Big and Small Market MLB Sellers That Can Own the Trade Deadline
It's looking like it's going to be a seller's market at MLB's August 3 trade deadline, and buyers have every reason to pick them clean.
Making the postseason is fun and good and all that, and that goes double for surprise contenders like the Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals. And since the 2027 season already feels up in the air, there isn't much point in playing it safe down the stretch of 2026.
So, which sellers stand to reap the rewards?
We're going to get into that by ranking the top 10 potential sellers who could own the summer trading season. The more they have to offer, the better. And the more available their key players could be, even better.
First, some honorable mentions.
Playoff odds are according to FanGraphs.
Honorable Mentions
1 of 11
Cincinnati Reds
Record: 35-38
The Reds aren't that in last place in the NL Central, but that's as faint as praise gets. But unless they're going to get wild by offering some pitching, their trade deadline weakness is that their assets are all depreciated. Suffice it to say that Eugenio Suárez is not the prize he was last summer.
San Diego Padres
Record: 38-35
The Padres are ostensibly a contender, but their recent skid at least makes one wonder about pending free agents like Ramón Laureano, Adrian Morejon and Jason Adam. For now, though, the slide will have to continue a while longer before the idea of them as a seller can be taken seriously.
Colorado Rockies
Record: 28-47
The Rockies are an obvious seller, and guys like Mickey Moniak, Willi Castro and Antonio Senzatela should attract some interest. Alas, that's about where their list of actually valuable trade chips ends.
St. Louis Cardinals
Record: 40-33
The Cardinals are generally being treated as a likely seller, with their alleged prized assets including Lars Nootbaar and Dustin May. Increasingly, though, the question is why they would quit on 2026 when they hold the NL's top wild-card spot.
Washington Nationals
Record: 39-36
People are still kicking around CJ Abrams' name, and it wasn't long ago that you could at least speculate about James Wood. Yet only Abrams is a semi-feasible trade candidate now, and the odds of him going anywhere get slimmer with every day the Nats spend above .500.
10. Kansas City Royals
2 of 11
Record: 31-45
Playoff Odds: 4.4%
Their Best Trade Chips
- RHP Michael Wacha
- RHP Seth Lugo
- LHP Kris Bubic
The problem for now is that Lugo and Bubic are on the injured list, though both will hopefully have all of July to rebuild value. Each has a recent All-Star berth to his name, so there are rotations they can help if all goes well.
There are no such strings attached to Wacha. He's been cranking out ERAs in the 3.00s for five straight years, and he's been a horse in leading the AL with 94.0 innings thus far in 2026.
The Best of the Rest
- LHP Daniel Lynch IV
- RHP John Schneider
- LHP Matt Strahm
- RHP Alex Lange
- OF Lane Thomas
- OF Starling Marte
This is mostly a soup of usable relievers, though Lynch is proving to be a step above the rest. He's holding lefties to a .375 OPS, which is a big deal in a year where lefty hitters are running amok.
Thomas is on the flip-side of that equation as a historical right-on-left menace. Even Tarik Skubal knows that his .845 OPS vs. lefties is the real deal.
9. Los Angeles Angels
3 of 11
Record: 30-46
Playoff Odds: 0.6%
Their Best Trade Chips
- CF Mike Trout
- LHP Reid Detmers
- RHP José Soriano
There aren't enough asterisks in the world to put around Trout's name, and even Detmers and Soriano shouldn't be mistaken for can't-miss trade chips.
Yes, the Angels should sell high on both amid their genuinely impressive breakouts, but both are under club control through 2028. As MLB.com's Rhett Bollinger noted, Angels owner Arte Moreno isn't known for green-lighting trades of productive players who aren't pending free agents.
The Best of the Rest
- RF Jo Adell
- DH Jorge Soler
- LHP Brent Suter
- RHP Sam Bachman
- RHP Chase Silseth
- RHP Ryan Zeferjahn
- RHP Kirby Yates
Adell and Soler are basically the same player, just with different ages and remaining club control. But if a team must have a defensively limited right-handed slugger, Adell is surely the first choice. He's 27 and under club control through 2027.
What we otherwise have here is another cluster of relievers, and this one has an unfortunate ingredient. Those guys are all part of a bullpen that leads the AL in walks per nine innings.
8. New York Mets
4 of 11
Record: 34-41
Playoff Odds: 16.9%
Their Best Trade Chips
- RHP Freddy Peralta
- 3B/SS Bo Bichette
Peralta isn't quite the guy you want starting a Game 1, but teams could do a lot worse for a Game 2 or Game 3 starter. Even if he hasn't been as overpowering this year, he's still rocking a 3.90 ERA and averaging 5.5 innings per start.
