A new No. 1 after Skubal trade! Ranking top trade deadline candidates -- and their best fits
A new No. 1 after Skubal trade! Ranking MLB's top trade deadline candidates -- and their best fits --> Skip to main content Skip to navigation MenuESPN scores NFLNBAMLBSoccerWNBANHLNCAAFMore SportsBoxingNCAACricketF1GamingGolfHorseLLWSMMANASCARNLLNBA G LeagueNBA Summer LeagueNCAAMNCAAWNWSLOlympicsPLLRacingRN BBRN FBRugbyBananasSports BettingTGLTennisUFLMen's World CupWWEProfessional WrestlingEditionsWhere to WatchFantasyWatch MLBHomeScoresScheduleStandingsStatsTeamsTrade DeadlineTop Trade CandidatesDepth ChartsOddsFantasy BaseballWhere To WatchABS Challenge TrackerPlayersTransactionsInjuriesOlney's Top PlayersAll 30: Top 10 ProspectsTop 100 prospectsPlayoff BracketMLB Rank Top 100Top 100 Players All-TimeAll-Time StatsTickets A new No. 1 after Skubal trade! Ranking MLB's top trade deadline candidates -- and their best fitsArizona Diamondbacks9hKiley McDaniel and Jeff PassanMLB trade grades: Mets deal Peralta to Rays, White Sox add Castillo from M'sBoston Red Sox2hBradford Doolittle and David SchoenfieldRanking every prospect dealt before the 2026 MLB trade deadlineBaltimore Orioles1hKiley McDanielGausman to Phillies? Who lands Skubal? MLB trade deadline dominoes for the 10 biggest names on the marketDetroit Tigers2dDavid SchoenfieldWetzel: Shohei-Ippei scandal fades when lessons should ring louderLos Angeles Dodgers3dDan WetzelFantasy baseball closer stock watch: Edwin Diaz set to return5dEric KarabellAug. 2 update! Ranking top 2026 MLB trade deadline candidatesplayEduardo Perez: Skubal makes the Dodgers stronger and everyone else weaker (1:46) It's time for our MLB trade deadline weekend update to our rankings! Major League Baseball's Aug. 3 trade deadline is days away, and teams are entering all-out deal mode for this trade season. Whether from contenders determining how big of a splash they are willing to make or basement dwellers deciding which stars to make available, MLB's trade market is ever evolving. And to keep you updated, ESPN's Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan have put together a list of 100 potential trade candidates and top potential fits that will be updated regularly leading up to the deadline. Some of the players listed are unlikely to be dealt but at least are being discussed in potential deals. Others might not be on the list now but will be added in the future should their team's fortunes change. Either way, this is the most up-to-date accounting of where MLB's trade market stands. Now on to the 100 names to know this trade season, starting with a game-changing ace. After that top-100 list, we break down the top players by position. Note: Players ranked by total trade value with rest-of-season value as tiebreaker (not odds of being dealt); 10% trade likelihood minimum Chance of being traded: 20% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: Three more years after 2026 The buzz: Less than a year after giving up one of the top prospects in baseball in shortstop Leo De Vries to acquire Miller, the Padres are considering moving him. They would love to attach Xander Bogaerts' onerous contract to any trade, but that would severely limit their return and, frankly, nobody's going to take it. That leaves the Padres in a position to dangle the best reliever in baseball and see what kind of bites they get. There will be plenty. Miller is a true game changer, the king of the ninth, and with even the best teams always in need of another lockdown reliever, Miller's status will run parallel with the Padres'. If they don't turn things around soon, he could be an ex-Padre by Aug. 3. The scouting report: If you've watched baseball this year, you're aware of Miller's incredible performance (near the top of historical lists in ERA, ERA estimators, WAR, strikeout rate, etc.) and have a pretty good idea why what he does is working. The basic version is he throws really hard (101.3 mph on average for his four-seam fastball) and that arm speed makes his power sweeper even harder to hit. That's true, but also, both are helped by Miller's big extension (80th percentile in baseball at 6.8 feet, which helps his fastball shape), his supinator bias (i.e., he naturally cuts all of his pitches), and his command (strong given his outlier velocity). Add all of those traits together with being a late bloomer from a small college, and you have the model teams are following now as they look for hidden gems outside of the top few rounds of the draft. Best fits: Yankees, Mariners, Phillies, Brewers, Pirates, Rays Chance of being traded: 20% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: Two more years after 2026 The buzz: For all of teams' reticence regarding Abrams -- particularly with his propensity to have bonanza first halves and wither after the All-Star break -- his performance this season is undeniable. He hits for average. He hits for power. He steals bases. He drives in runs. All of that plus two years of control and he plays up the middle? Why isn't he higher? Evaluators simply don't think he's a good shortstop. Defensive metrics firmly agree. And among the limited number of teams looking to fill that position, the exceptional return that president of baseball operations Paul Toboni would seek and the Nationals still firmly in contention right now, it's probably not the time for Abrams to move. The scouting report: Abrams is on pace for career highs across the board in his age-25 season, but as noted above, his defense and familiar patterns still make you wonder if this is the year it all comes together. He's an easy plus runner with strong bat speed/raw power and, like Pena, has leaned into the pull/lift elements (to the biggest degree this season) to get to his power in games. Is the solution to move him to