Every MLB Team's Player Most Likely to Be Dealt at 2026 Trade Deadline
By the time Major League Baseball's August 3 trade deadline rolls around, who from each of the 30 teams is most likely to have a new home?
Naturally, a big part of the exercise here is forecasting whether the team will be buying or selling, which is hardly an exact science in early May. When in doubt, though, we've leaned toward "slight selling."
For the most part (22 of 30 teams), we've identified a player from the active 26-man roster as the most likely to be traded. However, there will be cases where the choice is either a player presently on the IL or a prospect who is on the 40-man roster.
Teams have been broken up by division and presented in alphabetical order.
American League East
1 of 6
Baltimore Orioles: 1B/DH Ryan Mountcastle
Contract: $6.787M, $7.5M club option for 2027
Goodness only knows why they held onto Mountcastle after signing Pete Alonso, but regardless of whether the O's are buying or selling, he is one of the most obvious trade candidates out there—provided he makes it back from his broken foot in time to make an impact in the weeks leading up to the deadline.
Boston Red Sox: UTIL Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Contract: $6M, free agent this winter
As seemed to already be the case when this signing was announced, Boston hasn't had a whole lot of use for this light-hitting utilityman. If and when they call Kristian Campbell back up at some point, the Red Sox would have even less use for IKF. They presumably won't be able to get much for him other than a bit of salary relief, but that's not nothing.
New York Yankees: UTIL Oswaldo Cabrera
Contract: $1.2M, two years of arbitration eligibility remaining
There will, of course, be talk of Jasson Domínguez or Spencer Jones as possible trade chips. But when and where does Cabrera fit back into the mix in the Bronx? José Caballero has been great, Ryan McMahon isn't going anywhere, Amed Rosario has been a more than adequate utilityman and they're going to bring Anthony Volpe back eventually. If they can swap Cabrera for a bullpen arm, they'll probably do it.
Tampa Bay Rays: SS Taylor Walls
Contract: $2.45M, $1.4M club option for 2027
If you ever find yourself thinking you know what the Rays are going to do at the trade deadline, that should be your first inkling that you actually have no idea. No team is more likely to simultaneously buy and sell in any given summer, but especially this year as an overachieving early contender. We do assume they eventually want to hand the shortstop reins to Carson Williams, though, and there's bound to be a team out there who would take Walls' great defense at shortstop, even though it comes with a sub-.200 career batting average.
Toronto Blue Jays: RHP Jeff Hoffman
Contract: $11M, $11M in 2027
Triple-A pitching prospects Adam Macko and Jake Bloss are probably more likely to get moved, but could the Blue Jays unload Hoffman now that Louis Varland has shown himself capable as the closer? Hoffman's strikeout rate is better than ever, and his hard-hit percentage is almost as low as it has ever been. He has just been dreadfully unlucky in the early going, and teams might want to buy low on the 2024 All-Star.
American League Central
2 of 6
Chicago White Sox: RHP Erick Fedde
Contract: $1.5M, free agent this winter
For the second time in three years, the White Sox took a flyer on Fedde and might be reaping a reward at the deadline—if they even end up being a seller, which is the furthest thing from a guarantee at this point, 0.5 games back in the AL Central. Fedde had a 3.11 ERA when they traded him (and more) to the Cardinals in that three-team swap that netted them Miguel Vargas (and more), and he entered Tuesday's start against the Angels with a 3.24 ERA this year. If he's anywhere close to that number 12 weeks from now, there will be a bidding war for his services.
Cleveland Guardians: 1B/DH Rhys Hoskins
Contract: $1.5M, free agent this winter
The Guardians were able to get Hoskins on the cheap after back-to-back underwhelming seasons in Milwaukee. He hasn't been any better, and CJ Kayfus should be back to fill that backup 1B/DH role by early August. Moving Hoskins would only save Cleveland around $500K, but the Guardians will probably still look to do it.
Detroit Tigers: LHP Jake Miller
Contract: Yet to make MLB debut
Miller is a wild card who is recovering from double hip surgery, yet to pitch this season after logging just 20 innings in the minors in 2025. He has good swing-and-miss stuff, though, and is a tantalizing "if he gets and stays healthy" type of long-term prospect who could be a solid trade chip for a Tigers team that figures to be on the hunt for a rental arm that can help them win right now.
Kansas City Royals: LHP Kris Bubic
Contract: $6.15M, free agent this winter
It's tough to say which direction the Royals will go. They're three games below .500 with a minus-13 run differential, but they are right there in an American League that has been a hot mess. If they end up selling, though, Bubic is going to be quite the coveted name on the trade block. He has a 2.74 ERA in nearly 200 innings pitched since the beginning of 2024, and his salary is low enough that any team with designs of making the postseason could afford him for a couple of months.
