It’s officially trade season. With the deals starting to pick up, I answered another batch of subscriber questions as we head into the final weekend before Tuesday’s trade deadline. I discussed the seller’s market, teams that are surprising me, the latest I’m hearing on big-name targets and much more.
Note: Questions have been edited for clarity and length.
In a strong seller’s market, who are surprising teams or players you predict will be involved? — Jake M.
I certainly agree it’s a seller’s market, with the Rays, Marlins and Nationals all getting strong trade returns for Randy Arozarena, A.J. Puk and Hunter Harvey, respectively. The teams that have surprised me the most by switching to selling are the Cubs and Giants. The Cubs have had a lot of discussions with teams regarding starter Jameson Taillon and relievers Héctor Neris and Mark Leiter Jr. The Giants have been dangling Blake Snell, Alex Cobb, Mike Yastrzemski, Michael Conforto and Wilmer Flores, among others.
What would a trade look like between the Cardinals and Giants for Snell? — Patrick R.
I think there has to be a significant player to be named later as part of any trade for Snell because it’s not known if he’ll opt into his 2025 salary ($30 million) or elect to re-enter free agency — and that decision will probably depend on how he pitches down the stretch and whether he can stay off the injured list for the balance of the season. As far as your question about a potential Snell trade to St. Louis, I think the initial return would start with one of the Cardinals’ pitching prospects such as Gordon Graceffo or Brian Holiday, and perhaps include one of their minor-league table-setters like outfielder Travis Honeyman, who was a third-round pick in 2023, along with the aforementioned PTBNL. I think the Astros, Twins and Red Sox make the most sense as landing spots for Snell, if he’s dealt.
What do you see the Giants doing? — Johnny M.
I don’t think the Giants are going to make the playoffs, so they should be doing exactly what they are doing: selling. In addition, with Garrett Crochet unlikely to be traded now and Detroit’s asking price on Tarik Skubal so high that he probably doesn’t get moved either, trading Snell makes a lot of sense because he could be the best starting pitcher available at the deadline. The Giants are the fourth-best team in the NL West and I don’t see that changing this year. Therefore, it’s time to lower payroll for the rest of the year and retool for 2025 and beyond.
The Mets’ big turnaround makes them an interesting team to watch over the next few days. Could you see them becoming aggressive buyers? — Sam Z.
The Mets are playing like a playoff team, so now instead of being minor buyers for relievers at the deadline, they need to shift and also try to acquire an upgrade in the starting rotation, such as Snell, Jack Flaherty or Erik Fedde.
With the latest developments on Crochet, do you think he gets traded before the deadline or will the White Sox wait til the offseason? – Julian W.
I think it’s now likely he stays put because I’m not sure any team is going to commit to a five-year contract for him now when they won’t have to in the offseason. The only team that I could see being willing to do that is the Dodgers and I’d never bet against them making a trade to get him and paying him what he wants. However, my best guess is he stays with the White Sox until the winter.
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Trading for Garrett Crochet: Which teams (and prospect packages) could land him?
Where do you see Flaherty ending up? — Luis G.
I think that, among the starting pitchers traded at the deadline, he will end of being the best one for the rest of the season. He fits with every contending team. The Astros, Braves and Dodgers are three of the most likely landing spots if he’s dealt.
Do you think the Blue Jays trade Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Bo Bichette before the deadline? — No name given
They are not trading Guerrero or Bichette at the deadline. Period. No more conversation. Carry on!
Love the Front Office Show! It’s my go-to each week! Huge Tigers Fan, but concerned they won’t do anything to make the team better for the future this trade deadline. What is the likelihood of the trade (you suggested), with Tarik Skubal going to Orioles, will occur? — John G.
Thanks for supporting the Award-Winning Front Office Show, which airs Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET on SiriusXM MLB Network Radio. We appreciate you! I’m glad you liked my trade idea, but apparently the Orioles weren’t as keen on it, as it appears Skubal is more likely to stay a Tiger. However, I do think Detroit will get a strong return for Flaherty and maybe even closer Jason Foley.
Which player that no one has been talking about — publicly — will get moved? And which, if any, front office will do something to “blindside” their fan base? (For instance, the Cubs have indicated they will have a “play for ’25” approach … but maybe something happens — like a Christian Yelich injury — and suddenly they zig when told us they’d zag.) — Chad C.
I love that question, Chad. I’ll go with Brandon Lowe of the Rays or Bryan De La Cruz of the Marlins to answer the first part. And for the second part, I think the Reds could surprise their fan base with a “buyer-to-buyer” type of trade.
Pirates get: CF Jazz Chisholm Jr., OF Bryan De La Cruz and RHP Declan Cronin
Marlins get: SS Mitch Jebb, LHP Michael Kennedy, OF Tres Gonzalez, CF Ji Hwan Bae and RHP Josh Fleming
— Michael A.
