Ten MLB Trade Deadline Candidates (With Predictions)

As MLB teams enter June this is the part of the year where teams really start to analyze where they stand, and how aggressive they should in both selling and buying. With that I decided to write about 10 candidates for trades this summer that I found interesting and predict where they might land.

Freddy Peralta-

Freddy Peralta if certain things break the right way I think would be the big fish to get at this 2025 deadline. The Brewers as I'm writing this have rebounded and won 8 out of their last 9 to propel them to a 33-28 record. Despite this, they still find themselves third place in the division and 6 games back of the division leading Cubs. 

If the Brewers keep playing great baseball throughout June it’s unlikely they would trade their best starting pitcher entering a Summer with playoff ambitions. But if they stall, and find themselves on the outside looking in at the playoff picture come July, the Brewers are no stranger to capitalizing on their Starting Pitchers on expiring contracts.

Freddy Peralta would bring a good haul back to the Brewers because he would likely be, by far, the best rotation piece on the market this summer. Freddy Peralta has a 2.77 ERA, getting amazing value out of his offspeed pitches and generating a lot of whiffs. He also has a club option heading into the 2026 season so he is more than just a rental. 

The decision whether or not to trade Peralta will come down to how the Brewers view the current team's window to compete this year and next. But I could see them using Freddy Peralta’s capital to kickstart a retool around their young star Jackson Chourio.

Prediction: New York Yankees. I believe teams who have made trades before are likely to talk and make trades again. With that, the Brewers and Yankees combined to make one of the larger trades of this past offseason with Devin Williams going to New York, so why can’t they reconnect for another big trade? The Yankees since the loss of Gerrit Cole have found value in a rotation that I thought was bound to crumble. It hasn’t crumbled but at times has shown its cracks and I believe it needs a high end rotation piece if the Yankees actually want to make it back to the World Series.

Luis Robert Jr.-

Luis Robert Jr. has been downright bad this 2025 season. The swing and miss is horrendous and the damage, so far this season, just isn’t there. But the last couple years we have seen the talent and power Luis Robert Jr. can provide. I do believe Luis Robert Jr. is the type of player that if you take him out of the White Sox dysfunction, he might flourish to where he was just back in 2023. He is a plus defensive centerfielder with major power potential and with how he has played this year the price can’t be too high compared to what we thought Luis Robert Jr. would cost even as recently as last deadline. 

Prediction: Houston Astros. I would hate to see it, because it probably would work out so well, but I think Luis Robert Jr. and the Astros would be a perfect match. Robert could help with the Outfield and force Altuve back to second base where he should be. 

Sandy Alcantara-

Sandy Alcantara going into this year was expected to be that major rotation addition a team could make at this 2025 trade deadline. But Alcantara has been abysmal. While he hasn’t lost much at all velocity wise coming off surgery, the command just is not there. With that, he is walking more batters than ever, not generating nearly as many whiffs as he used to and overall seems on the brink of a total career collapse. 

Prediction: Los Angeles Dodgers. So with that, he will go to the Dodgers, miraculously figure it out and go on to have a huge start against the Phillies in the NLCS. 

Nolan Arenado-

Arenado is a player many, including me, are surprised is still here in St. Louis. It’s not because of the Cardinals effort to move him, they tried hard this past offseason even coming to a deal with Houston that was vetoed by Arenado and his no-trade clause. 

Arenado in 2025 isn’t the MVP caliber player he used to be. But he still provides value to a Cardinals team that, as of now, finds themselves chasing a Wild Card spot with lofty hopes of catching the Cubs for the division. 

Prediction: NO TRADE. I don’t see the Cardinals finding a deal in this market that would actually help everyone involved in the deal. So I think he stays and the Cardinals play it out with him.

Ryan Helsley-

Ryan Helsley is nasty and would absolutely be the best reliever on the market at this 2025 deadline if the Cardinals decide to do it. Helsley is set to become a free agent after this season and just seems like an obvious asset for the Cardinals to trade to help with their retooling. 

Prediction: Seattle Mariners. Almost any competitor would make sense for Helsley but I’m going with my Seattle Mariners because I believe they want another high leverage reliever because, as well as the offense has played for the most part this season, the Mariners know success for this team is built around run prevention. I think the Mariners and their loaded farm system could be the team to put the best offer out there to the Cardinals to make a Munoz, Helsley and Brash back end of the Mariners bullpen a reality. Just the thought of that bullpen has me excited as a Mariners fan so this maybe a homer pick but I don't care.  

Miguel Andujar-

Miguel Andujar has been quietly raking in Northern California for the past two seasons and no one has seemed to notice. He is a valuable hitter but still is positionless being able to stand and play bad defense at Left Field, Third Base or First Base. It’s theoretical positional flexibility for a player that I think could be a crucial bench bat for a contending team.

Prediction: New York Yankees. The Yankees are contenders that could definitely use someone like Andujar down the stretch of this season and obviously the two have history. I just think this reunion here would be a lot of fun.  

Brandon Lowe-

Brandon Lowe may not be the sexiest deadline move a team can make but he can help a contender get over the hump. Lowe is an average defensive second baseman who hits the ball hard and can slug. He is a 20+ Home Run player at a position not usually filled with reliable 20+ Home Run players. 

Prediction: New York Mets. The Mets obviously have large ambitions for this season with where they finished last season, the offseason moves they made and the start they’ve gotten off to. The Mets have Jeff McNeil and Luisangel Acuna doing most of the work at second base this season. For a team with lofty ambitions of toppling the Dodgers, upgrading from McNeil and Acuna to Brandon Lowe is the exact type of move you have to make. 

Taylor Ward-  

The Angels never make any sense and Taylor Ward is part of a long list of Angels players who should’ve been traded long ago when they had max value. But Taylor Ward still has some trade value unlike many of the others and should be the prime candidate to be traded. 

Prediction: Atlanta Braves. The Braves have done so many things this year to try and get offensive production from the corner outfield. Whether it be Jurickson Profar, Jarred Kelenic, Stuart Fairchild and Alex Verdugo. I think Taylor Ward might be a steady right-handed bat in the corner outfield the Braves need for going after a wild card spot

Isaiah Kiner-Falefa-

Acquiring IKF is not a move that will make headlines or even the second page. But for a contending team IKF can really raise the floor. IKF is a versatile utility man with bat-to-ball skills. To me, he seems like the perfect bench player for a whole lot of contending teams.

Prediction: Chicago Cubs. I don’t see the Cubs making a huge splash in free agency this season but moves on the fringes like this one are moves that will pay off in September and October. 

Aroldis Chapman-

Aroldis Chapman still is somehow still out here throwing flaming fastballs, hitting 104 mph just this season and averaging 99 mph. Chapman is still providing major value as a closer at age 37. The Red Sox are stalling currently and appear to be a team that would be primed to move their elite age 37 closer. 

Prediction: Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dbacks bullpen has been absolutely DREADFUL this season and is a large part of why this Dbacks team is lagging behind the large expectations I had for them going into this season. If the Dbacks can make a push towards the top of the NL near the trade deadline this is a major move I could see them making.