Shocking Names Who Could Be Available at 2026 MLB Trade Deadline

In what projects to be a weak trade market, contending teams would love for any of Mike Trout, Byron Buxton or Ketel Marte to become available.

But all three have full no-trade clauses. Trout has been loyal to a fault to the Angels, and has never shown any inclination to move on from Anaheim. Buxton has spoken of a desire to spend his entire career with the Minnesota Twins. Marte was rumored to be available last offseason, but the Arizona Diamondbacks held onto him and he's since gained 10-and-5 rights, which give him a full no-trade clause. Plus, the Snakes don't project to be sellers right now.

Yordan Alvarez does not have a no-trade clause, but the Houston Astros probably aren't going to move on from a 28-year-old superstar hitter, even if they eventually concede that 2026 won't be their year. Never say never, but Alvarez has manageable $26.83 million salaries in each of the next two seasons, so the overwhelmingly likely scenario is that Houston holds onto their best player.

If those four names aren't moved, who are some other juicy possibilities? Here are six shocking names who could theoretically be available before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Seiya Suzuki: RF, Chicago Cubs

Daniel Bartel/Getty Images

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic argued last week that the Cubs should at least see what's out there for Seiya Suzuki, and there's some merit to that idea.

Suzuki is in the final season of a five-year, $85 million contract. If the Cubs don't intend to re-sign him—or extend a qualifying offer that's likely to be in excess of $22 million—they could get a return for the 31-year-old this summer. And given the lack of right-handed hitters around the sport, particularly outfielders, they may be able to get someone to overpay.

The Cubs are not like most of the teams on this list—they are firmly in the NL wild-card race. So they aren't going to give away a player who has an .813 OPS over parts of five MLB seasons. This isn't a scenario where they would trade him for a package headlined by someone at Single-A. Rosenthal suggests a starting pitcher on an expiring deal could make sense in return for a Cubs team that has a ton of uncertainty in terms of health in their rotation. From here, perhaps they could also consider a starter with multiple years of control, even if that isn't someone who would necessarily start Game 1 of a postseason series.

Suzuki probably isn't going to be dealt, but he's at least worth considering because the Cubs could probably get more for him on an expiring deal than he's worth given how desperate teams are for outfield bats.

Adley Rutschman: C, Baltimore Orioles

Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

The Orioles went all-in last offseason, so it's unclear what the future would hold for president of baseball operations Mike Elias if Baltimore sells at the deadline and finishes at or near the bottom of the AL East for the second season in a row.

With that said, the O's are currently four games under .500. They're very much in the AL wild-card race, though there's definitely going to be pressure to sell if Baltimore fades at all in the race. Taylor Ward is a nice player, but he's a rental that the Orioles could get great value for because he's a right-handed hitting outfielder. Elias has made his name off of player development, and he probably would be intrigued by the idea of trying to fleece a team for eight weeks of Ward.

If the Orioles do end up selling, it would be interesting to see how far they'd go. Adley Rutschman posted a .696 OPS between 2024 and 2025, but has had a major bounce back with an .841 OPS in 2026. Whether it's because they don't believe Rustchman will sustain this offensive production or that if he does, he'll price his way out of Baltimore, now could be the time to maximize his value in a trade. The two-time All-Star can become a free agent after the 2027 season, so anyone trading for him would get him for two pennant races.

Star rookie Samuel Basallo may not be destined to catch 1,000 innings a season, but he has caught 246.2 frames this season. They also have Sam Huff on their roster as another catcher.

Perhaps we're trying to will this trade deadline being interesting into existence, but Rutschman is a name worth watching if the Orioles aren't buying.

Jo Adell: OF, Los Angeles Angels

Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

At this point, if Trout doesn't want to be traded, the Angels probably should keep him. At least he could hit his milestone homers in their uniform, while potentially spending his entire career in Anaheim. With Trout set to turn 35 in August and still owed $148-plus million over the next four seasons, they may struggle to get a significant trade return for the future Hall of Famer.

