And you can’t forget that the CBA poses the potential for a lockout next year, so trades are especially intriguing given the fact that players might not see the field for longer than just one offseason after October 2026. Age has become a major factor at this year’s deadline.

Rather than diving into the direction each team is leaning, I’ll be highlighting specific players who could be shipped away this summer, where they might end up, and the returns they could yield.

Book the Flight

1. Ryan Jeffers

The Twins’ catcher has long been a source of stability for Minnesota, but this year he has kicked into another gear. Jeffers is one of the few players in today’s game who has nearly put together a .300/.400/.500 slash line (.287/.398/.552), and he has done so without hitting many home runs (9). Arguably the best part of Jeffers’ game is that this season he has exactly as many walks as strikeouts (26), a rare feat accomplished by only three players last year: Luis Arraez, Steven Kwan, and Geraldo Perdomo.

Jeffers seems to be an attainable option for many teams in need of a catcher, as he is in the final year of his contract and is set to earn just $6.7 million this season. He might work best as a stopgap for teams with catching talent in the farm system that need production at the position now, such as Cleveland, Tampa Bay, or even St. Louis if the Cardinals decide to buy at this year’s deadline.

Likely Traded

1. Luis Arraez

Arraez has been one of the league’s most consistent contact hitters since breaking into the majors with the Twins. One of the few players who walks more than he strikes out, Arraez’s offensive profile fits a very specific mold. He would likely provide value to a team that needs stronger at-bats, draws more pitches out of opposing starters, and refuses to go down via the punchout. Given the struggles the Giants have had this year, Arraez’s one-year, $12 million contract seems easy to move to a contender.

The Yankees have plenty of holes, and despite having Jazz Chisholm Jr. anchoring second base, Arraez provides the contact and quality at-bats New York desperately needs. He could also be an interesting fit for the Mariners. After the injury-laden season Brendan Donovan has had, rookie Cole Young has had to fill in at second base. Arraez could provide a veteran presence in the clubhouse and a new face capable of pushing Seattle over the top in the AL West.

2. Hunter Goodman

Goodman has been a force to be reckoned with offensively over the last two seasons, posting an OPS above .800 in consecutive years. Bluntly, he has been a rare bright spot for a Rockies team that has seen little success this decade. Even more encouraging for whichever team might acquire Goodman, his home-road splits are reversed—at Coors Field. Goodman is hitting .233 with an .816 OPS at home, excellent offensive numbers for a catcher in today’s game, but has been even better on the road, slashing .282 with a .964 OPS.

Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox would be perfect suitors for the 26-year-old backstop. The Yankees have watched Austin Wells regress as the season has progressed (and he didn’t get off to a blazing start by any means), forcing them to call up Ali Sánchez to supplement the lackluster production from Wells and backup J.C. Escarra. Sánchez has appeared with six teams since breaking into the league at the start of 2020 and owns a career OPS of .479. Shockingly, that is better than the OPS of both teams’ everyday catchers, Carlos Narváez and Austin Wells. Hunter Goodman would provide a much-needed spark to either lineup, but because he is under team control through 2029, the acquisition cost could be steep.

Possibility

1. Zach Neto

While this one makes all the sense in the world, the Angels have had plenty of opportunities to ship players out during this putrid era of baseball in Anaheim and haven’t pulled the trigger. Neto has been everything you could want in a shortstop: consistent offense hovering around an .800 OPS, 20-home-run power, and 30-plus stolen-base potential. Although he strikes out more than almost anyone in baseball, Neto has been one of the few things the Angels have gotten right lately, and at just 25 years old, he could become part of the core an acquiring team builds around.

The return for Neto would be hefty. The Angels have often been unwilling to part with their players, and Neto feels like more of the same considering his long-term potential. He is under team control through 2029, which will be his age-28 season before reaching free agency. If he were to be dealt, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta could all be potential suitors.

2. Shea Langeliers

The former No. 1 overall prospect for both the Braves and Athletics took a little time to find his footing in the big leagues but has since exploded offensively. Over his first three seasons in the majors, he hit .215 with a .708 OPS. Since then, he has hit .271 with an .848 OPS. Offense from the catcher position is always valuable and has been awfully scarce in recent years, despite the fact that there are three high-profile offensive catchers potentially available at this deadline. Langeliers provides a middle-of-the-order bat with 30-home-run power that could put any contender over the top.