The Marlins say no. This is not close to being enough for their side of the proposed trade.
Pittsburgh needs a bat and bullpen help, and has a solid list of pitching prospects. How about the Pirates send RHP Braxton Ashcraft and LHP Hunter Barco to the Nats for reliever Kyle Finnegan and outfielder Lane Thomas? I think this framework of a deal could work, even if the Pirates’ pitchers need to be swapped for others within their prospect pool. — Joseph G.
I like this trade for both teams. Great idea, Joseph G!
Hi, Jim. Last mailbag, I asked if the Rangers could cause some chaos when they were six games back, and you said that was most likely not the case given their standing at the time. After a five-game win streak, they’re now 2 1/2 games back with some help from the faltering Mariners and Astros. How much do you think this changes their attitude toward the trade deadline, and do you see them going after someone like Brent Rooker or Yandy Díaz? — Liam M.
The Rangers are definitely looking for a bat, most likely a left-handed-hitting outfielder or designated hitter or a platoon right-handed hitter. They could also add a reliever.
Which trade candidates do you believe the Yankees are most likely to acquire? And what assets will they offer in exchange for them? — Moishe U.
The Yankees’ biggest offensive need is a third baseman, with the Rays’ Isaac Paredes, the Rockies’ Ryan McMahon and the Marlins’ Jake Burger all possibilities but long shots. They could instead go for a second baseman such as the Reds’ Jonathan India or the Marlins’ Jazz Chisholm Jr.
What do you think about a trade in which the Orioles send Ryan Mountcastle and Jud Fabian to the Astros for Ryan Pressly, with some balancing prospect(s)? — Jacob S.
I like it for the Orioles and hate it for the Astros. I would not trade Pressly if I were Houston. Instead, I would use all my trade assets to get another starting pitcher and maybe even another reliever. In addition, I think it’s more likely the Astros will acquire Yandy Díaz in a trade with the Rays to improve their first-base situation.
(Many) division leaders have recently had losing records. Does this change a front office’s approach? I’d love to hear more about the Guardians specifically (but am curious about this topic in general). — Kyle M.
Don’t worry about recent winning or losing streaks with division leaders. They’re in first place and their winning and losing will be like a roller coaster with ups and downs over the course of a 162-game season. If you’re in first today, then you can win the division — so nothing changes big picture. (Of course, as a GM you’re always gathering info on your team and making adjustments.) All that said, the Guardians need a starting pitcher and another middle-of-the-order bat if they want to sleep at night. The Twins and Royals aren’t going away.
The Cubs being sellers makes sense, but what if they went opposite and traded some minor-league redundancy where players are blocked at the big-league level and got a masher like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. We may never have starting pitching this good again. If we get to the playoffs, who knows. Thoughts? — Eric M.
I don’t agree with the Cubs’ decision to sell and punt the season. They entered Friday only 5 1/2 games out of wild-card position in the National League, where mediocrity owns the day. Their starting pitching ERA is the third-best in the NL. If they were to add two relievers and two bats, including an offensive upgrade at catcher, they could still make the playoffs. The Cubs’ pathway is much better than those of the Rays and Giants even though they are a similar number of games back in the standings. I’m not suggesting the Cubs should trade top prospects to get these players, but trading mid-level prospects to get better is the way I would have gone.
In terms of Guerrero, he’s not getting traded, and even if he were, the Cubs would have to trade their very best prospects to land him, which goes against what they’ve been doing as an organization for five years.
Do you think it would make sense for the Yankees to gauge the trade market for Clay Holmes and then use some of those prospects they’d acquire for him (plus their own) to target a younger closer replacement who can strike out batters, like Mason Miller from the A’s? I just don’t think the Yankees should be re-signing Holmes long term at closer dollars after this season. — Joe L.
Trading Holmes is not the answer. Trading for the Marlins’ Tanner Scott or the Angels’ Carlos Estévez to add to Holmes is the Yankees’ best play right now. Also, Miller is not getting traded at this year’s trade deadline.
What are the rules to make a team use the Player to be Named Later designation like the Mariners and Rays just used? — Mike B. … That’s a good question. I’ve always been curious how much flexibility teams have in how they determine who that PTBNL is. — Lance R.
The player to be named later must be identified within six months of when a trade is made. Most of the time, the teams agree on a list of potential players from which the assignee club can choose from. Sometimes there can be multiple lists the clubs can pick from depending on whether the player traded stays off the injured list or if the team were to make the playoffs, win a playoff series or win a World Series. The PTBNL cannot be a player who is on the IL at the time of the trade and cannot have been on the 40-man roster during the previous season, thus making that player a minor-league prospect or suspect. There is also another clause that says if the teams can’t agree on a player, then there will be cash considerations swapped instead, which has to be renegotiated before any PTBNL included in a deal can be finalized.
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(Photo of Blake Snell: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
