7 Trade Ideas for MLB's Most Eager Buyers and Sellers

While we continue to wait on Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Cody Bellinger, Josh Hader and Jordan Montgomery to sign what figure to be nine-figure contracts in free agency, the gears are also still turning on Major League Baseball's offseason trade block.

Already this month, we've seen Juan Soto, Tyler Glasnow, Jarred Kelenic, Alex Verdugo, Tyler O'Neill and more get dealt, but there are plenty of other possible deals in the pipeline as teams get eager to do some buying and selling.

What possible deals, you ask?

Well, the first step in his whole endeavor is identifying said eager buyers and sellers. Some (in each direction) are certainly more eager than others, and you may well disagree on the teams we've chosen. But we landed on the following:

Buyers—Angels, Blue Jays, Braves, Dodgers, Giants, Red Sox and Yankees

Sellers—A's, Brewers, Guardians, Marlins, Rays, Twins and White Sox

Several of those sellers aren't even remotely thinking about throwing in the towel on 2024, but they could be looking to part with some of their pricier assets or willing to deal from a position where they have a surplus of talent/options.

The second step is playing matchmaker between those buyers and sellers, so let's have some fun on that front.

We'll be using Baseball Trade Values' trade simulator to "validate" each of these proposed swaps. There will still be inevitable complaints that one side is getting fleeced in each deal, but we did at least throw this *stuff* against the wall to see if it sticks.

Atlanta Braves Receive: LHP Paul Blackburn (two years of arbitration eligibility remaining)

Oakland Athletics Receive: RHP JR Ritchie (No. 35 pick in 2022 MLB draft; No. 6 in Atlanta's farm system, per MLB.com)

The offseason isn't complete until Atlanta and Oakland make a significant trade.

Last year around this time was the big Sean Murphy three-team deal. The previous March was when the A's sent Matt Olson to Atlanta. And, well, now it's time for Oakland to give Atlanta a starting pitcher a couple years before he hits free agency so the Braves can maybe sign him to a long-term extension, too.

Paul Blackburn's overall numbers over the past two seasons haven't been fantastic—4.35 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 8.1 K/9—but he has had some promising prolonged stretches.

He had a 2.26 ERA 13 starts into the 2022 campaign and ended up representing Oakland in the All-Star Game. In the second half of this past season, there was an eight-start run in which Blackburn had a 2.30 ERA and made five quality starts.

Perhaps Atlanta can get him to turn the corner for good, and he certainly wouldn't cost the Braves anywhere near what it would run them to acquire Dylan Cease from the White Sox, as has been oft speculated over the past month.

Though the trade simulator grades this one as almost as perfectly even as it can get, it does feel like Atlanta is giving up a little more in this one-for-one swap. But when all six of your top prospects are right-handed pitchers, it's not the end of the world to part with the sixth-best one who is probably 3-4 years away from reaching the majors.

New York Yankees Receive: LHP Jesús Luzardo (three years of arbitration eligibility remaining)

Miami Marlins Receive: OF Spencer Jones (No. 1 prospect in Yankees farm system, per MLB.com) and SS Roderick Arias (No. 6 prospect in Yankees farm system)

For the second successive winter, it's sounding like the Marlins would be willing to trade a top-of-the-rotation starter for a possible long-term upgrade to their lineup.

Instead of Pablo López with two years remaining before hitting free agency, this time it's Jesús Luzardo with three years of team control left.

Luzardo has been great over the past two seasons, making 50 starts with a 3.52 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 10.6 K/9. During that same time, Dylan Cease (3.37 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 11.0 K/9) and Kevin Gausman (3.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 11.1 K/9) put up similar numbers, and Luzardo was a bit better than López (3.71 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 9.8 K/9) in all three departments.

Luzardo did miss a big chunk of 2022 with a forearm injury, but he came back better than ever over the final two months of that season before giving the Marlins a full 32-start campaign in 2023.

He's easily a top-50 pitcher in the majors right now, maybe even top 25. If the Yankees ultimately miss out on signing Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they might be willing to further deplete their farm system to add Luzardo to their rotation for at least the next three years.

The big question is whether Miami would make a trade for guys who probably aren't helping them in 2024.

