8 Realistic MLB Trades to Boost AL and NL’s Top Teams

Despite all the time in the past few months that we’ve spent speculating about the 2024 MLB trade deadline, it sure is sneaking up in a hurry, isn’t it?

July 30 is the big day, which means the teams on the buy/sell bubble only have about 13-14 games left to pick a lane.

But for the top teams in each league, we already know they’ll be looking to buy.

It’s just a question of what they need to improve and how much they’re realistically willing to spend in terms of both money and prospects to make those improvements.

As far as the “top teams” designation is concerned, we’re keeping it simple and going with the six division leaders and the current top wild-card team from each league.

That does mean 51-win Seattle is included while 53-win Minnesota is omitted, but so be it. The Mariners are probably going to be more aggressive than the Twins anyway.

(For what it’s worth, though, a good, realistic target for Minnesota would be Detroit starter Jack Flaherty, as the Twins could use a replacement for Chris Paddack in their rotation.)

Teams are presented in alphabetical order by city/state.

Biggest Weakness: Outfield Depth

It’s hard enough to recover from losing the reigning NL MVP to a torn ACL 50 games into the season, but Atlanta already had basically no outfield depth prior to Ronald Acuña Jr.’s injury. And now that Michael Harris II has been out for nearly a month with a hamstring injury, things have really gotten ugly in Atlanta’s outfield.

They’ve been rotating between Forrest Wall, Luke Williams and Eli White in left. They snagged Ramón Laureano a few days after Cleveland cut him with a .143 batting average, but he hasn’t played in the past two weeks. And after Washington cut ties with Eddie Rosario’s .183 batting average, the Braves also pounced on that reclamation project (who played a big role in their 2021 World Series title.)

Needless to say, they’re kind of desperate.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

On the multi-year front, there’s Luis Robert Jr. from the White Sox, Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins, Brent Rooker from the A’s or maybe Randy Arozarena from the Rays. But to get one of those players with either 2.5 or 3.5 years of team control remaining, Atlanta would probably need to give up two of its top four pitching prospects (AJ Smith-Shawver, Owen Murphy, Hurston Waldrep and Spencer Schwellenbach).

Not sure Alex Anthopoulos would be willing to do that, considering they’ve managed to go 15-10 dating back to the game in which Harris was injured.

It’s more likely Atlanta will go down the same road it did in 2021, acquiring a couple of two-month rentals and hoping for the best. And on that front, Tommy Pham (CHW), Mark Canha (DET), and Kevin Pillar (LAA) are the logical candidates.

Realistic Trade: Atlanta sends Single-A RHP Seth Keller to Chicago White Sox for OF Tommy Pham

The fact that Pham (who can handle any of the three outfield spots) is on a one-year, $3M deal surely appeals to an Atlanta team that is already a projected $33 million above the luxury tax threshold. But Chicago can’t expect much in return for the 36-year-old who is playing at exactly replacement level.

Where it could get all sorts of fun is if Atlanta asks for both Robert and Pham—or Pham and one of Garrett Crochet or Erick Fedde, as they could use another starting pitcher, as well. But let’s keep things super realistic with this first proposal.

Biggest Weakness: Rotation Depth

With Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells all lost to season-ending elbow surgeries, Baltimore has been forced to rely on both Albert Suárez and Cade Povich in its rotation on a regular basis.

The former has a 4.35 ERA over the past four weeks, and the latter has a 6.51 ERA for the year.

Failing to do something about that would be the equivalent of begging the Yankees to leapfrog them again for first place in the AL East.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

Has there ever been a case of a team trading for the same player in consecutive summers? Because the Orioles could do just that by re-acquiring Jack Flaherty. He didn’t pitch well for them last fall, posting a 6.75 ERA in nine appearances, but he has had one heck of a bounce-back year and is looking like maybe the best two-month rental on this year’s trade block.

But the Orioles should have their sights set on a multi-year solution, with Corbin Burnes headed for free agency this winter and all three of the aforementioned elbow surgery recipients quite possibly out for the entire 2025 campaign, too.

Fortunately, with the best farm system out there right now, the sky is the limit for what the Orioles could do.

They have more than enough prospect capital to go win the Garrett Crochet sweepstakes and reap the benefits of his two remaining years of arbitration eligibility. Alternatively, they could increase their willingness to spend money to decrease the amount of future star potential they need to trade away by getting a guy like Tyler Anderson ($13M in 2025) or Seth Lugo ($15M in 2025, $15M player option in 2026).

