The calls began in recent days, brief in nature but loaded with meaning. MLB’s trade deadline season has arrived, and although deals can take days, weeks, or even months to materialize, many of them begin with executives’ calls in early June. The excitement generated by the July 31st deadline will depend on the next six weeks. An unfortunate victim of the Major League Baseball postseason expansion is the deadline. Due to the addition of the wild card in 2022, more teams than ever see themselves as contenders, until they unequivocally are not.
Even if more teams join the fray, more than a dozen executives surveyed over the past week agreed that it’s unlikely that there will be high-level players available at this year’s deadline. Between a lackluster free agent class and the best players playing on contending teams, or at least competing for now, there is no obvious top player available.
As teams fade in the standings, that could change. At this point last year, it looked like the New York Mets would unload players. They ended up taking the Dodgers to six games in the National League Championship Series. So consider this simply a first look at where teams are now and what they are thinking, with the final course yet to be determined.
We have divided the teams into four groups: the Movers (sure to move players), the “Tweeners” (still undecided), the Holders (unlikely to do much either way), and the Acquirers (aggressively pursuing additions).
Undoing
Baltimore Orioles
Objective: To forget that this year ever existed.
Best player available: First baseman Ryan O’Hearn.What to know: The Orioles could be the sensation of the 2025 deadline. It’s not just O’Hearn, a pending free agent whose wRC+ ranks fifth in MLB, behind Aaron Judge, Freddie Freeman, Cal Raleigh, and Shohei Ohtani. Cedric Mullins would help almost any outfield. Baltimore could move veteran right-handers Zach Eflin and Tomoyuki Sugano, both also free agents. There are many relievers: two pending free agents, Seranthony Domínguez and Andrew Kittredge, with Félix Bautista, Yennier Cano, and Bryan Baker at a higher price.
Nobody expects general manager Mike Elias to move a key player, especially after last year’s deadline, when he traded Kyle Stowers, who is poised to be Miami’s All-Star this season. After two consecutive postseasons, this year has been a catastrophe for Baltimore. The deadline at least could save them from being a complete waste of a season.
Colorado Rockies
Objective: Avoid being the worst team in history.
Best available player: Right-handed reliever Jake Bird.
What to know: Almost all Rockies players are in the midst of an objectively bad season. Maybe there’s another deal like the one Colorado made last year, trading right-handed reliever Nick Mears and his 5.56 ERA to Milwaukee, only to see him explode this year. There aren’t many candidates to buy low with Colorado, however. Bird is a success story, an average league reliever in his first three seasons who began to lean more on his curveball and slider and now sports a 1.60 ERA with peripherals that suggest it’s real. The Rockies could find a buyer for Seth Halvorsen’s three-digit fastball or Scott Alexander as a veteran lefty. In total, it’s a dreadful picture, and it’s befitting of a team with a 10-50 record.
Chicago White Sox
Objective: Simply be bad, not historically bad.
Best player available: Center fielder Luis Robert Jr.
What to know: The talent pool in Chicago remains thin, and the White Sox aren’t particularly motivated to move young players under control (third baseman Miguel Vargas, rookie shortstop Chase Meidroth and rookie right-hander Shane Smith, a Rule 5 draft bright spot) improving this team from objectionable to merely bad. They should be able to get a lottery ticket for right-hander Adrian Houser. If another team is interested in right-handed reliever Mike Vasil, also a Rule 5 pick, the White Sox should at least consider the idea.
This really boils down to whether they finally cut ties with Robert, who in his last full season has been frankly bad. Even with his .180/.270/.291 line this year, Robert is attractive because of his speed (an American League-leading 21 stolen bases) and his glove (he’s a legitimate center fielder). While the ceiling isn’t what it once was for Robert, the floor is high enough due to his legs and defense. Moving him will depend on whether the White Sox soften their request, which has remained more rooted in potential than reality.
Pittsburgh Pirates
Objective: To continue the charade of acting as if they want to win when the approach suggests otherwise.
Best player available: No Paul Skenes.What to know: As easy as it is to construct a valid argument for the Pirates to trade Skenes at this moment, it won’t go anywhere in the absence of a “Godfather” offer. There are simply no comparable pitchers who have been traded within two years of their MLB debut. So teams interested will instead pick over the Pirates’ scraps. The super utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa has been excellent. Outfielder Tommy Pham is always traded. Left-hander Andrew Heaney is still carving up batters. The Pirates also won’t object to getting rid of the remaining $36 million of Ke’Bryan Hayes’ contract or the $76 million still owed to outfielder Bryan Reynolds. Regardless of what they do, the Pirates are interested in keeping Skenes instead of trying to get the kind of return for him that Washington got for Juan Soto.Miami Marlins
Objective: To obtain as much young talent as possible.
