Ranking the 10 Players Most Likely to Be Dealt at 2026 MLB Trade Deadline

Mason Miller, CJ Abrams, Zach Neto, Taylor Ward, Sandy Alcantara, Joe Ryan, Hunter Goodman, Reid Detmers and Isaac Paredes are among the notable players who could theoretically be moved before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

However, this list encompasses players that we are sure will be traded in the next week. Most won't surprise you, although some are debatable.

With all that background, here are the top 10 players we are willing to bet will get traded, ranked from 10-1.

10. Lane Thomas: OF, Kansas City Royals

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If you're in the market for a right-handed hitting outfielder, it's much more likely you're going to make a modest addition than a game-changing one. Even if the Baltimore Orioles sell and the aforementioned Ward becomes available, he's a rental with a .743 OPS this season.

And as for Mike Trout and Byron Buxton, both have made pretty clear that they don't intend to waive their no-trade clauses.

With the disappointing Royals obvious sellers, Thomas should be a pretty popular target. Following a dismal 2025 season, Thomas is having something of a resurgence in 2026. He's been particularly effective against left-handed pitching, as he's batting .261 with a .799 OPS against southpaws.

Thomas has played at all three outfield spots this year for Kansas City, but has minus-10 defensive runs saved and minus-six outs above average in center field, so he'll probably more of a corner outfielder for whoever his next team is. Set to turn 31 in August, Thomas will be a free agent after this season.

9. Mickey Moniak: OF, Colorado Rockies

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Even though he's a left-handed hitter, Mickey Moniak gets the slight edge over Thomas because he has one remaining arbitration season in 2027, so he wouldn't be a rental.

The former No. 1 overall pick has developed into a very useful strong-sided platoon player for the Rockies. This season, Moniak has a .935 OPS against right-handed pitching. Even if he's not much of a factor against lefties, you'll live with that if he mashes right-handed pitching.

If you're wondering, yes, the 28-year-old has benefitted from playing his home games at Coors Field, where he has a 1.033 OPS this season. On the flip side, he has a .652 on the road. Teams will have to decide how much of a dip Moniak's production will take if he no longer has the benefit of hitting at elevation.

But Moniak is a quality person with experience at all three outfield positions, so he will likely be a welcome addition to whatever team he joins.

8. Jo Adell: OF, Los Angeles Angels

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Jo Adell's ranking on this list will be polarizing, because he's not having a good season. His 96 OPS+ is below the league average of 100.

However, the former first-round pick has flashed superstar potential at times in his career, including when he launched 37 home runs for the Halos a year ago. It would hardly be shocking if another organization can help him reach his ceiling offensively.

The most appealing part about Adell is that he has crushed left-handed pitchers this season, with 10 home runs and a .951 OPS against lefties. In a sport with so few impact right-handed hitters available, there will be some teams content to just have Adell be part of a platoon, or at least play less frequently against righties.

Interim general manager John Mozeliak would be wise to maximize the return for Adell this summer as the Angels are headed for their 11th consecutive losing season.

Like Moniak, Adell can play center field, but is better suited to be a corner outfielder. He's never graded out as an impact defender, although it's impossible to get him robbing three homers in a game in April out of your mind:

Others may have a higher floor, but don't be surprised if we look back at Adell—who is 27 and can't become a free agent until after the 2027 season—as the best acquisition of this trade season.

7. Robbie Ray: LHP, San Francisco Giants

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If you're a playoff team looking to add a starter capable of taking the ball in Game 3 or 4 of a postseason series, Robbie Ray might be your man.

The former AL Cy Young Award winner is 9-6 with a 3.16 ERA across 116.2 innings pitched this season for the Giants.

Ray's 4.52 expected ERA and 4.49 FIP do suggest some regression could be coming, so he's not a perfect addition. That's why he's below a few other starters, some of whom he's as or more accomplished than.

But considering he will turn 35 in October and is in the final season of a five-year, $115.5 million contract, it likely won't take an earth-shattering return to acquire Ray, who definitely still has something left to give.

6. Foster Griffin: LHP, Washington Nationals

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The Nationals are still very much in the NL wild-card race, and they made an addition over the weekend, acquiring LHP Connelly Early in a trade that sent infielder Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox.

There have been some indications, though, that first-year president of baseball operations Paul Toboni could try to buy and sell simultaneously. And acquiring one lefty starter in Early might make Griffin more expendable.

Griffin has been one of the best signings of the offseason, as the Nationals gave him a one-year, $5.5 million deal after he spent the last three seasons in Japan. The 30-year-old lefty was selected to his first All-Star Game earlier this month, and has a 2.76 ERA across 21 outings.

The peripheral numbers of Griffin aren't as good—3.93 expected ERA and 3.94 FIP—but they are still better than Ray's. Barring an extension, the Nationals might decide to take advantage of what will likely be a career-year for the lefty.