The question is whether the Athletics’ front office believes it will be a competitive playoff team by 2028, when Langeliers is set to reach free agency. If so, he is unlikely to move given the organization’s long-term goals. However, if the A’s believe their competitive window begins primarily in 2029 or beyond, or if they receive a substantial offer, they could decide to move him. If a team like the Yankees or Phillies is willing to part with a significant portion of its farm system, Langeliers could be a legitimate needle-mover.

Dark Horse

1. Corey Seager

After signing a 10-year, $321 million contract with the Texas Rangers in December 2021, Seager made himself a Lone Star State hero in the fall of 2023, once again dominating in the World Series while leading his team to a championship and earning World Series MVP honors. However, that offensive superteam is gone, with the declines of Adolis García, Marcus Semien, and Nathaniel Lowe, along with injuries that have slowed Evan Carter’s development. The Rangers have managed to stay atop the AL West this season, but only barely, hovering around the .500 mark. If the Astros or Mariners take a significant step forward over the coming weeks - or acquire the talent to indicate they soon will - the Rangers could become more willing to entertain moving Seager.

The return would be fascinating, as Seager still has 5.5 years and roughly $155 million remaining on his contract. If a team were willing to absorb the salary for the later years of a player on the wrong side of 30 with an extensive injury history, the Rangers might be willing to accept a lighter prospect package. This remains a highly circumstantial and unlikely deal, but it would certainly be one of the most intriguing moves of the deadline.

With the Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring on December 1, the players’ association will have to renegotiate with Major League Baseball on new standards to be set for the following years. While CBA negotiations are routine, the gap between the players and the league is unusually large this time around, especially with the prospect of expansion coming into view.

We’ve seen a lockout before, most recently in the winter of 2021-2022, but the issues on the table this time around are much more pressing. If the players are locked out this year, many fear the lockout could impact the 2027 season in some way, potentially taking baseball away from fans. Given the circumstances, many think back to the 1994 strike that caused thousands of fans to step away from the game that they felt had turned its back on them.

Previous negotiations have centered around the luxury tax, minimum salaries, and disagreements about arbitration; however, this time, the proposal of a formal salary cap is at the forefront and is not something the players are fond of. The MLBPA has long been opposed to a salary cap, dating back to labor negotiations in the ’90s, as the salary cap will directly impact players’ salaries. This is why many believe this might be one of the most contentious negotiations in recent memory.

Baseball has gained lots of popularity over the past decade-plus, with attendance and viewership seeing three straight years of growth for the first time since 2007. A lockout would be a massive blow to the game. After making so much progress, MLB could be taking quite a few steps back if baseball is not played in 2027.

The primary disagreement between the MLBPA and MLB is over a potential salary cap/floor. In a recent report, the initial proposal was a cap of $245.3 million and a floor of $171.2 million. The proposal was made by the league in an attempt to make the league more competitive for smaller-market teams, so they are not dominated by teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, and Mets, which have significantly more funds to allocate to payroll.

Yet, currently, three of the six division leaders are from small markets (Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, Cleveland) that would be required to up their payrolls significantly under the league’s salary floor proposal. Cleveland would actually have to more than double its current spending—they currently have the second-lowest payroll in baseball, at just over $80 million.

However, there is a clear flip side to this: the Los Angeles Dodgers. LA has won back-to-back championships, becoming the first team to do so since the Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000. The Dodgers are nothing short of a super team, thanks to their deep pockets. They even managed to ink the most highly touted free agent of this past offseason (Kyle Tucker), as well as one of the game’s top closers in Edwin Diaz. The Dodgers’ success has been the clearest and most current example owners cite for why there needs to be change, as their spending has coincided with the ultimate on-field success.

For the players, the bookended salary restriction for teams would mean reduced individual salaries, which is a clear no-go. MLBPA interim executive director Bruce Meyer estimates that players would be “taking a $500 million pay cut if they accepted MLB’s [current] salary cap proposal.” Bob Nightengale also quoted him as saying that there is zero chance the players will ever accept any form of a salary cap.

The MLBPA countered with a proposed first luxury tax threshold, bumped up from the current $244 million to $300 million, to remove a reason owners might want to limit their spending. They also proposed raising the players’ minimum salary from $780,000 to $1.5 million and agreed that there needs to be punishment for teams that don’t spend enough to compete.

Overall, both sides believe the game is in a great place to expand, but these issues need to be ironed out before that can become a reality. The sides will continue to speak throughout the season in hopes of avoiding a lockout. Missing games is not a guarantee, but the ensuing debate is emotionally and financially charged on both sides. Fans can only hope that both sides make concessions and that the game we love will be played in 2027.

