It’s officially trade season in MLB and that means that rumors are abound. And with plenty of All-Star talents potentially on the trade block, we thought it would be a fun exercise to match up a few of the biggest names available with a contending team, complete with trade packages to boot.
Some of these deals constitute upgrades, some are adding to a club’s strength and, as one would expect in such an exercise dealing with All-Star caliber players, some deals are more feasible than others.
With the help of the good folks at Baseball Trade Values, we matched up four All-Stars with contending trade partners in the Rays, Yankees, Cubs and Phillies in trades that we’d like to see go down before Aug. 3.
Rays receive: 2B Luis Arraez
Giants receive: RHP Ty Johnson (No. 18 prospect, per MLB Pipeline), RHP Jacob Kmatz
Why this makes sense for the Rays
Has there ever been a more Rays-ian hitter than Luis Arraez? The three-time batting champion, who owns a career 5.9% strikeout rate and 93.6% contact rate, would fit right in with a Rays lineup that specializes in putting the ball in play. Plus, Arraez, never particularly adept with the glove, has worked to transform himself into one of the best defenders at second base this year. That will fit right into the Rays’ company line.
Tampa Bay’s offensive production at second base this year (.649 OPS, 25th in MLB) has been, well, offensive. Arraez and his career-best 130 OPS+ would remedy that. It’s not in the Rays’ nature to pony up prospects for a rental, but they can dip into the depth of one of baseball’s deepest farm systems without giving up the crown jewels to get this deal done.
Why this makes sense for the Giants
2026 has amounted to a lost season for the Giants, and even in a year where nearly every team can cling to postseason aspirations, San Francisco has seemingly already resigned itself to a fate as deadline sellers. But with Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman representing the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) of bad contracts, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey is somewhat limited in terms of his trade options. Enter Arraez, a pending free agent fresh off of his fourth All-Star team appearance in the midst of a career year.
Alas, Arraez, who has never hit more than 10 home runs in a season, won’t be in as high demand as the Giants would like in the age of barrel rates and exit velocities. Yet, his market will prove rich enough to net the Giants a near MLB-ready arm in Ty Johnson, a 6' 6" righthander with elite extension, a plus fastball and nasty slider as well as another promising hurler in Jacob Kmatz, who has broken out for the Rays’ High A affiliate this season. At worst, the Giants have two potential bullpen stalwarts here, which they sorely need. At best, they may have two future starters.
Yankees receive: RP Mason Miller
Padres receive: SP Will Warren, RHP Elmer Rodriguez (No. 3 prospect), 2B/SS Kaeden Kent (No. 13 prospect), LHP Henry Lalane (No. 14 prospect)
Why this makes sense for the Yankees
The clock is ticking on this Yankees roster’s chances of winning a World Series. Back-to-back American League MVP Aaron Judge is 34. 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole is 35. And with the AL weaker than it’s been in years, New York may never get a better chance to add trophy No. 28 to the case, which is all the more reason to make a blockbuster deal such as this one.
Now, to be fair, the Yankees don't need Mason Miller. The club currently employs closer David Bednar, who hasn’t allowed an earned run since May 18, and the bullpen as a whole owns the second-best ERA in MLB. But if the Yankees were to somehow add Miller, they’d immediately turn their games into seven-inning affairs, with Miller and his 0.89 ERA and 48.4% strikeout rate in the mix. With a Schlittler-Fried-Cole headlined rotation and a Bednar-Miller back-end, the Yankees would be a tough out come the postseason.
Plus, we’ve already seen Yankees general manager Brian Cashman double down on a strength at the trade deadline before. Think Zack Britton to the Yankees in 2018, when the club already rostered Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances while owning the best bullpen ERA in the sport. Miller won’t come cheap, and Cashman certainly will be hesitant to part with top prospect George Lombard Jr. or No. 4 prospect Carlos Lagrange. But he still has the necessary organizational depth to meet the Padres’ needs.
Will Warren is practically a clone of Padres starter (and former Yankee) Michael King. He's under club control through 2030 and has pitched like a solid No. 3 starter for New York. Elmer Rodriguez, the Yankees’ best pitching prospect, has made four starts at the big-league level and still projects as a mid-rotation starter. Lalane, a 6' 7" lefthander, throws hard and has racked up 12 strikeouts per nine innings between Single A Tampa and High A Hudson Valley. Kent, who has the chops to play both second base and short, is a line drive machine who may have untapped power potential.
Why this makes sense for the Padres
If the Padres are going to deal Mason Miller just a year after mortgaging the future to acquire him, it’s going to be for a sizable return. Padres general manager A.J. Preller not only needs to bring in club-controlled, MLB-ready starters but he also needs to rebuild a farm system that was gutted in a flurry of trades at last year’s deadline. To that end, the Yankees make sense as a trade partner.
In Warren and Rodriguez, Preller is bringing in two starters who can pitch for the Padres right now and are, most importantly, under the age of 30. Lalane is a high-upside play down the road, particularly if he can get back to the upper-90s with his heater. Kent would give the Padres some much-needed middle infield depth in the farm system, as well as the contact-first approach San Diego’s lineup could use. Preller may be able to aim higher and beat this Yankees’ offer with one that nets the Padres multiple top-100 prospects. But a deal such as this one would keep an aging Padres core competitive while also restocking a depleted farm system.