Both Spencer Jones and Roderick Arias have a ton of long-term potential, but the former is probably still a year away while the latter is a 19-year-old who hasn't even made it to Single-A ball yet. But with Sandy Alcantara (Tommy John) already out for 2024 and Luzardo leaving town in this trade, the Marlins aren't realistically going to contend next season.

Adding two great prospects to beef up what is currently one of the worst farm systems might be enough.

Boston Red Sox Receive: 2B Jorge Polanco ($10.5 million in 2024; $12 million club option for 2025)

Minnesota Twins Receive: RHP John Schreiber (three years of arbitration eligibility remaining)

The Boston Red Sox desperately need to improve their starting rotation, but they can do that via free agency. Even if they don't win the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes, Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery and plenty of other arms are still available.

But to upgrade at second base, they're going to need to make a trade.

Fortunately, Minnesota would be happy to enter into a negotiation that begins with "we'd love to take Jorge Polanco's salary off your hands AND give you someone who might help you win your division in 2024."

It's not that the Twins don't want Polanco. When healthy, he has been quite valuable for them over the past seven years. But they don't need him and his eight-figure salary after the breakout rookie year Edouard Julien had in 2023. Even if Julien regresses into a sophomore slump in 2024, they've got other versatile options like Kyle Farmer, Nick Gordon and Willi Castro who can play second.

What the Twins do need is at least one more bullpen arm, and John Schreiber could be a good, inexpensive one.

In 111.2 innings of work over the past two seasons, Schreiber gave the Red Sox a 2.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10.2 K/9 and the occasional save (nine total). He had some major control issues toward the end of last season, walking 15 batters over his final 18.1 innings pitched. But if he can reel that back in, he could fill the void of Emilio Pagán's departure to Cincinnati.

Los Angeles Angels Receive: 2B Brandon Lowe ($8.75 million in 2024, $10.5 million club option in 2025, $11.5 million club option in 2026)

Tampa Bay Rays Receive: RHP Chase Silseth (six years remaining before free agency) and OF Jadiel Sanchez (No. 22 in Angels farm system, per MLB.com)

The Tampa Bay Rays would never outright throw in the towel on the upcoming season.

Yes, they traded away Tyler Glasnow and Manuel Margot, but they got back Ryan Pepiot, who has been solid when healthy, as well as outfielder Jonny DeLuca, who excelled in the minors last season and had a cup of coffee in the majors. Both guys should help Tampa Bay in 2024, will cost pennies compared to what Glasnow and Margot are going to get and could be key contributors for 2025 and beyond.

Perhaps they go back to that well by trying to unload one of the most expensive players left on the roster in Brandon Lowe.

For the first three years of his back-loaded, six-year, $24 million contract, the Rays were absolutely printing money on the deal. Lowe finished third in the AL Rookie of the Year vote in 2019 and was a top-10 vote-getter for AL MVP in both 2020 and 2021. But now that the price is going up and he hasn't been as productive/healthy over the past two years, it's about that time for the Rays to do what they do best and let someone else pay what's left on his contract.

If the Angels are going to try to win immediately in the aftermath of losing Shohei Ohtani, Lowe could be an ideal target for them, as they need to add at least one more bat with some pop. Among current Angels, only Brandon Drury (26) had more home runs than Lowe (21) last season.

To make it happen, they part with Chase Silseth, who fits exactly into that starter/reliever tweener role Tampa Bay management seems to cherish. They would get a lot of use out of him in 2024 as they try to piece together a rotation beyond Zach Eflin and Aaron Civale.

Toronto Blue Jays Receive: RHP Dylan Cease (two years of arbitration eligibility remaining) and OF/DH Eloy Jiménez ($13.8 million in 2024, $16.5 million club option for 2025, $18.5 million club option for 2026)

Chicago White Sox Receive: LHP Ricky Tiedemann (No. 1 prospect in Toronto's farm system, per MLB.com), SS Josh Kasevich (Toronto's No. 12 prospect) and 1B Spencer Horwitz (Toronto's No. 16 prospect)

It has been a rough offseason for the Blue Jays.

After losing all of Matt Chapman, Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Belt, Whit Merrifield, Hyun Jin Ryu and Jordan Hicks to free agency, they tried to trade for Juan Soto. They tried to sign Shohei Ohtani. They're trying to land Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Thus far, however, it has been nothing but dead ends. And if they don't do something big, they're going to be staring mediocrity and a frustrated fanbase right in the face.

