June is here, meaning trade season is ramping up in baseball. The MLB trade deadline isn’t until July 31, but rumors are already running rampant about which stars will be on the trading block. The landscape is shifting, though, as teams like the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles have started to win games after disastrous starts.
In all likelihood, these recent winning streaks won’t change who the buyers and sellers will be this year. A number of teams who are all but out of the playoff picture will look to move veterans to contenders that want a boost for a playoff or World Series push. This year, fewer bona fide stars have been rumored to be on the trading block than usual. Certainly, teams still will move really talented players.
Here are the best players who are potentially available ahead of the 2025 MLB trade deadline, ranked not in how likely they are to be moved but placed on this list in order of how talented they are and only qualifying if any chance exists that their team will trade them. Of course, surprising trades can happen, but these players have already been suggested as trade candidates and all seem at least somewhat likely to be suiting up for new teams at some point this season.
Honorable mention: Luis Robert Jr., OF, White Sox
Luis Robert Jr. has horrible numbers this season, so he doesn’t deserve a spot among the 10 best trade candidates this season. He receives an honorable mention, though, because his potential is as great as almost all of them. Robert has a 38-homer season in which he made the All-Star Game in 2023 to his name. He even batted .338 in 2021.
This year, Robert is down to a batting average of .177. The Chicago White Sox have traded almost everybody of note over the last two seasons while they’ve undergone a massive rebuild. Everybody but Robert, that is. The trade value for the outfielder with blazing speed and tons of power potential is at an all-time low, but he knows that a trade is inevitable, and it has seemingly messed up his mental state.
A change of scenery could rejuvenate Robert, but he has also always struggled with plate discipline, making any trade for him a high-risk, high-reward move. The saving grace with Robert, even if he isn’t able to improve his batting average, is that he is one of the best base stealers in baseball. Robert already has swiped 21 bags this season. Robert was hit in the head during batting practice ahead of Chicago’s last game, but he won’t be out for long.
10. Ryan McMahon, 3B, Rockies
The Colorado Rockies just earned their first sweep of the year, but that doesn’t change the fact that they are on pace to finish as the worst team in the modern era, even surpassing the White Sox’s loss total from last season. They are so bad that they don’t have much of anything to offer in trades despite the fact that they should be clear-cut sellers ahead of the MLB trade deadline.
Ryan McMahon is perhaps their best trade chip. The third baseman belted 20-plus home runs in five of the last six seasons. Unfortunately, like Robert, he has also had a disastrous season, which will prevent his employer from getting the type of trade return that they’d prefer.
McMahon is only batting .201 this season. The Rockies had suitors for McMahon last season, but they decided to hold on to him. That now looks like a mistake. Jake Bird is also a MLB trade deadline candidate. The reliever has a 1.53 ERA right now, which is really good for someone who has to pitch at Coors Field. Bird was average at best in the three seasons before this, though.
9. Mitch Keller, SP, Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates’ disastrous start led to some speculation that there was any chance that Paul Skenes could be traded this summer. The Pirates shut down that rumor quickly, but they could move Mitch Keller, Skenes’ buddy in Pittsburgh’s rotation.
Skenes and Keller have basically been the only things keeping the Pirates somewhat afloat, and considering they need to be sellers but won’t trade their young ace, a Keller trade is likely inevitable. Keller throws an impressive sweeper. Fellow Pirates starter Andrew Heaney could be another trade candidate.
8. Cedric Mullins/Ryan O’Hearn, Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are the toughest team to gauge ahead of the MLB trade deadline. The team expected to contend for the World Series this year, but injuries and underwhelming play have led to them being the most disappointing team in MLB this year. Now, they are geared up to be sellers.
The team won’t trade any of their young core, which includes Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Jackson Holliday, Grayson Rodriguez, Jordan Westburg, or Colton Cowser. Baltimore’s veterans can be moved in an effort to help the team retool for contention next season, though. Of those veterans, Cedric Mullins has the most proven track record in Baltimore.
While Mullins has better career numbers, his teammate, Ryan O’Hearn, has been the Orioles’ best player this season. O’Hearn began the year in a platoon at first base, but he has instead batted .326 in full-time duty. O’Hearn is hot, which will make him a coveted trade acquisition.