Realistic Trade: Baltimore sends 1B/3B Coby Mayo and RHP Seth Johnson to Chicago for LHP Garrett Crochet

There are understandable durability concerns about the ace who had logged a grand total of 88.2 IP across all levels from 2020-23.

Counterpoint: What if Crochet is here to stay?

He has been one of the most valuable pitchers over the past three months, and if he can be that guy for another couple of years, pairing him with Burnes right now and Grayson Rodriguez for the long haul could be the trade that nets the Orioles multiple World Series titles.

Mayo is a top-tier prospect and Johnson has a lot of long-term potential, but Baltimore simply has to take a chance on Crochet if the White Sox are willing to accept that package.

Biggest Weakness: Starting Pitchers Not Named Tanner Bibee

Cleveland’s bullpen has been phenomenal, and Bibee has done a solid job as the ace of this staff since the Guardians lost Shane Bieber a week into the season.

But are they seriously going to deploy Gavin Williams and Ben Lively in their second and third games of the postseason?

And Carlos Carrasco’s 5.22 ERA if and when they need a fourth starter in October?

Maybe they’ll get lucky and both Triston McKenzie and Logan Allen will figure things out down in Triple-A and play a big role in September and October. Banking on that happening would be a bold move, though.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

Cleveland historically has not been on the buying end of many big deadline trades. They certainly won the famous Bartolo Colon trade in 2002, getting all of Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips and Grady Sizemore for a few-month rental of a Cy Young candidate. But they were the sellers in that deal.

Trading for Andrew Miller in 2016 is the only time in well over a decade that they’ve particularly geared up for a playoff run by acquiring MLB talent.

As such, there’s no real point in even mentioning Garrett Crochet, Max Scherzer, Jack Flaherty, Chris Bassitt, Tyler Anderson or any of the top names on the market.

Cleveland could do something in that next tier of available arms, though.

Maybe they stretch a bit for a Yusei Kikuchi or Andrew Heaney. Both 33-year-old lefties are impending free agents with a remaining prorated salary around $4 million. Texas also has Michael Lorenzen pitching well on just a $4.5M deal.

Trevor Williams could also be a top target for the Guardians. He has been out since early June with a flexor strain in his right elbow, but he had a 2.22 ERA prior to the injury and could be a solid buy-low candidate.

Realistic Trade: Cleveland sends LHP Will Dion to Texas for LHP Andrew Heaney OR RHP Michael Lorenzen

It’s unclear at this point whether the Rangers will be buying or selling at the deadline. However, in an ideal, healthy world, neither of these impending free agents is going to be part of their September rotation anyway, once both Tyler Mahle and Jacob deGrom return from their respective Tommy John rehabs.

And given how close the Rangers are to the luxury tax threshold, they might be thrilled with the idea of unloading Heaney for little more than the salary relief.

Perhaps Dion can be even more than that.

Between 2022-23, he had a 2.24 ERA in 244.2 innings of minor league work. However, he has struggled this year at Triple-A and isn’t considered one of the top prospects in what is a mid-tier farm system.

Biggest Weakness: Outfield

The Dodgers may well decide that starting pitching is their biggest deadline need, depending on how healthy they are / expect to become.

But while they might be getting all of Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Walker Buehler back from the IL within the next month or so, there’s no cavalry coming in the outfield.

(Unless Mookie Betts is going to go back to right field when he comes back from his broken hand somewhere around mid-August, in which case the middle infield probably becomes their biggest weakness.)

Even with Teoscar Hernández putting up solid numbers, the overall state of the Dodgers outfield hasn’t been great, batting .222/.294/.382 for the year.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

We previously mentioned four multi-year outfield options that Atlanta probably wouldn’t pursue, but those guys might be right up the Dodgers’ alley, considering Hernández is on a one-year deal and Jason Heyward isn’t getting any younger.

Between Luis Robert Jr., Jazz Chisholm Jr., Randy Arozarena and Brent Rooker, the Tampa Bay Rays left fielder might be their preferred target. Robert and Chisholm both have durability concerns, and Rooker has been primarily a DH this season—which wouldn’t work with Shohei Ohtani.

Tampa Bay might also be the one most motivated to make a trade, with Arozarena’s salary for his two remaining years of arbitration eligibility likely to land somewhere around $12M in 2025 and $15M in 2026.

The Dodgers already helped the Rays save money with the Tyler Glasnow deal this past offseason. Maybe they go back to that budget-conscious well again.