Best player available: Right-handed starter Sandy Alcántara.What to know: Alcántara was supposed to be the prize of this deadline, and given that even after Tommy John surgery he’s still capable of consistently throwing fastballs over 90 mph and complementing them with a changeup, curveball, and slider, teams believe they can fix the issues that have led to his ERA ballooning to 8.47. But because Alcántara’s return has gone so poorly (thanks to a walk rate nearly double his career mark and a strikeout rate near its lowest point), the Marlins might bet on him rebuilding his value and moving him next season instead.Beyond Alcantara, other available Marlins will include the perpetually on-the-market Jesus Sanchez and Edward Cabrera, as well as Anthony Bender, whose sinker-slider combination keeps the ball in the park and has led to a 1.52 ERA this season.
Los Angeles Angels
Objective: Escape the endless cycle of mediocrity.
Best player available: Left-handed starter Tyler Anderson.What to know: The mirage of an eight-game winning streak quickly gave way to the Angels Angels-ing, and they should be a popular team in the next two months due to their variety of available assets.
Do you want an opening pitcher? Anderson will be among the best available. A power bat? Outfielder Taylor Ward is hitting well above .500. A utility man? Luis Rengifo has been terrible this year, but has a change-of-scenery candidate written all over him. A third baseman? Yoan Moncada has a 135 OPS+. A reliever? Kenley Jansen can close, and Ryan Zeferjahn has struck out 21 of the 47 right-handed hitters he has faced this year.
Between Zach Neto and Logan O’Hoppe, the Angels have a couple of good young players to build around, but this is a team that can’t walk and strikes out too much on offense and can’t strike guys out and walks too much on the mound. It’s ripe to be blown up, and there’s no better time than now.
Washington Nationals
Objective: Start winning.
Best available player: Right-handed reliever Kyle Finnegan.What to know: The Nationals don’t have much in the upper levels of their minor league system, making it unlikely they’ll turn their near-.500 record into a postseason run. They also don’t have much desirable major league talent they’re willing to move. Finnegan will be a good high-leverage option for a contender. Perhaps a team will take on Michael Soroka and put him in the bullpen, where he was excellent last year. Amed Rosario is a utility man who mashes lefties, and he’ll find a home. Nathaniel Lowe’s more than $10 million salary is an impediment, but he’s on pace for 110 RBIs.There’s no return of Soto, not even a fraction of him, on the way. Sooner or later the Nationals need to increase the payroll and complement James Wood, CJ Abrams, and MacKenzie Gore, all of whom have been excellent. For now, however, the Nationals are close enough to contention to see it, but far enough away that it feels a considerable distance.
Tweeners
Arizona Diamondbacks
Objective: To find out if there is enough internal pitching to justify the attempt to win.
Potentially available best player: Right-handed starter Zac Gallen.What to know: One of the most disappointing teams in baseball this season, the Diamondbacks are one of the hinge teams at the upcoming deadline. If they continue to struggle and decide to move talent, the deadline could get an immediate upgrade. But it’s complicated. Gallen has struggled to the point that Arizona might prefer to keep him, give him a qualifying offer, and retain him on a one-year deal or get draft pick compensation. First baseman Josh Naylor will generate a lot of interest, but will he surpass the value of the draft pick the Diamondbacks will get if he declines a qualifying offer?While the Snakes’ key players aren’t going anywhere (Corbin Carroll, Ketel Marte, Geraldo Perdomo), they have many more who could be moved. Merrill Kelly would look good in any rotation. Shelby Miller’s revival is real, and the fastball-splitter combination works. Third baseman Eugenio Suárez can have streaks that carry a team through a playoff series. Jake McCarthy and Alek Thomas are perfectly capable center or fourth outfielders. The Diamondbacks should be better, but bad years happen. And if this one continues, they’ll find themselves in the spotlight in July.
Boston Red Sox
Objective: That the whole be as good as the sum of its parts.
Potentially available best player: Right-handed starter Walker Buehler.What to know: The Red Sox shouldn’t be below .500. Regardless of injuries, both external and self-inflicted, they are brimming with enough talent to secure a spot in the American League playoffs. However, if the ugliness continues, setting sights on 2026 is on the table.
They have an attractive variety of players. Buehler or Lucas Giolito for the rotation. Aroldis Chapman at the back end of the bullpen and Brennan Bernardino or Justin Wilson for teams needing a left-handed reliever. Outfielder Rob Refsnyder has an OPS 36% above league average over the last two seasons and punishes left-handed pitchers. The question is whether Boston considers itself to be bigger. With the scarcity of impact players available, a general manager suggested that the Red Sox could consider the idea of moving Jarren Duran or Wilyer Abreu. They have ample outfield depth to do so, especially with Roman Anthony ready for the Major Leagues, and although trading at the deadline limits teams compared to the winter, the July market craves high-level talent, and Boston has it.
