Opening Day is three weeks away and soon all those prized offseason pickups will begin making an impact in games that count. Spring training games are fun in their own way, but I think we’re all ready for meaningful baseball. And once those games that count begin, it doesn’t take long for injuries to happen or deficiencies to unexpectedly pop up. It is inevitable. That’s baseball.
No team is perfect and, in a few weeks, they’ll all begin looking ahead to the trade deadline. For contenders, that means adding MLB contributors. For rebuilders, it means adding to the farm system. With that in mind, let’s take a (very) early look ahead to this summer’s trade deadline. Here are this deadline’s top 10 trade candidates ranked in order of how likely they are to be moved. With one very notable exception, we’re going to focus on non-rentals.
1. SS C.J. Abrams, Nationals
Washington did about as well as possible in the Juan Soto trade four years ago, but the rest of the team never came together, and new POBO Paul Toboni has begun another rebuild. MacKenzie Gore went to the Rangers a few weeks ago and Abrams, another part of the Soto trade, figures to be next to go. Abrams has his flaws, particularly defensively, but a 25-year-old with three years of control and high-end tools will be very in demand come July. He’s already shown 20-30 ability and has gradually improved his chase rates the last few years. It is a near certainty Toboni will trade Abrams, and I would bet on it happening sooner rather than later. Early possible landing spots: Guardians, Rays, White Sox
2. 3B Isaac Paredes, Astros
Give the Astros a truth serum and I’m certain they would tell you they prefer to move Christian Walker and shift Paredes over to first base, though that seems unlikely. Walker turns 35 later this month, lat year was his worst season since becoming a regular, and he’s owed $20 million in both 2026 and 2027. Easy to understand why Paredes has popped up in more trade rumors this spring. The 27 year old is under control through 2027 and can play either infield corner, though his extreme pull approach plays better in some parks than others. Still, quality infielders are hard to find these days. If the Astros are still facing an infield logjam in a few months, Paredes will surely be available at the deadline. Early possible landing spots: Athletics, Brewers, Red Sox
3. SP Sandy Alcantara, Marlins
The Marlins moved two veteran-ish starters this offseason (Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers) but hung on to Alcantara, who was a prime trade candidate last winter and again at last year’s trade deadline. He instead remains in Miami. How long will that last? I don’t think it will be too much longer given his $17 million salary this year and $21 million club option next year. Interested teams will give up more to get two postseason of Alcantara rather than one, making a trade this summer more likely. The Marlins still have a ways to go to get back into contention, though they are trending in the right direction. They have a lot of young pitching coming and trading Alcantara would further improve the young talent base. Early possible landing spots: Braves, Cubs, Giants
4. OF Lars Nootbaar, Cardinals
New POBO Chaim Bloom had an active offseason and moved nearly every veteran on the St. Louis roster (Nolan Arenado, Willson Contreras, Brendan Donovan, Sonny Gray, etc.). Only Nootbaar remains, possibly because he had double heel surgery early in the offseason. He has never fully launched and lived up to the terrific contact quality numbers (exit velocity, etc.), though Nootbaar is a very good and very valuable player, one who is under team control for two seasons. He can hit leadoff and play center field in a pinch, and you needn’t try hard to convince yourself there’s upside beyond the near .800 OPS he’s posted throughout his career. As with most players in this post, the question is not will Nootbaar get traded, but when. (That also applies to rental lefty reliever JoJo Romero. The Cardinals will move him soon enough.) Early possible landing spots: Diamondbacks, Mets, Royals
5. Red Sox outfielders
At some point, the Red Sox will move one of their lefty hitting outfielders, right? Roman Anthony isn’t going anywhere and Masataka Yoshida’s contract will be difficult to move, leaving Wilyer Abreu and Jarren Duran as the obvious trade candidates. Duran has three more years of control, Abreu four. Boston could trade Abreu or Duran and move forward with the other plus Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela in the outfield, with Kristian Campbell possibly factoring in as well. There’s nothing wrong with having too many good outfielders. It does feel like there is a move to be made here though, something that creates a more balanced Red Sox roster and unclogs the outfield logjam. Early possible landing spots: Mariners, Padres, Phillies