According to Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic, the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays had scouts in attendance to watch Griffin's most recent start.

5. Clay Holmes: RHP, New York Mets

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Clay Holmes would probably be even higher on this list, but he's been sidelined since a right fibula fracture he sustained in May. Fortunately for the Mets and all interested suitors, it seems Tuesday will be his final rehab start before he returns to the majors.

Prior to his injury, Holmes was having a dominant season, with a 2.39 ERA across his first nine starts of the season. That was after Holmes went 12-8 with a 3.53 ERA across 165.2 innings in 2025. The Mets signed him to a three-year, $38 million deal to be a starter ahead of the 2025 campaign after he had been an All-Star reliever for the crosstown-rival Yankees. That gamble has paid off, as Holmes has pitched so well that he's almost certain to exercise his player opt out after this season and return to free agency.

Holmes may not be a Game 1 postseason starter, but considering he has a 3.26 ERA since joining the Mets, he could definitely take the ball in Game 2 or 3 of a playoff series for his new team this October.

4. Luis Arráez: 2B, San Francisco Giants

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Luis Arráez was hell-bent on returning to second base in 2026, and the Giants have been rewarded for giving him that opportunity on a one-year, $12 million deal.

Working with the legendary Ron Washington, Arráez is having the finest season of his career in the field. Across 845.2 innings at second base this season, Arráez has minus-1 defensive runs saved and 11 outs above average at second base. Mind you, this is a player with minus-seven defensive DRS and minus-25 OAA in his career at second base.

Arráez is currently batting .326, putting him in the running for the fourth batting title of his career. He also has a .362 on-base percentage, and has struck out just 20 times. He already has a career-high seven triples, and his .811 OPS would be the highest mark since 2023.

Arráez is one of the few players who has benefitted from hitting at Oracle Park, where he's batting .352 this season and has surely enjoyed hitting the ball into the spacious right-center field gap. But his ability to put the ball in play and newfound defensive success will make the 29-year-old a nice pickup for a contending team.

3. Kevin Gausman: RHP, Toronto Blue Jays

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Kevin Gausman's 4.51 ERA across 22 starts doesn't stand out, but when you dig a little deeper, there's reason to think he's going to have a strong finish to the season.

Both Gausman's 3.96 expected ERA and 3.58 FIP suggest he's been pretty unlucky this season and is due for positive regression.

Considering how close they were to unseating the Dodgers last October, it's still hard to think that the Blue Jays would sell. However, they are 49-58, which puts them in last place in a crowded AL East. Toronto has a minus-61 run differential. This just isn't their year.

That doesn't mean general manager Ross Atkins should tear things down, but for as great as Gausman has been for them, he's 35 years old and in the final season of a five-year, $110 million deal. He's the exact type of piece they should be moving.

A contending team looking for a Game 3 postseason starter would be happy to take on Gausman, who is second only to Zack Wheeler in WAR among starting pitchers this decade, per FanGraphs.

2. Freddy Peralta: RHP, New York Mets

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Admittedly, we're banking entirely on a change of scenery getting Freddy Peralta back on track after what's been a disastrous run with the New York Mets. In 22 starts this season, Peralta has a 4.99 ERA.

With that said, he's a year removed from finishing fifth in NL Cy Young Award voting after going 17-6 across 176.2 innings pitched. Between 2021 and 2025, Peralta was excellent for the Milwaukee Brewers, pitching to a 3.30 ERA. Teams will convince themselves they can get him back on track.

Peralta would benefit from being traded because that would make him ineligible to receive the qualifying offer in the offseason. As things stand right now, he would probably take the QO. But if Peralta gets traded and has a strong finish, the 30-year-old could still set himself up to make out well in free agency, particularly since it won't cost draft-pick compensation to sign him.

1. Tarik Skubal: LHP, Detroit Tigers

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Some might be surprised to see the level of certainty we have in Tarik Skubal being traded, but the 50-57 Tigers are four games out of the last wild-card spot in the AL.

If Chris Ilitch isn't going to authorize his front office to make a serious offer for Skubal in the offseason, it would be organizational malpractice not to maximize the return for the two-time defending AL Cy Young Award winner before the Aug. 3 trade deadline.

Unless there is a salary cap in place, there will be a limited number of teams in on Skubal in the offseason, because only certain ownership groups will be willing to spend what it takes to land the Scott Boras client.

But as a rental, just about every contender should be in play for arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Randy Johnson was unconscious for half a season with the Houston Astros in 1998. CC Sabathia had a legendary run as a rental for the Brewers in 2008. Could Skubal have a similarly short, but impactful stint with a contending team that's not one of the usual suspects in 2026?