The Orioles have won six straight games, and the fact that they are turning the corner could change their plans going forward when it comes to the trade market. The team has a lot of veterans on expiring contracts, though, and considering they’ve shown hesitancy to re-sign their own free agents, they might need to pursue trades for players like Mullins and O’Hearn.
7. Josh Naylor/Eugenio Suarez, Diamondbacks
The National League West is stacked, and because the Arizona Diamondbacks have underperformed early, they may already be out of the running for a postseason spot. The Diamondbacks have two underrated corner infielders who could demand a sizable trade return. Eugenio Suarez is the team’s third baseman, and Josh Naylor plays first for the team.
Suarez has been one of the best long-ball hitters in baseball this year. The third baseman has belted 16 home runs already. Naylor has an OPS+ of around 120 for the fourth straight season, proving that he is one of the most underrated players in the league as well as consistent. It is unclear if the Diamondbacks would move either player, considering the team played in the World Series just two years ago. Arizona will likely wait until closer to the MLB trade deadline to decide if they will make moves this year.
6. Sandy Alcantara, SP, Marlins
Sandy Alcantara missed all of last season after having Tommy John surgery. Upon his return this season, the Miami Marlins’ star is only 2-7 with a 7.89 ERA. The hope for potential trade suitors is that Alcantara will look more like himself as the season goes on and as he puts time between him and his surgery.
Alcantara won the Cy Young in 2022. He could potentially be one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the Marlins are in a trade-happy rebuilding stage. They’d be smart to hold on to him until he revitalizes his trade value, though, especially because he is under team control for a couple more seasons.
5. Zac Gallen, SP, Diamondbacks
A common theme with the best players available at this year’s deadline is that a number of elite players haven’t looked like themselves this year. Zac Gallen is another player who fits the description. It is hard to know if he has regressed or if he has just slumped since being a perennial Cy Young candidate. Gallen’s walk numbers are up, and his velocity is down, which is worrisome for potential trade partners. He still has frontline starter potential due to his breaking stuff.
4. Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals
Nolan Arenado is one of the best fielders in baseball history. The Cardinals nearly traded Arenado to the Houston Astros in the offseason, but he used his no-trade clause. That clause could still prevent the Cardinals from trading Arenado this season, but perhaps the third baseman’s perspective has changed.
The days of Arenado blasting 30 to 40-plus home runs are likely past, but he is still a great player. If he does hit the trade market and is open to a trade, he’d be one of the best players available.
3. Bo Bichette, SS, Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays gave Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a massive contract extension, but it is unclear if Bo Bichette will be a part of the team’s future alongside him, or if he the Jays will deal him for a haul of prospects. The two-time All-Star has resurrected his numbers after a down season last year.
Elite shortstops are rare gets in the trade market, especially ones as young as Bichette (27 years old). He should bat around .300 and smack more 20 home runs over the course of an entire season. It would likely take a massive package to pry him from the Blue Jays, but he is also only a rental.
At this point, the Jays are unlikely trade deadline sellers since they are currently tied for the final Wild Card spot. However, if they fall off the pace over the next few weeks, things could certainly change. They also could trade Bichette to shore up their current rotation.
2. Jarren Duran, OF, Red Sox
Jarren Duran broke out and became one of the best players in baseball last season. The outfielder was in MVP conversations during a season where he led the American League in triples (14) and doubles (48). The AL East is stacked, though, between Boston, the New York Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles, and the Blue Jays.
Boston’s early season struggles have thrust Duran into trade rumors. Boston won’t be clear-cut sellers, but if they do decide to move Duran, he will be arguably the most coveted offensive player available.
1. Mike Trout, OF, Angels
The Pirates will not trade Skenes, so he doesn’t make the cut for this list. There is also almost no chance that Mike Trout, one of the best MLB players ever, will be traded by the Los Angeles Angels, either, but there is still a slight chance of that happening. Throughout the Angels’ struggles, they’ve always held on to the center fielder who is the best player in franchise history and a future Hall of Famer.
This has led many to believing that Trout’s career has been wasted. After all, Trout has only made the playoffs once in his career. The all-time great has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, and he got off to a slow start from a production standpoint this season. Trout has been great since returning from injury, though. He still holds tons of trade value, and the Angels might decide to do right by him and move him to a contender. That is what the fans outside of L.A. would like to see, at least.
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