6. SP Joe Ryan, Twins
Who would have guessed Ryan would still be with the Twins when spring training opened given all the trade chatter last summer and over the winter? Perhaps Bailey Ober is the more likely trade candidate given the potentially lower asking price (Pablo López is no longer a trade candidate given his elbow injury), but frankly, I think both could be moved. Ryan has two years of control remaining, same as Ober, though he is the better pitcher and more attractive target. Squint your eyes and you can see the Twins staying in the postseason race deep into the season. I think it’s more likely Ryan (and Ober and Ryan Jeffers) is firmly on the trade block come July. Early possible landing spots: Dodgers, Padres, Yankees
7. SP Luis Severino, Athletics
The A’s need to add pitching to support their terrific lineup, not subtract it, though Severino’s contract is a bit onerous. He’s owed $20 million in 2026 with a $22 million player option for 2027, a player option that seems more likely to be picked up than not. That isn’t to say Severino is a bad pitcher. Just that league average-ish innings guys with declining strikeout rates are a harder sell at that salary, particularly for a team that doesn’t spend much in general. The A’s have some really exciting young arms coming (Jamie Arnold, Gage Jump, etc.) and could look to move Severino to clear a rotation spot and, more importantly, shed payroll. Pitching is always in demand. There would be interest in Severino even at those salaries. Early possible landing spots: Angels, Braves, Rangers
8. SP Kodai Senga, Mets
Senga was on the trade block much of the offseason as Mets POBO David Stearns remade his squad. No team took the plunge, perhaps because Senga has struggled to stay healthy the last two years and was so bad late last season that he agreed to go to Triple-A. The Mets never bothered to call him back up even as their pitching sent their season off the rails. You don’t have to look back far to see the last time Senga was an excellent pitcher though (1.39 ERA in his first 14 starts in 2025), and $14 million salaries the next two years are downright reasonable given the price of pitching these days. Early possible landing spots: Diamondbacks, Giants, Padres
9. CF Oneil Cruz, Pirates
This feels like a make-or-break year for Cruz, no? The power, the speed, and the athleticism are so very easy to dream on, but there is more to baseball than lighting up Statcast, and Cruz too often falls out of his approach. He was a below-league average hitter last year, that exit velocity translated into only — “only” — 20 home runs in 544 plate appearances, and the center field defense leaves something to be desired. Pittsburgh’s outfield is getting crowded with the offseason additions of Jhostynxon Garcia, Jake Mangum, and Ryan O’Hearn. Could they cut bait on Cruz? I think it’s possible, hence his spot in these rankings. The tools and three years of control mean more than a few teams would be willing to roll the dice. Early possible landing spots: Marlins, Reds, White Sox
10. SP Tarik Skubal, Tigers
Do I think it’s likely the Tigers stumble so badly the first four months of the season that they seriously consider trading Skubal at the deadline? No, I don’t. Is it possible? Absolutely. The Tigers had a rough finish to 2025, particularly on offense, and that’s not something Framber Valdez and Justin Verlander will fix. A middling offense and untimely pitching injuries could push the Tigers out of the race and put Skubal on the block. Even as a rental with an enormous salary (he would still be owed about $10 million at the trade deadline), the bidding war for Skubal would be fierce. He’s a balance of power player, someone who can swing a division race or a postseason series all by himself. Early possible landing spots: Blue Jays, Dodgers, Yankees
Other early deadline trade candidates: 1B Jake Burger (Rangers); RP Yennier Cano (Orioles); IF Jake Cronenworth (Padres); OF Jasson Domínguez (Yankees); CF Brenton Doyle (Rockies); RP Griffin Jax (Rays); RP Trevor Megill (Brewers); CF Jacob Young (Nationals)
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