Cubs receive: SP Foster Griffin
Nationals receive: RHP Brooks Caple (No. 12 prospect), RHP Jostin Florentino (No. 15 prospect), LHP Will Sanders
Why this trade makes sense for the Cubs
Injury and inconsistency have defined the Cubs’ starting rotation this year, so much so that Chicago in June shipped out its No. 13 prospect to the Mets for starter David Peterson, who had an ERA of 6.06 at the time of the trade. Peterson has largely pitched well for Chicago, save for a blow-up vs. the Cardinals on July 3. But questions remain in the Cubs’ rotation.
Shota Imanaga has been the staff’s best starter, but he’s pitched to a 104 ERA+, meaning he’s been just 4% better than a league average pitcher. Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, Jameson Taillon and Edward Cabrera (currently on the IL with a hamstring injury), have all pitched to ERAs north of 4.00. Chicago desperately needs a jolt of consistency from its starting rotation, something that the rejuvenated Foster Griffin could provide.
After spending the last three years in Japan, Griffin has returned to MLB and looked like a completely different pitcher. During his time with the Yomiuri Giants, Griffin added three pitches to his arsenal, expanding his repertoire to seven pitches. His cutter, once teed off on to the tune of a .733 slugging percentage, has transformed into baseball’s best.
Griffin, a steady presence and dependable strike-thrower, is exactly what the Cubs need. Even as a rental arm, he won’t come cheap. But the Cubs should have enough to coax the Nationals into parting ways with the soon-to-be-free-agent.
Why this trade makes sense for the Nationals
Why in the world would the Nationals, bogged down by one of baseball’s worst pitching staffs, trade away their best pitcher when they’re still within striking distance of a playoff spot? For starters, this team, even with one of the better offenses in MLB, simply has too many holes—particularly in the bullpen—to imagine a deep postseason run this year.
From a business standpoint, it makes sense to deal Griffin for multiple reasons. After reinventing himself into an All-Star, Griffin is almost certainly going to test free agency rather than sign an extension with Washington. There’s a chance the Nationals may be outbid for Griffin's services, with the looming CBA negotiations casting further doubt into the upcoming winter. Should the Nationals opt to be sellers, they can capitalize on a market long on buyers, as well as the ever-increasing cost of premium starting pitching. Heck, the Mets got a top-15 prospect from the Cubs in exchange for Peterson. The Nationals should be able to demand two pitching prospects in that range, as well as a Triple A arm in exchange for Griffin.
A big righthander with a five-pitch mix, Caple has broken out for the Cubs’ this year, pitching to a 3.15 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 71 ⅓ innings between the club’s High A and Double A affiliates. Florentino possesses a sweeping slider, uniquely low arm slot and benefited from a velocity jump from 2024 to 2025, perhaps a promising sign for his future. Sanders, who has pitched to a 4.10 ERA and struck out 9.9 batters per nine innings in Triple A, is not far away from potentially helping the Nationals at the big-league level. In dealing Griffin, Washington may sacrifice a potential playoff push ahead of schedule, but can maximize its future with some tantalizing pitching prospects.
Phillies receive: SP Michael Wacha, Daniel Lynch IV
Royals receive: RHP Ramon Marquez (No. 9 prospect), RHP Alex McFarlane (No. 17 prospect), C/1B Alirio Ferrebus (No. 21 prospect)
Why this trade makes sense for the Phillies
The Phillies have remarkably turned their season around and are very much in play for the NL East division title. With just how congested the wild card standings are in the NL, the division title very well may be Philadelphia’s surest ticket to October. And while adding a fifth starter ultimately won’t help the Phillies much in the playoffs, it might just help them get there. Phillies No. 5 starters have pitched to a 2–15 record and 7.33 ERA in 2026, with the likes of former top prospect Andrew Painter, Alan Rangel and the since-DFAed Taijuan Walker representing a revolving door.
The Phillies could use bullpen help, and they could kill two birds with one stone with this deal. They can help their relievers in an indirect fashion by bringing in a workhorse like Wacha, who leads the AL in innings pitched. All the 35-year-old does is deliver quality innings year after year, as he’s recorded a sub-3.50 ERA while averaging nearly 150 innings per season since 2022. To acquire such a hurler, who comes with club control through 2027 (with a club option for ‘28), the Phillies will likely have to part ways with at least couple of top-20 prospects. Philadelphia also nets a much-needed lefthanded reliever in Lynch, who ranks in the 77th percentile or better in whiff rate and groundball rate. He's under team control for two more years after this one, which is especially valuable for a Phillies club that will lose four relievers combined to free agency in '27 and ‘28.
Why this trade makes sense for the Royals
It would make sense for Kansas City to look toward the 2027 roster and beyond should they sell pieces at the deadline. The Royals can accomplish both feats with the Phillies as a trade partner. Marquez, who has a solid three-pitch mix and an easy delivery, has the makings of a future back-end starter. The 25-year-old McFarlane has pitched to 2.06 ERA out of the bullpen at Double A Reading, and his nasty fastball-slider combo could help the Royals bullpen as soon as next season. It’s uncertain if Ferrebus, who has also spent time at first base, will stick at catcher long-term. One thing is for sure though, the kid can hit. He’s posted a .319/.372/.510 slash line with 10 homers in 69 games at Single A Clearwater and could be a potential long-term option at first base or designated hitter if things don’t work out behind the plate.
The Royals get a lot younger in this deal, with a mix of players who can help improve the club’s short and long-term outlooks.
