Realistic MLB Trades That Could Happen Before 2026 Opening Day
Despite signing Framber Valdez to a three-year, $115 million deal, there's no indication the Detroit Tigers plan to trade two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal—who will now make a record $32 million arbitration salary—before his contract year.
As interesting as it would be to see Skubal moved, the Tigers are seemingly going to move forward with the game's best pitcher at the top of what should be a tremendous rotation following the addition of Valdez.
However, that doesn't mean there won't be additional trades made before Opening Day. With pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training this week, here are some realistic names who could be dealt before the season.
Orioles Trade Ryan Mountcastle to Nationals
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The Orioles signed Pete Alonso to a five-year, $155 million contract in December, and have top prospect Samuel Basallo likely to get an extended look at DH to open their season. That leaves Ryan Mountcastle without a clear role.
Now 28, Mountcastle is, like many in Baltimore, coming off of a rather disastrous season. With that said, he's got an .813 career OPS against left-handed pitching, and his .750 OPS against righties is still playable.
If the O's don't see much value in carrying a pretty inflexible player on their bench to begin the season, he should be someone there's trade interest in.
The nearby Nationals have one of the five worst rosters in baseball, with their lineup in desperate need of a power source outside of James Wood. Mountcastle could take over at first base, where he's a more natural fit than Luis García Jr., who is a middle infielder by trade.
Mountcastle will make $6.8 million in 2026, and his deal includes a $7.5 million club option for 2027 that could potentially be picked up if he has a resurgence at the plate.
For the Nationals, that means if Mountcastle looks good in the first half of the season, he could become a trade candidate where they could get quite a good return on what would likely be a minimal investment in terms of prospect capital.
Phillies Trade Nick Castellanos to Rockies
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The Phillies have been pretty clear this winter that Nick Castellanos—who had a public falling out with manager Rob Thomson as his playing time was reduced in 2025—will not return for the 2026 campaign.
What complicates things for the Phillies is Castellanos is still owed $20 million for 2026, and considering he graded out as the worst qualified player in all of baseball in terms of WAR last season, teams aren't lining up to take on even a small chunk of that.
This may all be trending towards the Phillies releasing Castellanos, though an alternate scenario is Dave Dombrowski and company find a team willing to take, say, $1 million of the $20 million on and trade him. That way, the Phillies could save a little face, and a small amount of money.
Castellanos signaled a willingness earlier this offseason to play first base if that's what a team wanted from him. The Rockies currently have left-handed hitters penciled in at DH (Mickey Moniak), first base (Troy Johnston) and right field (Jake McCarthy).
Castellanos could get relatively consistent at-bats in a very hitter-friendly environment if he was willing to move around a bit defensively. And the Rockies would be taking a chance that Castellanos—who posted an .839 OPS as recently as the second half of the 2024 season—bounces back and becomes a July trade candidate.
Cardinals Trade JoJo Romero to Blue Jays
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For as deep as the Toronto Blue Jays appear, the defending AL Champions could use another left-handed set-up option to go in a bullpen led by righties Jeff Hoffman, Louis Varland, Tyler Rogers and Yimi Garcia.
In his first offseason as president of baseball operations for the Cardinals, Chaim Bloom has shown a willingness to move just about anyone as he rebuilds the organization in his image. So after already dealing Sonny Gray, Willson Contreras and Brendan Donovan this offseason, there's no reason to think Bloom would stop if the right offer was made for JoJo Romero.
Romero probably projects more as the No. 2 left-handed option in a contending bullpen, but his 2.93 ERA across 157 games since the start of the 2023 season would immediately make him one of Toronto's top relief arms.
The 29-year-old lefty will make a relatively modest $4.26 million salary in 2026, which is a contract year. If the Blue Jays or another team isn't able to pry him away from the Cardinals now, he'll be a coveted piece in advance of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
Rays Trade Yandy Díaz to Marlins
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It feels like Yandy Díaz has been mentioned as a possible trade candidate for years, only for the Rays—a team more than willing to typically part with coveted players—to hold onto him.
That may again prove to be the case here, but we can't help but notice how good of a fit that Díaz would be for Florida's other team if the Rays were willing to move him.
Quietly, Clayton McCullough's Marlins went 35-32 after the All-Star Break a year ago, leapfrogging the Atlanta Braves to finish third in the NL East. Even after moving Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers this offseason, the Marlins could be a sneaky playoff contender in the NL.
Where it still seems like president of baseball operations Peter Bendix needs to make an addition is with an impact veteran bat from the right side. A reunion with Marcell Ozuna might make sense, while Rhys Hoskins could be another consideration in free agency.
But with left-handed hitters in Graham Pauley and Griffin Conine currently projected in at first base and DH, respectively, trading for Díaz would be another interesting solution. The 2023 AL batting champion is due $12 million in 2026, and then has a conditional club option that could be worth up to $13 million in 2027. Both are team-friendly prices, which would be of interest to a Marlins team that pinches pennies.
