10 MLB trade deadline candidates every good team should want

There are many more than 10 trade candidates in Major League Baseball. If you think about, every player is a trade candidate; I mean, you can technically trade any player if they waive their no trade clause, and until American sports institutes the “ironclad no trade clause” which prevents both the team and player from consenting to a trade (sidebar: imagine how much content we’d all get out of that), everyone can be a “trade candidate.” 

Instead, we’re picking the 10 most interesting trade candidates, people who would not simply be a boring, 35-year-old first-baseman with decent power numbers on a losing roster. I’m talking sneaky trades, players with the potential to dazzle, deals the potential to change everyone’s fortunes overnight. That, or to be really, really funny. 

(Note: Trade are ranked in order of how much I’d like to see them happen, corrected for one standard deviation of Boston Red Sox bias, but not ranked by how likely they are to occur. You really can’t know these things this early.)

1. Tarik Skubal

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 6 (wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, that’s just an example, I’m not going to write it out every time)

Do the Detroit Tigers want to trade Skubal? No, they don’t, but they also didn’t want to be 10 games below .500 in late May with Skubal coming off apparently very-successful elbow surgery. Unless the Tigers are really super-duper confident they can re-sign Tarik Skubal (they aren’t), they probably have to trade him. Jon Heyman’s really-super-happy-positive reporting about the surgery leads me to believe the Tigers are working hard to downplay Skubal’s injury to improve his market. I expect he will be traded.

The interesting bit is what they may or may not be able to get back given Skubal’s injury timeline. Any trade would be a physiologically-dubious rental, and how much would you pay for a rental car that just recently failed inspection? That said, Skubal isn’t some Toyota Camry; he’s a Ferrari that makes a good rotation great overnight. Someone will talk themselves into this, and it won’t be a long talk.

2. Sandy Alcantara

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 2

Alcantara was an ace-level pitcher between 2021 and 2023, but has not been remotely that since missing all of 2024 with Tommy John Surgery. It’s worth wondering if the Miami Marlins would rather just hang onto Alcantara as they try to moneyball their way out of having just one winning season since 2011. They almost certainly won’t get ace-level compensation anymore as Alcantara continues to try to figure out his post-surgery career, but they also might want to get something before its gone — he only has one year left of team control after this one, and his trade market will evaporate if they allow his contract to progress another year.

3. Jarren Duran

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 0, I would just say “mhmm, yep”

I’m a Red Sox fan, so the “mhmm, yep” would be a reaction to the fact that Duran is redundant on this team, plain and simple. He’s a nice luxury who can plausibly hit leadoff, but his 9 WAR 2024 is starting to look like more of an aberration than who he always was. Plainly, he hasn’t been able to hit this year, striking out constantly with super-problematic whiff rates. Once Roman Anthony returns from injury, the Red Sox outfield is set with Cedanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu being two of the only offensive bright spots all year. If those are his hitting chops right now, he just doesn’t have a position in Boston.

4. Rafael Devers

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 19, then cackle hysterically for four minutes

This would be flooring if it actually occurred, since Devers has spent most of 2026 looking like the mother of all cursed contracts. He has been slowly course-correcting, but the San Francisco Giants aren’t a big budget team that has routinely been willing to pay the luxury tax. They are on the hook for $171 million for seven years after this — not sure who is trading for that, but given that Willy Adames and Matt Chapman both have full no-trade clauses, Devers is somehow still the easiest to move.

5. Seth Lugo

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 0.5 (would consider saying wow)

Is Seth Lugo an elite starting pitcher? No, not really, but he’s much improved since last year, still throwing 873 different pitches and liable to seduce someone into thinking his 2024 All-Star campaign could be recaptured sometime soon. He can pitch a lot of innings, (ideally) get some ground balls and I think would benefit a good team as a third or fourth starter without too much pressure. He’s 36 with two full years of team control after this one, so the Royals could plausibly make some demands for him. Maybe one demand. One single demand seems fair. 

6. CJ Abrams

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 1 solid wow

Here’s the rundown about CJ Abrams: he’s 25, a great hitter, wicked fast but a horrendous defensive shortstop. He’s also on the Washington Nationals, who are currently .500 but are absolutely not expected to maintain that. A lot of teams would love a hard-hitting shortstop who can fly, but there’s a lot of evidence he probably shouldn’t be a shortstop. Some executives think his defense is better than his metrics, so I suggest that whoever that was trade for him! Put your money where you mouth is.

7. Yordan Alvarez

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 5

This would be serious business. The Houston Astros have had the season from one of the circles of Hell (which one is still up for debate), but Alvarez has been every bit the ball-striking machine they all knew he could be when healthy. He would command a major return, though I don’t know if Houston wants to be in the business of trading 29-year-old MVP candidates with two more years left on their deal and plenty of time to turn things around.

8. Joe Ryan

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 4

Joe Ryan has been awesome again this year, utilizing his witch’s brew of pitches to smack hitters around like he’s Doctor Octopus in a slap fight. They apparently came close to trading him last year, and with the Twins fire-sale not quite done burning down the roster, I wouldn’t be shocked at all (though it would matter a lot) if Ryan and #10 on this list make their way out of Minnesota.

9. Robbie Ray

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 0, not sure 2026 Robbie Ray is a wow guy

I said this list was going to be “interesting trade candidates” which makes me wonder how exactly Robbie Ray got himself on the docket. He actually was an All-Star in 2025 but was much worse after the All-Star break, I’m not going to sit here and tell you I think Robbie Ray will swing the fortunes of some budding contender. But he is a professional starter who showed last year he could pitch big innings again; he’s a half-season rental that probably won’t cost much at all, I’d be shocked if the Giants don’t move him.

10. Byron Buxton

How many times would I say “wow” if this happened: 2, 4 if he’s healthy

We are big fans of Byron Buxton around here … when healthy. He’s a center fielder who hits for serious power and runs seriously fast. Two years left on his deal, only 32 with late-career DH potential, every team wants that. But this is also his 12th MLB season, and he has played over 100 games in only three of them. That will be factored into whatever package the Twins try to get back for him.