trading away players" position, with a 40-man roster that is presently just 29 players—which even includes top outfield prospects Owen Caissie and Kevin Alcantara and catcher Moisés Ballesteros, who made a combined total of 105 plate appearances in 2025. But they're going to reload and might decide to find out what they can get for a $19 million impending free agent who provides little to no value on defense. Miami, Kansas City and Cincinnati would presumably all have at least some interest in Suzuki.
Cincinnati Reds: RHP Brady Singer
One year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $11.5M-$13M
Singer had a solid first season in Cincinnati, leading the team in innings pitched with a 4.03 ERA, but do the Reds need him? In what could be an excellent rotation without him? He is projected to be the highest-paid player on the roster, but he's nowhere close to the most important. If they can dump his salary and add a productive bat in the process, that's what we call a win-win.
Milwaukee Brewers: RHP Freddy Peralta
$8M in 2026, Free Agent next winter
Last winter, the Brewers traded away Devin Williams before his final arbitration-eligible season. They did the same with Corbin Burnes the previous offseason and Hunter Renfroe the offseason before that. And remember a decade ago when they traded away one year of Adam Lind for three minor leaguers, one of whom was Freddy Peralta?
It's just what they do, and refusing to clutch their pearls has been such a key element in keeping this low-budget franchise in the playoff picture in seven of the past eight years.
That doesn't mean it's a sure thing that Peralta will be on the move. At any rate, they didn't trade Willy Adames' final pre-FA season two winters ago. What it does mean, though, is that we can't even pretend to be surprised if Peralta does get traded, nor if they still win around 93 games even after trading away their brightest star.
We recently ranked Peralta's landing spots if he is, in fact, available to the highest bidder.
Pittsburgh Pirates: RHP Johan Oviedo
Two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $2M
Trading away Paul Skenes would be stunning, but not much else would be from Pittsburgh. Moving Oviedo wouldn't save them much money, but he does represent $2 million they could be spending somewhere else. With Skenes and Mitch Keller atop the rotation, Jared Jones maybe back by Opening Day and a strong next wave of Bubba Chandler, Braxton Ashcraft and Tom Harrington already in the majors, they could try to flip Oviedo for a bat.
St. Louis Cardinals: 3B Nolan Arenado
$16M in 2026, $15M in 2027
It's possible the Cardinals already missed the boat by not doing more to trade Arenado away last winter. This year was the worst season of his career in terms of batting average, slugging percentage and percentage of team games played. But someone will try to buy low on the 10-time Gold Glove third baseman who turns 35 in April, right? It might depend on whether the Phillies are actually trying to move Alec Bohm, as well as whether teams view Japanese imports Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto as legitimate options to man the hot corner.
National League West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: 2B Ketel Marte
$16M in 2026, $12M in 2027, $20M in 2028, $22M in 2029, $22M in 2030, $11.5M player option for 2031
The tough reality for the Diamondbacks and Marte is that it's probably now or never for a trade.
He has been outstanding over the past three seasons, batting .283/.368/.519 with FanGraphs rating his offense, defense and overall WAR since the beginning of 2023 as virtually identical to that of Mookie Betts. No second baseman can hold a candle to what Marte has brought to the table as of late.
But we're talking about a 32-year-old middle infielder who is still owed more than $100 million for the next six seasons. We're also talking about a Diamondbacks team that—in its present state of waiting for Corbin Burnes to return in 2027—might have one of the three worst pitching staffs in all of baseball.
Teams realistically trying to win the World Series in 2026 would love to take on Marte's contract, even if it could become a bit of an albatross for 2029-31. And if those offers get desperate enough, the Snakes may need to take one.
Colorado Rockies: OF Brenton Doyle
Four years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 salary estimated at $3M-$3.5M
The toughest part with the Rockies is finding someone other teams might actually want to acquire. Doyle surely has value on the trade block, though, with Gold Gloves in both 2023 and 2024 in center field, plus a 4.0 bWAR in 2024. However, it's quite troubling that he has a career .201/.251/.321 triple-slash in 206 games played outside of Coors Field.
Los Angeles Dodgers: RHP Emmet Sheehan
Pre-arbitration in 2026, will have three years of arbitration eligibility from 2027-29
If the Dodgers win the Munetaka Murakami sweepstakes, go ahead and put Max Muncy in this spot instead. For now, though, trading away a starting pitcher seems likeliest here. They have their big four of Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Shohei Ohtani, they have River Ryan and Gavin Stone both returning after missing all of 2025, and they have Roki Sasaki, Landon Knack and Emmet Sheehan all in the mix as guys who each started at least seven games in 2025. That's quite the stockpile from which they could try to acquire a solid left fielder.
San Diego Padres: 1B/OF/DH Gavin Sheets
Two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, 2026 estimated at $3M-$4.5M
With the new wrinkle of the Seidler family potentially putting the team up for sale, goodness only knows what direction the Padres will try to go in this offseason. Could they trade away one (or more) of the core four (Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts and Jackson Merrill) that are signed through at least 2033? Trading Sheets to hopefully help bolster the rotation is probably the path of least resistance.
San Francisco Giants: SS/LF Marco Luciano
Under team control through 2031
Luciano was one of the Giants' top prospects for many moons. After cups of coffee in the majors in both 2023 and 2024, though, he wasn't even a September call-up this time around. And with Willy Adames not going anywhere any time soon, his path to playing time in San Francisco isn't looking promising. Tough to say what Luciano's trade value is these days, but it's not tough to say the Giants need pitching.