Realistic Trade: Los Angeles sends LHP Ronan Kopp, OF Jose Ramos and C Diego Cartaya to Tampa Bay for LF Randy Arozarena

Cartaya was one of the highest-rated prospects in all of baseball heading into last season, but a .189 batting average in Double-A in 2023 removed an awful lot of his luster.

He has bounced back a good bit this season, though, getting promoted to Triple-A a few weeks ago, where he had a 4-for-4 performance on July 2.

Might be overestimating his present value with this trade package, but he could still be the centerpiece of a prospect platter for a major acquisition.

Biggest Weakness: Starting Pitchers

The Brewers have already traded for both Dallas Keuchel and Aaron Civale. The former had a 6.29 ERA from 2021-23 and was pitching in Triple-A for Seattle. The latter had a 5.17 ERA in 27 starts with Tampa Bay dating back to last year’s trade deadline.

Not exactly marquee acquisitions, but a clear sign of a team with major concerns about its rotation.

Freddy Peralta has been solid and rookie Tobias Myers’ 3.13 ERA has been a pleasant surprise. However, Myers and Colin Rea each has a FIP considerably higher than his ERA, suggesting likely regression from a rotation that already hasn’t been anything special.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

Milwaukee hasn’t been shy about getting involved in marquee deals in recent summers.

In 2021, the Brewers traded for Eduardo Escobar, fresh off his appearance in the All-Star Game. The following summer was when they traded away Josh Hader. And while there wasn’t a singular big swap at last year’s deadline, they did acquire Carlos Santana, Mark Canha and Andrew Chafin for their postseason push.

They have the eighth-best farm system, headlined by Jacob Misiorowski, Jeferson Quero and Tyler Black if they really want to go all-in.

They’ll probably be eying up a rental, though, with Peralta, Rea, Myers and Civale all coming back next season, plus Brandon Woodruff, D.L. Hall and Robert Gasser who are currently on the IL.

Detroit’s Jack Flaherty might be the best one available, though he has a 5.57 ERA in nine career starts in Milwaukee. If that scares the Brewers away from him, Yusei Kikuchi is another big target. He had been struggling in recent weeks, but his 13-strikeout performance against the Giants on Tuesday vaulted him back up the list of options on the trade block.

Realistic Trade: Milwaukee sends RHP Bradley Blalock to Toronto for LHP Yusei Kikuchi

It’s not exactly the CC Sabathia acquisition from 16 years ago, but it could be a key one for the Brewers, who are notably light on left-handed pitching.

Kikuchi has a 3.91 ERA in 51 starts dating back to the start of last season, averaging better than four strikeouts per walk during that time. He would probably be their No. 2 starter in the postseason, and they could probably get him for not very much, provided the 42-50 Blue Jays admit defeat and embrace selling.

Biggest Weakness: Third Base

Over the past month of wildly disappointing play, it has felt like New York needs to upgrade pretty much everything aside from Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.

But third base has been a disaster for the Yankees for much more than a month.

Oswaldo Cabrera started out hot, batting .303 and slugging .500 in his first 18 games. But since April 22, both he and DJ LeMahieu have hit precisely .206 with a combined two home runs in 277 plate appearances.

Gleyber Torres has also struggled at second base, Alex Verdugo hasn’t been hitting well (mostly in the cleanup spot, no less) over the past two months and they sure could use at least one new addition to the bullpen. If we’re looking for just one spot to fix, though, it’s the hot corner.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

How about a reunion with an old friend? Isiah Kiner-Falefa is having easily the best season of his career, and his two-year, $15M contract could be part of a full-blown Blue Jays fire sale. His defensive versatility could be clutch, too, on the off chance Cabrera or LeMahieu starts hitting well and he’d be more useful at second or in left.

Luis Rengifo has that same flexibility, though, is less expensive ($4.4M salary this season) and is hitting even better than IKF with a .315 batting average. If the Yankees are after a utilityman, it’ll probably be the one from the Angels.

Don’t sleep on a possible Matt Chapman trade, though. His player options for the next two seasons complicate his trade value, but that’s the type of splashy acquisition the Yankees might need to make in order to both save face and save their season.

Realistic Trade: New York sends RHP Will Warren and RHP Jack Neely to Los Angeles Angels for IF Luis Rengifo

Warren was New York’s eighth-round pick in the 2021 draft. Neely went a little bit later in the 11th round.

Both are currently pitching in Triple-A. Warren is the more highly touted of the two, but has struggled mightily this season with a 6.64 ERA in 80 innings of work. Neely has serious closer potential, averaging 14.4 K/9 throughout his time in the minors.