Díaz is 34 years old, so the Marlins aren't going to gut their farm system to trade for him, but they have five prospects in MLB Pipeline's top 100. A package of pieces outside of that top five might be fair compensation as they try to balance their present and future.
Mets Trade Mark Vientos to Pirates
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Considering he looked like a budding star when he hit five home runs and drove in 14 runs during a 2024 run to the NLCS, it's kind of crazy we're sitting here talking about the Mets moving Mark Vientos.
However, they signed Bo Bichette to play third base and Jorge Polanco to play first base this offseason. Bichette can opt out as soon as next offseason, so the Mets might be inclined to protect themselves against the possibility that he only spends a year in Flushing, but Brett Baty—who has more positional flexibility—might be how they do that.
With all this said, the Mets aren't going to give Vientos away just to do so. It wasn't just the 2024 postseason where Vientos shined, but he finished his age-24 season with 27 home runs and an .837 OPS. Yes, he regressed to a .702 OPS in 2025, but he can't become a free agent until after the 2029 season, so he's a controllable player that's flashed star potential. Those type of pieces don't often become available.
The Pittsburgh Pirates reportedly finished runner-up to the Cincinnati Reds for slugger Eugenio Suárez. Jared Triolo is currently their projected starting third baseman, and he has a .667 career OPS. Vientos would be an upgrade at third base in the short term, and Pittsburgh would be acquiring him knowing he can also play at first base or DH. He's the type of player a team like the Pirates needs to take risks on because they aren't going to typically spend on star players in free agency. So they need to try to acquire them with years of control left via trade.
Would the Pirates part with Mitch Keller in a trade? They are deep in pitching, but it probably makes sense for them to maintain the strength of their roster as they try to make the postseason for the first time since 2015.
If the Mets and Pirates did get to the point where they were talking a trade for Vientos, 23-year-old outfielder Jhostynxon García—whom the Pirates acquired from the Red Sox in the Johan Oviedo trade this offseason—could be an interesting name to consider as part of a return.
Ditto for 23-year-old middle infielder Termarr Johnson and 19-year-old right-handed starter Levi Sterling.
Red Sox Trade Brayan Bello to Padres
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After signing Ranger Suárez and trading for both Sonny Gray and Johan Oviedo earlier this offseason, the Red Sox have a surplus of starting pitching.
That is particularly true when you consider that both Kutter Crawford (wrist surgery in July of 2025) and Patrick Sandoval (internal brace procedure on elbow in June of 2024) aren't in the current projected rotation but should play a role in 2026 for Alex Cora's squad.
In late January, The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey reported that Bello's name had "surfaced in trade talks." That's not particularly surprising considering that Bello has a 4.09 ERA and 4.16 FIP across parts of four MLB seasons. The 26-year-old has logged more than 150 innings in each of the last three seasons, and is signed to a team-friendly pact that will pay him $50.2 million over the next four campaigns, with a $21 million club option for 2030.
The Padres are the exact type of team that makes sense for Bello because they need a No. 3 for 2026 to go behind Michael King and Nick Pivetta, while also alleviating pressure on Joe Musgrove in his return after missing all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Bello also would give the Padres some long-term stability in their rotation, which would likely be appealing to president of baseball operations A.J. Preller considering both King and Pivetta can opt out and become free agents after the 2026 campaign.
For San Diego, the biggest question is whether they can put together an enticing enough package to get the Red Sox to part with Bello. Kruz Schoolcraft—a left-handed pitcher that San Diego selected in the first round of last summer's draft—is their only top-100 prospect currently, per MLB Pipeline.
Would the Padres move catcher Ethan Salas to land Bello? Do lower-level prospects like LHP Kash Mayfield, shortstop Jorge Quintana and RHP Humberto Cruz move the needle for Craig Breslow and the Red Sox?
No matter how many prospects Preller moves, he always seems to find the ammo to make the next big trade, and Bello makes so much sense for the Friars.
Blue Jays Trade Eric Lauer to Angels
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As is, the Blue Jays already have an overflow of starters with Kevin Gausman, Dylan Cease, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage, José Berríos and Cody Ponce, meaning one of those arms will likely begin the season in the bullpen.
The Blue Jays would probably love to trade Berríos, but good luck doing that when he's owed $67 million over the next three seasons. What's more likely is they can find a taker for left-hander Eric Lauer, who posted a 3.18 ERA across 104.2 innings pitched a year ago as he returned after a season pitching in South Korea.
Lauer can pitch in a swing role, but on many teams, he probably would be in their starting rotation. A team like the Los Angeles Angels, for example, could add Lauer. Let's face it, they are going to need more than their five projected starters this season. Grayson Rodriguez is returning after missing the entire 2025 season, and Alek Manoah has pitched just 111.2 innings in the majors since he was an All-Star in 2022. Lauer gives them another starting option, and if all goes perfectly, he's capable of pitching out of the bullpen as well.
The $2.2 million salary that Lauer is set to make is more than affordable, even if he winds up spending more time out of the bullpen.
Toronto could end up in a crunch, but a lottery-ticket minor league arm would be a nice return for someone who could help quite a few teams.