Minnesota Twins: C Ryan Jeffers
Contract: $6.7M, free agent this winter
The Twins might yet decide to completely blow it up by putting Joe Ryan on the trade block and asking Byron Buxton to waive his no-trade clause. Even if they do not go that far, Jeffers being moved before he reaches free agency feels close to inevitable. He has an .865 OPS so far and could be a near-everyday presence in a contender's lineup as a catcher/designated hitter.
American League West
3 of 6
Athletics: RHP Braden Nett
Contract: Yet to make MLB debut
Leo De Vries was the headliner, but Nett was one of the other prospects the A's got in last summer's Mason Miller blockbuster. He is presently on the IL with a rotator cuff injury, but he has a sub-4.00 ERA and a 10.0 K/9 over the past two seasons in the minors. He could have some real trade value if the A's continue to hang around well enough to do some deadline buying.
Houston Astros: RHP Bryan Abreu
Contract: $5.85M, free agent this winter
After allowing 12 earned runs in his first 7.1 innings of work, Abreu has reasserted himself as one of the best middle relievers in the business with eight strikeouts and one run allowed across his last five innings. Can the Astros make it back from their woeful start, though, given the state of their rotation and the extent of their IL stockpile? They might be selling off their impending free agents, and Abreu's track record (2.30 ERA from 2022-25) would make him highly coveted.
Los Angeles Angels: DH Jorge Soler
Contract: $13M, free agent this winter
With Mike Trout healthy and thriving while the Angels are dead-last in the MLB standings, you know exactly which trade rumor we're hoping to discuss this summer. That's a pipe dream, though, whereas Soler is a much more legitimate option. He was traded at both the 2021 and 2024 deadlines, and he's hitting better this season than he did in the first few months of those campaigns. It's merely a question of whether it'll be Atlanta acquiring him for a third time.
Seattle Mariners: OF Rob Refsnyder
Contract: $6.25M, free agent this winter
The Mariners brought in Refsnyder's right-handed bat to platoon with Luke Raley in right field, except Refsnyder is batting .114 against southpaws and would maybe be out of a job already if Victor Robles wasn't on the IL. Refsnyder was a great reserve outfielder over the previous four years in Boston, though, giving the Red Sox an .804 OPS. If he can at least show some signs of becoming that type of hitter again, maybe the M's can use him to spruce up their bullpen.
Texas Rangers: IF Justin Foscue
Contract: 2026 compensation unknown, but under team control through 2031
Once a tantalizing prospect, the Rangers have been unable to get anything out of their 2020 first-round pick any time they've called him up over the past two seasons. But with an .849 OPS over the course of more than 300 games played at the Triple-A level, surely the 27-year-old still has some trade value.
National League East
4 of 6
Atlanta Braves: IF Jorge Mateo
Contract: $1M, free agent this winter
Fun fact: When I started putting this list together on Monday, the pick for Atlanta was going to be Jonah Heim. Now that Sean Murphy is back from the IL, though, they traded Heim to the A's that evening. In a similar vein, what use will they have for Mateo once Ha-Seong Kim makes it back from the IL, which should be in the next week or so? They could look to trade the more expensive Mauricio Dubón ($6.1M) instead of Mateo, but Dubón's versatility on defense is a bit more robust/valuable.
Miami Marlins: RHP Sandy Alcantara
Contract: $11.2M, $21M club option for 2027
It's not often that the most likely trade candidate is also the most coveted player on the roster, but the only Marlin who will be a free agent in six months is Pete Fairbanks, and he's on the IL with a 10.00 ERA. The possible curveball here is a scenario in which the "second place in the NL East" Marlins are legitimately in the postseason hunt at the deadline and decide to hold tight to Alcantara. As of Tuesday morning, though, FanGraphs gives them just a 10.5 percent chance of making the playoffs.
New York Mets: RHP Jonah Tong
Contract: 2026 compensation unknown, but under team control through 2031
If the Mets end up selling, the Freddy Peralta ($8M, free agent this winter) conversation would be quite the circus. However, two years removed from turning a 24-35 start into an NLCS appearance, it still feels wildly premature to assume they'll pull the plug on this expensive mess. It's more likely they'll trade away their top prospect in hopes of resolving whatever the biggest roster hole is three months from now.
Philadelphia Phillies: 3B Alec Bohm
Contract: $10.2M, free agent this winter
As with the Mets and Peralta, a selling Phillies team would have an absurd trade chip in Zack Wheeler ($42M in each of 2026 and 2027). With wins in seven of their last nine games, though, the Phillies are back enough from the dead that we'd better press pause on any further speculation on that front. They might give up the ghost on Alec Bohm, though, regardless of whether they're buying or selling. The classic "needs a change of scenery" trade candidate hasn't homered since Opening Day.
Washington Nationals: LHP Foster Griffin
Contract: $5.5M, free agent this winter
There will be legitimate talk of CJ Abrams and less legitimate talk of James Wood as trade candidates, but Griffin is a virtual lock for the trade block. He has reeled off three consecutive quality starts, lowering his ERA to 2.27. The former first-round draft pick also had a 2.57 ERA over the past three seasons in Japan, so this hot start didn't exactly come out of nowhere.