So if any team is going to sell the farm in an overpay for maybe the best arm left on the trade block, it's probably going to be Toronto, right?

With Dylan Cease, the Blue Jays would have arguably the best rotation in the majors. They've already got Kevin Gausman, Chris Bassitt, José Berríos, Yusei Kikuchi and the ultimate wild card in Alek Manoah, but adding another strikeout artist who almost won the AL Cy Young in 2022 would push them over the top.

And by including Eloy Jiménez in the deal, at least they'd be filling one of the many voids in their lineup. Even if he purely serves in a DH role and doesn't play the outfield at all in 2024—Jiménez has only made 48 non-DH starts over the past three seasons combined, so that's not a stretch—they do need a designated hitter to replace Belt.

It's going to cost a lot to get that duo, though. If they don't include Ricky Tiedemann in the deal, it's not happening. The White Sox might demand another top-seven prospect from Toronto's farm as opposed to a pair of infielders from the teens.

San Francisco Giants Receive: RHP Shane Bieber (one year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated at $12 million)

Cleveland Guardians Receive: OF Vaun Brown (No. 13 in Giants farm system, per MLB.com) and RHP Carson Seymour (Giants' No. 23 prospect)

Before we dive into this swap, let's note that Baseball Trade Values is outrageously low on Shane Bieber.

Both he and Corbin Burnes have one year remaining at what should be similar costs, but Burnes has a "surplus value" of 33.8 while Bieber is at 5.6. Not saying they should be on equal footing, but it's a little ridiculous that if Baltimore was trying to trade for one year of an ace, it could allegedly get Bieber for Anthony Santander's expiring contract, but would need to give up top-tier prospect Colton Cowser to get Burnes.

As such, we're making the Giants pay a bit more than the trade simulator suggests they should, giving the Guardians a much-needed outfielder who can hit home runs, as well as a former sixth-round draft pick who has pitched reasonably well in the minors over the past two seasons.

It still seems like a no-brainer for San Francisco, though, right?

Without giving up any of their 10 best prospects, the Giants could add Bieber to a rotation already anchored by Logan Webb, Alex Cobb and Kyle Harrison. Couple that with the signing of Jung Hoo Lee and, well, at least they're trying to keep up with the Dodgers. They would still need to add at least one more bat, but getting Bieber would be big.

As far as Cleveland's motivation is concerned, it's similar to the Twins being willing to trade away Jorge Polanco. It's not that they don't want him, but they have enough young pitching behind Bieber that he's kind of expendable. If they can save $12 million and add a pair of prospects who might be able to contribute by the end of 2024, that's a win-win for one of the smallest-market franchises.

Los Angeles Dodgers Receive: RHP Corbin Burnes (one year of arbitration eligibility remaining, estimated $14 million)

Milwaukee Brewers Receive: C Diego Cartaya (No. 3 in Dodgers farm system, per MLB.com) and RHP Nick Frasso (Dodgers' No. 4 prospect)

Have we figured out yet whether the Brewers are actually trying to contend again in 2024?

They traded away Mark Canha for a relief pitcher in Double-A. They non-tendered both Brandon Woodruff (understandable with his shoulder injury) and Rowdy Tellez (a bit more surprising). They declined options on both Andrew Chafin and Justin Wilson. Aside from trading for a career .211 hitting journeyman in Jake Bauers, all they've done is re-sign 37-year-old Wade Miley, take a flyer on Joe Ross (who hasn't pitched in the majors since 2021) and sign a guy with zero MLB experience (Jackson Chourio) to an $82 million deal.

Not exactly the markings of a team that's all-in on winning a World Series in 10 months.

So if someone is willing to offer a pair of top-100 prospects for Corbin Burnes' final season before free agency, surely the Brewers would at least consider it.

And for as active as the Dodgers have already been, they are in the market for at least one more starting pitcher.

They would prefer that pitcher be Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but if he signs elsewhere, Burnes would be quite the Plan B for putting the finishing touches on the rotation.

The Dodgers maybe wouldn't immediately sign Burnes to a long-term extension like they did with Tyler Glasnow, since they presumably will have both Tony Gonsolin and Dustin May back at full strength for 2025 and since Burnes recently said he would want to test the free-agency market. But after giving up two of their best prospects to get him, the Dodgers might want more than just one year.