MLB trade deadline: 12 players who could be on the market
Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty works in the first inning against the Chicago White Sox at Comerica Park on Friday, June 21, 2024, in Detroit. Credit: TNS/Robin Buckson, The Detroit News
It’s difficult to tell exactly when the trade season officially kicks off in Major League Baseball. Obviously, clubs are free to swap at any time, and deals do pop up year-round.
But with the trade deadline scheduled for July 30 this season — yes, the Commissioner’s Office now has the ability to set the date for any day between July 28 and Aug. 3 — we figure that Sunday makes a natural gateway for this annual shopping spree, as that’s a month out from pencils down.
Here’s where things get complicated, however. With MLB expanding its playoff format in 2022 to include a third wild card, that keeps more teams in contention deeper into the season, making it a tougher call to sell off coveted players on the roster.
Case in point: before Saturday’s games, the American League had nine teams either in possession of a playoff spot or within five games (certainly striking distance) of an October berth. In the National League, 13 teams met that criteria. That’s 22 clubs (out of 30) still alive for the postseason, objectively speaking.
Whether the general managers of the marginal clubs truly believe that is another story. But situations can change rapidly, and teams we think are headed for a fire sale instead can get hot to salvage their playoff hopes.
The Mets are a perfect example. They were 11 games under .500 (24-35) on June 2, seemingly prepping for a sell-off, yet flipped the script by winning 16 of their next 20 games this month, pulling to within a game of a wild card and zero teams between them and the third-spot Cardinals.
The repercussions of the Mets’ resurgence go way beyond Flushing. Consider the players now presumably off the market. Luis Severino figured to be one of the best arms available, not only due to performance (3.29 ERA) but cost (expiring $13M contract). Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana also would attract interest from pitching-hungry contenders, and Pete Alonso’s pending free agency made him a strong candidate to be dealt.
The Mets’ stunning turnaround doesn’t necessarily rule anything out, but based on the Mets’ recent momentum and apparently newfound clubhouse chemistry (“OMG”), it wouldn’t seem as if president of baseball operations David Stearns is prepared to break up this roster on its current trajectory.
“The truth is we still have time before we have to make decisions,” Stearns said before Friday’s 7-2 comeback win over the Astros.
For the sake of this exercise, we’ll consider the Mets more in buyer mode and take Severino & Co. off the deadline list. But here are a dozen other names to consider with a month to go, with pitching always the most in demand (and expensive contracts not so much).
1. Jack Flaherty, RHP, Tigers. Flaherty was a trade candidate from the moment he signed his one-year, $14 million deal. And with the Motor City running on fumes, Flaherty is a lock to be dealt, with a 3.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 11.6 K/9 through 15 starts.
2. Garrett Crochet, LHP, White Sox. It’s going to be an active July on Chicago’s South Side, and Crochet, 25, should fetch a great return as a top lefty starter under team control through the ’27 season. Crochet has a 3.05 ERA through 17 starts, with a 0.94 WHIP and an MLB-best 12.4 K/9.
3. Jazz Chisholm Jr., OF/INF, Marlins. With the Marlins’ revolving-door roster, no one ever is untouchable, and the versatile Chisholm is likely to bring back some young(er) talent for Miami’s perpetual rebuild. Chisholm provides some pop (10 homers) and speed (14 steals) that could inject some adrenaline for a team’s stretch run.
4. Yusei Kikuchi, LHP, Blue Jays. It’s been a bumpy June for Kikuchi (2-4, 6.26 ERA), but there’s always a strong market for a lefty with swing-and-miss stuff (9.5 K/9) who keeps walks to a minimum (2.1). He’s also a pending free agent earning only $10 million this season, so he’d be a great deadline buy from the disappointing Jays.
5. Tanner Scott, LHP, Marlins. Nothing attracts July demand like a shutdown reliever, and Miami is holding one in Scott, who’s been solid in limited save chances (11-for-13) with a 1.54 ERA. He’s also a relatively cheap rental, due roughly $3 million in the second half before hitting free agency.
6. Carlos Estevez, RHP, Angels. The lowly Angels (surprise, surprise) should at least be winners on the trade front with Estevez, who throws high-90s heat and has a 0.81 WHIP through 26 appearances (16-for-19 in saves). He’s making $6.75 million in his walk year.
7. Kenley Jansen, RHP, Red Sox. This is a tough one for new GM Craig Breslow. Jansen is a veteran closer with plenty of big-game experience and is having a strong bounce-back season in Boston (2.30 ERA, 10.5 K/9). The Sox would love to dump his salary ($16M this season), but they’re only 1 1⁄2 games back in the wild-card hunt.
8. Luis Rengifo, INF, Angels. Maybe not the flashiest name on the board, but Rengifo is precisely the kind of super-utility boost that contenders look for at this time of year. A switch hitter who’s played mostly second and third this season, he’s batting .315 with a six homers and an .808 OPS through 65 games. He’s earning $4.4 million and is under team control for 2025 as well.
9. Mason Miller, RHP, Athletics. Everybody wants Miller, who’s making the MLB minimum ($740K) and is in the top percentile of every possible pitching category — chase rate, whiff percentage, fastball velo (100.8!) — with a 1.96 ERA and 15.7 K/9. He’s clearly being wasted on the 24-games-under- .500 A’s, but could they really be keeping him for the (presumably) ’28 splash in Vegas? It’s going to take a huge package to land Miller, but stranger things have happened, and he’s under team control through 2029.
10. Tyler Anderson, LHP, Angels. Anderson was signed to be a part of the Angels’ re-branding last offseason, but that turned out as it usually does over in Disneyland, and Anderson now should be pitching his way to a contender with a 2.63 ERA though 16 starts. At age 34, he’s relatively cheap with roughly $20 million due through the 2025 season.
11. Miguel Andujar, LF, Athletics. Yes, that Miguel Andujar. The former Yankee didn’t debut until late May because of knee surgery in spring training but is hitting .317 with two homers and a .346 on-base percentage in 30 games (1.196 OPS vs. lefties).
12. Elias Diaz, C, Rockies. With catchers always a rare commodity, all eyes are on Diaz’s progress from a left calf injury, though he’s expected to be back before the July 30 deadline. Diaz, 33, is hitting .303 with five homers and a .791 OPS for the Rockies, who are 15 games out of the wild card.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.