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Here are the top players who could be moved at the MLB trade deadline.
Major League Baseball’s trade deadline is rapidly approaching, which means that it’s time to start figuring out who could be on the move and who could actually be staying put once the deadline passes on Aug. 1. There are always plenty of interesting names that are on the trade market every season and this season is no different. One name in particular stands out from the rest and is probably the biggest name to hit the trade deadline rumor mill in a long, long time.
Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
It’s very obvious as to who the big fish is when it comes to the trade deadline this season. It’s been one of the hottest topics of baseball all season and the the heat is only going to intensify as the deadline gets closer. Shohei Ohtani is the most valuable player in all of baseball and the most unique player in baseball due to the fact that he’s leading baseball in wRC+ (184) as a hitter while also having a strikeout percentage over 30 percent as a pitcher.
It’s to the point where he actually may be too valuable to trade, despite the fact that there’s a very good chance that he’ll be leaving town via free agency in the winter. The Angels are currently eight games back in the division and four games back in the Wild Card so while they aren’t dead in the water just yet, they are firmly on the bubble. This still would’ve been a tough decision for the Angels if they were completely adrift but now it’s even tougher since they still have a shot.
They do have a tricky path towards the postseason due to having a tough strength of schedule going forward and having a couple of teams that they have to leapfrog in order to even get to the third and final Wild Card spot. The Angels could look at what the future holds for the rest of this season and the upcoming offseason and realize that it may be time to get what they can for Shohei Ohtani. While an Ohtani trade would require an absolute haul, it’s still tough to envision the Angels getting enough value back in any deal they could swing.
That’s why it could be likely that the Angels will hold on to Shohei Ohtani as the deadline comes and goes. With that being said, there’s always a possibility that a contending team could decide to push their chips all in in order to have Ohtani on their team for the final stretch of the season and possibly beyond if they can sign him in free agency. The Angels have to do their due diligence in listening to offers, since this could potentially be one of the biggest deadline deals of all time if it actually happens.
Lucas Giolito, Chicago White Sox
While there’s no guarantees that Shohei Ohtani is getting dealt, it’s extremely likely that Lucas Giolito is going to be wearing a different uniform once August rolls around. The White Sox are in the midst of a lost season and should probably get started on a rebuild sooner rather than later. One of the best ways to get that rebuild going would be to ship off Giolito. The right-handed hurler will be a free agent next season and is firmly on track to bounce back nicely from an underwhelming season for his standards in 2022.
The White Sox could also think about trading Dylan Cease away but this seems like a less likely scenario than a Lucas Giolito trade is. Cease still has a decent amount of team control left to go before he reaches free agency and the White Sox might not be as motivated to cut bait on a pitcher who finished as runner-up as the AL Cy Young Award winner back in 2022 — whether he’s having a disappointing season or not. The Pale Hose don’t exactly have a strong history of contract extensions to back them so trading Cease could happen at some time down the road. It probably won’t happen this season, as Giolito seems like a perfect candidate for a trade at this period in time.
Josh Hader/Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
San Diego has had a wildly disappointing season in 2023 as they’ve been unable to keep the momentum going from their surprise appearance in the 2022 NLCS. As a result of San Diego shockingly being in the position of being sellers, these two players are being lumped together since if the Padres decide to trade one of these guys, then the other is probably going to be sent away as well.
Just like the aforementioned players, both Josh Hader and Blake Snell are going to be heading into free agency and figure to be headed for massive paydays this winter. While the Padres have shown a willingness to spend big, this could also be an opportunity for A.J. Preller and their front office to boost their farm a bit by getting something for one or both of their pending free agent pitchers. Snell has been in peak form since late-May and Hader is having another season where he’s looking like one of the best high-leverage relievers in all of baseball. This may be a bitterly disappointing season for the Padres but they could at least salvage it by capitalizing on the value of these two as the trade deadline gets closer.
Jeimer Candelario, Washington Nationals
We’ve seen this type of trade deadline deal time and time again over the years. A talented player looking for a bounce-back season agrees to a one-year deal with a team that is in pure rebuilding mode. The player proceeds to bounce back is one of the few bright spots on a team that does indeed turn out to be bad. Once the deadline rolls around, the player gets an opportunity to play for a contender via trade and the team gets to continue their rebuild by flipping the player for some prospects.
I’d imagine that this is exactly what’s going to happen with Jeimer Candelario and the Washington Nationals. Candelario has returned to the exciting form that he was in for most of his time with the Detroit Tigers and has been one of Washington’s only consistently productive hitters this season alongside Lane Thomas. He’s also fortunate enough to be playing third base, which isn’t exactly the deepest position on the market this year. As a result, Candelario’s going to be in very high demand at and around the deadline and it would be a major shock if he’s still sporting the Curly “W” by this time next month.
Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs
While Stroman isn’t a pending free agent at the moment, it seems likely that the veteran right-hander is going to exercise his player option and test his value on the free agency market this offseason. With that in mind, the Cubs should definitely take some calls on Stroman and see if they can get something for him before he decides to opt out and test the waters of free agency.
What makes this tricky is whether or not the Cubs really think that they’re truly out of the race to make the postseason. They’re five games out of the Wild Card and their Pythagorean W-L record suggests that they’ve been unlucky up to this point. If Chicago’s front office believes that they can get on a run by taking advantage of a relatively-easy strength of schedule going forward in order to sneak into the postseason, the Cubs could be buyers at the deadline. If they’re sellers then Stroman has to go — again, it’s likely that he’s going to opt out and he could definitely help a team with his ability to induce ground balls and keep the baseball inside of the ballpark.