second or third base or maybe even to center field? Can he keep this up all season? If he solves these questions, he might be on the road to becoming the star some envisioned in the 2019 draft. Chance of being traded: 40% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: Three more years after 2026 The buzz: The Angels are at the very least listening, which is more than they've done at past deadlines, and 25-year-old Neto is an awfully intriguing option when Jeremy Pena's and CJ Abrams' availability at shortstop is in question. The biggest curiosity in the industry right now is just how much Angels owner Arte Moreno will allow interim general manager John Mozeliak to maneuver -- and if the full rebuild the team needs can start to happen under a temporary employee. Mozeliak is a veteran of trade deadline navigation and the winner of a World Series in St. Louis, so he's capable of executing any deal. And the return on Neto would be enormous. Four-win shortstops are not easy to come by, and Neto has consistently proved himself just that -- with room to grow. The scouting report: Neto has been quietly very productive, the shortstop hitting ninth best in the league over the past three seasons (15% above average at the plate), while ranking fifth in homers (68) and stealing 69 bases. He's a solid runner with a good arm but comes up a bit short in defensive metrics for his range, especially going up the middle (minus-16 runs in that area over the past three seasons). Neto's spot on the power/contact spectrum and his range up the middle are the only two questions for teams to think about when acquiring him for his three-plus remaining control years. Chance of being traded: 25% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: One more year after 2026 The buzz: After nearly signing a contract extension last year, Peña hired agent Scott Boras and put the kibosh on the deal. Now, Houston finds itself in a pickle: always wanting to contend, lacking the roster to do it. Replenishing a bad farm system with few players close to the big leagues takes a move like trading Peña, and the only question at this point is whether it will be before Aug. 3 or before the Dec. 1 lockout. No longer are the Astros in the position they were when they held onto George Springer, Carlos Correa and Alex Bregman all the way to free agency. This is a Kyle Tucker situation -- only now the Astros aren't good, either, which could precipitate moving their shortstop before the deadline. The one potential drawback from Houston's perspective: There aren't a whole lot of contenders in the market for a shortstop, and it might make more sense to wait until the winter. The scouting report: Peña has always been a plus defender at shortstop with a strong power/speed combo, but his feel for hitting and pitch selection comes and goes. He made the most of Daikin Park's Crawford Boxes by leaning into power and pull/lift, and his 2025 baseball card stats ran hot with better-than-you'd-expect outcomes on balls in play fueling a 5.7 WAR season. Expect more years in line with his other WAR figures (2.7 to 3.3) for the next few seasons. Chance of being traded: 50% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: Under team control through 2028 The buzz: Seattle's openness to moving Kirby could be a deadline game changer, with the starting pitching market at a standstill and Kirby rising to the top of all non-Skubal arms. With a fastball that sits at 97 mph, arguably the best command of any starter in baseball and two years of club control beyond this season, Kirby is a prize for contenders and noncontenders alike. If he moves, the return will be hefty. The scouting report: Kirby has plus fastball velocity and plus command; lots of evaluators say those are the two things they'd want most in a prospect because it hypothetically could make everything else work. Kirby hasn't quite reached ace status, though. He throws his fastball (both four-seam and sinker) and sweeper 80% of the time combined. Both are plus pitches, but whiff rates are down a bit this year on both and he hasn't found a third pitch to attack lefties as effectively as righties. Chance of being traded: 35% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: Under team control through 2029 The buzz: One of the best pickups of the decade, Lopez has blossomed into a tremendously valuable player with great bat-to-ball skills. At a time when batting average around the league is at .244, Lopez is hitting nearly 80 points higher. Only a serious haul will make the Marlins consider moving him. The scouting report: Lopez is having a career year with more extra-base-hit power and a bit more raw power, but he is more of a well-rounded player with elite contact along with strong baserunning and defensive value. Chance of being traded: 20% Rest-of-season impact: High Years of control: Three more years after 2026 The buzz: Goodman was never even a top-10 prospect for the Rockies, lurking underneath the radar with his powerful right-handed stroke and enough chops to remain at catcher even as there were calls for him to move to first base. He has evolved into one of the best power hitters in baseball, following his 31-homer breakout last season with 30 pumps through the Rockies' first 101 games. As much as the Rockies have waited years for another homegrown star, they are in such a dire pitching situation that Goodman at least offers them an opportunity to land high-ceiling arms. Colorado is not looking to deal him, but should the right suitor call, new president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta certainly won't hang up. Who is rising and falling in every major league farm system? Kiley McDaniel digs in. Updated top rankings for all 30 teams »
Source: ESPN
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