National League Central
5 of 6
Chicago Cubs: OF Michael Conforto
Contract: $2M, free agent this winter
Raise your hand if you had kind of forgotten that Conforto even signed with the Cubs until he hit that walk-off home run on Monday night. (*Raises own hand*) He hasn't played a ton, but that dinger brought his triple-slash to .323/.436/.548 in 39 trips to the plate, all but one of which came against right-handed pitching. And though last season with the Dodgers was a disaster for him, there would be quite a bit of interest in Conforto as the LHB half of a corner outfield or DH platoon if the Cubs made him available right now.
Cincinnati Reds: 1B Nathaniel Lowe
Contract: $1.75M, free agent this winter
Speaking of "Oh, yeah, I forgot he signed with them" guys, did you know that Lowe—not Elly De La Cruz nor Sal Stewart—is Cincinnati's leading slugger among players with at least 30 plate appearances? He has been the primary DH since Eugenio Suárez hit the shelf, and he hit five home runs in his first six games in that role. Once Geno returns, maybe they can continue to find regular work for Lowe by making Stewart either the primary second or third baseman. But they might want to just sell high on Lowe instead.
Milwaukee Brewers: 1B Jake Bauers
Contract: $2.7M, free agent this winter
Both Jackson Chourio and Andrew Vaughn just came back from the IL on Monday, and the hope is that Christian Yelich won't be terribly far behind them. At that point, Bauers—who had started the vast majority of games at first base during Vaughn's absence—becomes the odd man out, but a respectable left-handed bat to put on the trade block. He has an .872 OPS with five home runs against righties thus far this season.
Pittsburgh Pirates: LHP Hunter Barco
Contract: 2026 compensation unknown, but under team control through 2031
A second-round pick in the 2022 draft, Barco has had a sub-3.00 ERA in the minors over the past three seasons. However, he was lit up for 10 earned runs in 11.2 innings of big league work already this season. He has good strikeout stuff and legitimate long-term potential, but the 25-year-old is probably more valuable to the 2026 Pirates as a trade chip than as a member of the pitching staff. Shipping him to Minnesota for Ryan Jeffers and a supplementary piece or two could make sense.
St. Louis Cardinals: LHP JoJo Romero
Contract: $4.26M, free agent this winter
The jury is still out on whether the Cardinals are a legitimate contender. They're seven games over .500 and red hot as of late, but that was also true in late June last season en route to becoming deadline sellers—and this team sure does seem to be punching above its designed weight class. Should the Red Birds ultimately fade, the obvious top trade chip is Romero. He already has 11 holds, and he's one of the only impending free agents on this roster.
National League West
6 of 6
Arizona Diamondbacks: UTIL Ildemaro Vargas
Contract: $1.25M, free agent this winter
Whether Arizona will be a buyer or a seller is the toughest call of them all, liable to depend to some extent upon when they expect to get Corbin Burnes and others back from the IL. For now, we're leaning seller, which would mean getting what they can for unexpected breakout 34-year-old Ildemaro Vargas, provided he hasn't completely crashed back to earth by then.
Colorado Rockies: LHP Jose Quintana
Contract: $6M, free agent this winter
The Rockies have been more competent than expected, but they are still bound to be sellers. Whether they'll be able/willing to move Mickey Moniak ($4M, arbitration eligible in 2027) will be fun to monitor, but surely Quintana and Tomoyuki Sugano ($5.1M, free agent this winter) will, if healthy, be available to the highest bidder.
Los Angeles Dodgers: OF Alex Call
Contract: $1.6M, three years of arbitration eligibility
They just traded for him at last year's deadline and he has given them a .759 OPS when they have deployed him. (Plus an .897 OPS during the 2025 postseason.) But he's barely playing, even with Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman and Kiké Hernández all on the IL, so he may well get squeezed off the 26-man roster if they ever get to full strength. Could probably swap Call for a decent reliever or prospect, though.
San Diego Padres: LHP JP Sears
Contract: $2.75M, two years of arbitration eligibility
Sears was to the Mason Miller trade what Josh Bell was to the Juan Soto trade back in 2022, only with several additional years of team control. In five starts last season, he gave the Padres a 5.47 ERA. And even with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta all just expensive spectators, they haven't felt like calling him up yet in 2026. But look for them to include him in some way in whatever this summer's AJ Preller special ends up being.
San Francisco Giants: 2B Luis Arraez
Contract: $12M, free agent this winter
Put Robbie Ray ($23M, free agent this winter) prominently on the chopping block, too, if the Giants continue down the path to "Sell City." However, Arraez is the three-time batting champ who would be a welcome addition to a lot of lineups. For instance, if the Royals end up buying, they've used three different second basemen, each of whom is hitting below .180 in that role. Arraez would be quite the band-aid solution there.
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