Could be a big win in the long run for the Angels, but it’s a relatively small price for the Yankees to pay to get another hitter who can actually get on base with some regularity.

Biggest Weakness: Center field

The Phillies became the first team to reach 60 wins this season and also boast the best run differential in the majors.

Yet, even they have a pretty glaring weakness in center field.

Johan Rojas is batting .235/.272/.291 for the season, and he’s clearly the better of the two options, with Cristian Pache at .167/.259/.229.

Brandon Marsh occasionally starts in center and has fantastic numbers for the year compared to Rojas and Pache. However, if Marsh is in center, that means Whit Merrifield’s .199/.277/.295 triple slash is in left field, which brings the Phillies right back to square one with a black hole in the outfield.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

The two big ones are Luis Robert Jr. and Jazz Chisholm Jr., both of whom have several years of team control remaining and won’t come cheap.

The “presumably available” part is certainly true, though. They play for the two worst teams in the majors, and there has been a “growing belief” in recent days that Chisholm will be traded somewhere.

On the less-likely-but-kind-of-plausible front, maybe Cody Bellinger?

The Cubs aren’t dead yet, and the fact that Bellinger has player options for both 2025 and 2026 complicates matters in a big way. Also, his prorated salary of nearly $10M for the final two months of this season isn’t great for a team already an estimated $25M over the luxury tax threshold. But it would figure to be the less “expensive” option as far as the prospect cost is concerned.

Realistic Trade: Philadelphia sends 3B/SS Aidan Miller, C Eduardo Tait and LHP Samuel Aldegheri to Chicago White Sox for Luis Robert Jr.

Nobody said “realistic” trade has to mean “boring” trade.

Miller was their first round pick last summer. Tait is a 17-year-old hitting over .300 in rookie ball this season. Aldegheri is quickly rising in the prospect rankings with 95 strikeouts against just 44 hits allowed through 13 starts at high-A ball.

And the Phillies could really go all-in by giving up five or six of their top 10 prospects for both Robert and Garrett Crochet. However, that hardly seems necessary, even with the No. 5 spot in their rotation a mess right now with both Taijuan Walker and Spencer Turnbull on the IL. If they feel the need to address that, they’ll most likely just try to find a cheap rental.

Biggest Weakness: First Base

There are 154 players in the majors this season who have made at least 30 plate appearances with an OPS of .732 or better.

The Seattle Mariners have precisely zero of those players.

But while most of their regulars have been able to provide at least some value in other ways, they are simply not getting much of anything out of Ty France at first base for a second consecutive year.

It has been particularly rough since the beginning of June, too, as France has gone 14-for-87 (.161) with just one home run in his last 26 games.

Presumably Available Trade Targets

Early in the year when both the Cardinals (Paul Goldschmidt) and Mets (Pete Alonso) seemed to be on the fast track to a seller’s mentality, it looked like this year’s trade block was going to be oversaturated with quality first basemen.

Both of those teams have stormed back into the postseason conversation, though, and the Diamondbacks (Christian Walker) just keep hanging around, too.

At this point, it’s slim pickens at first base as far as impending free agents go.

Miami’s Josh Bell is surely available, but his OPS is even worse than France’s. Same goes for Washington’s Joey Gallo. And Pittsburgh’s Rowdy Tellez is only ever so slightly out-performing the current Mariners first baseman.

It is pretty much Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or bust, plus Cody Bellinger as someone at least worth asking about.

If Toronto is actually willing to part with Guerrero, Seattle had better swing big to get him, because the other contender that is desperate to improve its first base situation is the one two games behind the Mariners in the AL West.

Realistic Trade: Seattle sends OF Jonny Farmelo, SS Felnin Celesten and 3B Ben Williamson to Toronto Blue Jays for 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Aside from the Orioles, Seattle has the best farm system right now. And though most of its top-tier prospects are still likely at least a year or two away from cracking into the big leagues, that’s kind of perfect for Toronto, which would be waving the white flag on both 2024 and 2025 if it unloads Guerrero (and Bo Bichette).

Celesten is still just an 18-year-old in rookie ball, but the switch-hitting shortstop has darn near a 1.000 OPS there. And Farmelo was the high schooler they took 29th overall in last year’s draft with the “prospect promotion incentive pick” that they got for Julio Rodríguez winning the 2022 AL Rookie of the Year.

Both are already borderline top 100 overall prospects and could be key pieces of a Blue Jays rebuild.