Bichette is here because of his name value, as well as the expectation (per Bob Nightengale of USA Today) that he's going to opt out of his contract. But after posting a 90 OPS+ through 74 games, he should probably start, you know, hitting if he wants to be coveted.
The Best of the Rest
- RHP Kodai Senga
- LHP Brooks Raley
- LHP A.J. Minter
- 3B Mark Vientos
- LHP David Peterson
- LF MJ Melendez
There are some big names here, so it's ironic that Raley and Minter are the only ones that actually look desirable. The two lefties have made 38 total appearances and allowed just six earned runs, including none so far by Minter.
The others are all buy-low types who are several years past being relevant. At least Vientos still has youth (26) on his side, plus some appeal as a change-of-scenery candidate.
7. Miami Marlins
5 of 11
Record: 37-38
Playoff Odds: 11.2%
Their Best Trade Chips
- RHP Sandy Alcantara
- RHP Pete Fairbanks
This simply has to be the year the Marlins actually trade Alcantara, though what he's worth remains an interesting question. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner has gone from being bad (5.36 ERA, 2.5 K/BB) in 2025 to just kind of mid (4.18 ERA, 3.2 K/BB) in 2026.
Fairbanks is having a rough one in his own right, with a 6.75 ERA and 1.450 WHIP through 22 appearances. Teams like closer-caliber stuff, though, and he still has it.
The Best of the Rest
- RHP Anthony Bender
- RHP Lake Bachar
- RHP Michael Petersen
- RHP Calvin Faucher
- LHP John King
So, basically Miami's entire bullpen. And it's a good selection, as all five of these guys are rocking at least a 120 ERA+ and controllable beyond 2026.
King is a lefty killer who could help a lot of teams in October. Petersen is the hidden gem, a classic power fastball-slider reliever with a strikeout percentage that begins with a three.
6. Baltimore Orioles
6 of 11
Record: 35-41
Playoff Odds: 28.6%
Their Best Trade Chips
- C Adley Rutschman
- LF Taylor Ward
- RHP Rico Garcia
Jim Bowden of The Athletic has the internet all riled up after suggesting Rutschman as a trade target for the New York Yankees. But while there is an argument for the O's to sell high on the former No. 1 pick amid his career revival, their contention window is still too open to trade him while he still has a year of club control left.
Otherwise, Ward is a rental with a .399 OBP as a selling point, plus a history as a home run hitter. Garcia is purely a sell-high guy, as he was a nobody before breaking out with a sub-2.00 ERA as a 32-year-old.
The Best of the Rest
- RHP Ryan Helsley
- LHP Trevor Rogers
- RHP Andrew Kittredge
Helsley has been struggling with walks and home runs for two seasons now, and Kittredge has an ERA over 6.00. Even so, they could stand out on a summer market where relievers are always in demand.
As for Rogers, well, he's back to being bad again after a brilliant run in 2025. A team would have to look underneath his 5.83 ERA and see something fixable to be interested in him as a rotation piece.
5. Houston Astros
7 of 11
Record: 35-41
Playoff Odds: 24.6%
Their Best Trade Chips
- DH Yordan Alvarez
- SS Jeremy Peña
- 1B Christian Walker
- LHP Josh Hader
Don't get too excited by the name-drops for Alvarez and Peña. Both would make a mushroom cloud if they actually landed on the market, but Houston GM Dana Brown went out of his way to push back on any such talk.
Walker and Hader feel a bit more realistic, if only because the Astros might not get a better chance to ditch their contracts. Walker has his slugging stick (18 HR, 122 OPS+) back after a down 2025, while Hader has mostly looked like himself (1.29 ERA, 11.0 K/BB) since returning from a biceps strain.
The Best of the Rest
- 3B Isaac Paredes
- RHP Bryan Abreu
- LHP Steven Okert
- RHP Enyel De Los Santos
At this point in the year, Paredes should have 10-15 home runs left in him. Maybe more if he goes to a park with a favorable left field fence, though it's obviously hard to beat Daikin Park in that respect.
As for those relievers, each is a mid-level talent except for maybe Abreu. He has a beastly 6.66 ERA, but there's still good stuff hiding underneath hideous walk and home run rates.
4. Minnesota Twins
8 of 11
Record: 36-40
Playoff Odds: 25.9%
Their Best Trade Chips
- CF Byron Buxton
- RHP Joe Ryan
- C Ryan Jeffers
Amid a start that has seen him post a 153 OPS+ and 23 homers, Buxton will be the best bat on the market this summer… if he's willing to waive his no-trade clause. And according to MLB.com's Matthew Leach, that's a "very long shot."