Frankly, we don't know what to expect from the Halos. General manager Perry Minasian is in the final year of his contract. First-year manager Kurt Suzuki was only given a one-year deal. Owner Arte Moreno doesn't always seem to be in touch with reality. The last-place Angels should sell—even if that doesn't include Trout—but who knows if they will.

Sticking with the theme of a lack of available right-handed bats, Jo Adell might be a change of scenery candidate. The high-end talent of the former first-round pick is evident. He robbed three homers in a game earlier this year. Last season, he homered 37 times and drove in 98 runs. But Adell has a disappointing .684 OPS. Moving on might be the best for all parties involved.

Any acquiring team could convince themselves that they could further unlock Adell at the plate if they got him away from the incompetent organization he's spent his whole career with. He's also has one remaining year of arbitration eligibility, so this could be a multi-year investment in a player who is still only 27 years old.

On the flip side, Adell has a 90 OPS+ (100 is league average) in parts of seven MLB seasons. On the whole, he hasn't lived up the expectations placed upon him when he reached the majors as a 21-year-old. If someone is willing to overpay for Adell's potential, the Angels might be happy to oblige.

Heliot Ramos: LF, San Francisco Giants

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Let's not deviate from the theme here. Contending teams are going to have to get creative to try to find right-handed hitting. Heliot Ramos of the Giants is another name worth pondering.

Ramos was an All-Star in 2024, and has a .737 OPS in his career. He's particularly feasted off of left-handed pitching, who he has an .854 OPS against in his career. The .691 OPS against righties in his career is less optimal, as are his minus-21 defensive runs saved across three outfield spots over parts of five MLB seasons. But again, teams will talk themselves into fixing Ramos' flaws to some degree, because what he does well is so hard to find right now.

Additionally, Ramos is still only 26 years old, and can't become a free agent until after the 2029 season. So this would be a long-term investment for any acquiring team.

Would president of baseball operations Buster Posey pull the trigger on a deal of Ramos? It's hard to know. But the Giants aren't going to trade Logan Webb, and the contracts of Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman probably aren't movable. So if the Giants could get a strong return for Ramos because of his remaining years of control, that might be a way to help change the mix and potentially set them up better moving forward.

CJ Abrams: SS, Washington Nationals

Alyssa McDaniel/MLB Photos via Getty Images

With an .895 OPS, CJ Abrams is likely trending towards his second All-Star Game appearance. Shortly after that, could he be a trade candidate?

On one hand, Abrams is only 25 years old, and as one of the pieces they acquired from the San Diego Padres for Juan Soto in August of 2022, you would think the Nationals would want to build their team around him.

On the other hand, new president of baseball operations Paul Taboni didn't trade for Abrams, so he may not feel as tied to him as his predecessor, Mike Rizzo, did. That doesn't mean Taboni is going to be eager to trade Abrams, but he's going to start to become more expensive as he has just two remaining years of arbitration eligibility. If Taboni doesn't think ownership will pony up to sign Abrams long-term, perhaps he tries to maximize the return for the shortstop now.

If Abrams was traded, it would be interesting to see whether teams view him as a shortstop—where he has minus-11 defensive runs saved and minus-54 outs above average—or consider moving him to second base. He's enough of an offensive weapon to justify a move to another position.

Vinnie Pasquantino: 1B, Kansas City Royals

Ed Zurga/Getty Images

Vinnie Pasquantino's monster performance for the upstart Italy squad in the World Baseball Classic hasn't translated to a career year for the affable first baseman, as he's hitting just .223 with a .660 OPS.

Because it's been a down year, the disappointing Royals might not feel this is the time to trade Pasquantino, as they'd likely be selling low.

But that likely won't stop teams in need of left-handed pop at first base and/or DH from trying. Pasquantino drove in 210 runs and posted a .781 OPS between 2024 and 2025, so if you're a team looking for lineup protection behind your biggest bats, Pasquantino could fill that role.

Would the Royals ultimately move on from the 28-year-old? We'll see. He has two remaining arbitration years, so he's going to get more expensive in the coming seasons. In the event they trade Pasquantino, the Royals could move Jac Caglianone back to his natural position for first base, should they choose to go that route.