Even if Buxton sticks around, it makes sense for the Twins to shop Ryan and Jeffers. With a 128 ERA+ and 5.2 K/BB for the last two seasons, Ryan is either a Game 1 or a Game 2 starter. Jeffers had a 160 OPS+ before breaking his left hamate, an injury from which he should return in July.
The Best of the Rest
- LF Trevor Larnach
- 1B Josh Bell
- C Victor Caratini
- LHP Taylor Rogers
- LHP Anthony Banda
The first three names here are candidates for part-time work, with Larnach's name standing out as the only truly interesting one. He's still in his 20s with another year of club control, and he has an .807 OPS against righties this year.
Otherwise, you really can't have enough left-handed pitching in 2026. Rogers and Banda both have creds as specialists, and particularly Rogers. He's held lefty batters to a .205 average and .577 OPS for his career.
3. San Francisco Giants
9 of 11
Record: 31-43
Playoff Odds: 4.0%
Their Best Trade Chips
- 1B/DH Rafael Devers
- SS Willy Adames
- 3B Matt Chapman
- RF Jung Hoo Lee
- 2B Luis Arraez
- LHP Robbie Ray
Buzz is building that the Giants will soon be open for business. And out of these names, Lee is the only one who isn't either A) an albatross or B) a free-agent-to-be.
Because he can help a bunch of contenders as a top-of-the-lineup sparkplug and everyday second baseman, Arraez is the most likely to leave. But definitely don't rule out a trade of Chapman, who has more rWAR (2.9) than Devers (0.6) and Adames (1.1) combined this year.
The Best of the Rest
- RHP Tyler Mahle
- RHP Adrian Houser
- RHP Caleb Kilian
- RHP JT Brubaker
Mahle and Houser are going to be options for teams in need of back-end rotation pieces. The latter might even be a bullpen piece, as he's demonstrated an ability to shut down righties (.590 OPS) while getting hammered by lefties (1.042 OPS).
Kilian and Brubaker both have issues with walks, but Kilian at least has swing-and-miss stuff. There could be more to unpack with him, particularly if he gets more out of two different breaking balls that each have a whiff rate over 40 percent.
2. Detroit Tigers
10 of 11
Record: 30-44
Playoff Odds: 17.3%
Their Best Trade Chips
- LHP Tarik Skubal
- 2B Gleyber Torres
- RHP Casey Mize
- RHP Justin Verlander
Skubal has only made one start since undergoing surgery for loose bodies in his elbow. He averaged 97.9 mph in that one, up 1.2 mph over his season average. All the more reason why the Tigers need to cash in on the two-time reigning Cy Young Award winner while they can before he becomes a free agent this winter.
Torres' trade candidacy just got complicated via an oblique strain, but he's an on-base machine (.395 this year) and solid second baseman when healthy. Mize quietly has a 2.58 ERA in 10 starts, and Verlander is, well, Verlander. Even at 43, he's a guy you want around for a playoff push.
The Best of the Rest
- RHP Jack Flaherty
- RHP Kenley Jansen
- RHP Drew Anderson
- INF/OF Zach McKinstry
- C Jake Rogers
Even if he makes a strong recovery from a foot injury, Flaherty is only a back-end starter at this point. And even if he has less name recognition, Anderson is a better get than Jansen. He's fanned 58 batters against 19 walks in 46.1 innings.
Rogers is at least a warm body to put behind the plate, and McKinstry remains a have-glove, will-travel type. He's started games at five different positions this year.
1. Boston Red Sox
11 of 11
Record: 29-43
Playoff Odds: 12.6%
Their Best Trade Chips
- LHP Aroldis Chapman
- RHP Sonny Gray
- 1B Willson Contreras
- OF Jarren Duran
- RHP Garrett Whitlock
The sooner this Red Sox team is put out of its misery, the better. Chapman is going to be the top relief pitcher on the market, while Gray and Contreras can be counted among the best starters and bats. With his 164 OPS+ and 16 homers, the latter is especially valuable amid a year when good righty hitters are hard to find.
Duran is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, but we know from 2024 that his upside goes as high as 9.0 rWAR. Whitlock's durability can be a little iffy, but he has a 140 ERA+ and has fanned over 11 batters per nine innings since the start of 2025.
The Best of the Rest
- INF Isiah Kiner-Falefa
- LHP Patrick Sandoval
- RHP Greg Weissert
- LHP Danny Coulombe
- SS Trevor Story
- DH Masataka Yoshida
The first four names here are depth pieces with little in the way of upside, but at least Kiner-Falefa has versatility and experience with deep playoff runs. In another universe, he's fresh off scoring the clinching run in the 2025 World Series.
Story and Yoshida are here for "Why not?" purposes. The Red Sox needed to dump their contracts yesterday, and will surely jump at any chance to do so this summer, as unlikely as that is.
Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.