For almost 40 years, John Sterling has been the voice of the Yankees. A voice recognized across the tri-state area, Sterling was more than an announcer: he was a storyteller. His mere presence was comforting to people, both to fans over the radio and to those who knew him personally. John Sterling was truly a bright light amidst the chaos of people’s everyday lives.

Though synonymous with consistency, Sterling’s early career was nomadic. He started off calling games for the then Baltimore Bullets in 1970 before migrating north to cover a cadre of teams, notably the New York Islanders and New Jersey Nets. At the start of the 80s, Sterling traveled south to become the voice of the Atlanta Hawks and Braves.

Finally, Sterling made his way back to New York, where he became the on-air voice of the Yankees in 1989 and the icon so many people remember as the soundtrack to their childhood. Sterling became synonymous with the Yankee organization, hosting 11 years of the show Yankeeography, for which he won two Emmys, and often being the speaker for on-field ceremonies like Old Timers’ Day, number retirements, and more. He went on to call 5,651 Yankee games (including postseason) and had an Iron-Man-esque 5,060 straight games called from 1989-2019.

And yet, despite all of that, Sterling is mostly remembered for his on-air idioms and personalized home run calls for players. The calls showed his true passion for announcing and his love for the game that his life revolved around. Some notable calls include: “It’s an A-bomb for A-Rod!” (Alex Rodriguez), “A Stantonian home run!” (Giancarlo Stanton), and “Like a good Gleyber, Torres is there!” (Gleyber Torres). Sterling brought his youthful joy to the ballpark every day for years, particularly after a win to which he would exclaim, “Yankees win! Theeeeee, Yankees win!” while shaking his arms emphatically.

Perhaps his most memorable saying would come after a back-and-forth with his longtime broadcast partner, Suzyn Waldman. Waldman, the color commentator to Sterling’s play-by-play, would often describe an interesting or downright weird play in more detail, to which Sterling would respond, “That’s baseball, Suzyn.” The phrase became a staple of his career and came to symbolize more than just baseball but life in general. Baseball is a unique game; any day at the ballfield could be met with a new, never-before-seen experience- Sterling encapsulated this in three words. He could tell you a novel’s worth of information in ten seconds- that was who he was.

Sterling will be missed by fans of the game, but his voice will forever remain in our hearts. There is a poignant irony in “That’s baseball, Suzyn.” He describes baseball’s volatility, while he himself was one sure thing the fans could count on. For nearly 4 decades in the Bronx, John Sterling was a constant, a paperweight if you will, in an ever-changing city. His consistency gave people comfort and caused many to think back on his time with great fondness.

That’s baseball, John. And it was better because you were a part of it.

The New York Yankees had a strong year in 2025 despite what most fans will tell you. Although it’s true they ultimately fell short in embarrassing fashion to the division rival Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series (getting blown out in Games 1 and 2 and consequently losing the series at home), the Yankees won 94 games, and had the best offense in baseball, even after losing Juan Soto the offseason before to the cross-town rival New York Mets. Many expected the Bronx Bombers to find ways to address the holes that led to their all too familiar shortcomings. But unfortunately, the organization is currently caught between a rock and a hard place.

The front office is too complacent to be considered a World Series frontrunner, but not calculated enough with their prospects to be considered a juggernaut in the farm system. Time and time again, the organization has “prospect-hugged” top minor league players that end up amounting to nothing at the big league level. Oswald Peraza and, quite frankly, Anthony Volpe, are perfect examples. Turning down trade offers for top players like Bryan Reynolds and Matt Olson, only to have Volpe ultimately be a well below league-average player, and Peraza be so offensively inept that he was traded to the black hole of Major League Baseball that is the Los Angeles Angels organization, is borderline malpractice. All value went out the window. Volpe’s starting role has put him in the spotlight, and he’s seen more than enough backlash from fans, press, and other organizations’ front office reps.

People often complain about New York’s failure to give the final push or make the last deadline move that would put them over the top and in the conversation with a super team like the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like it or not, the Yankees are consistently a top 5 spender in all of baseball and are taxed accordingly. The issue isn’t the desire to spend; however, it’s what that money is being spent on.

Over the past few seasons, the Yankees have committed an obscene amount of money to players who were later designated for assignment (DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Hicks, Marcus Stroman, to name a few). In fact, last year the Yankees paid those 3 players $48.5 million dollars worth of payroll. That amount of money being effectively flushed away would be a crushing blow for any team, but when you think about a front office that is trying to stay under a certain number while continuing to improve the squad, it stings just a bit worse.

If we’re being honest, many people were expecting Giancarlo Stanton’s later years to go similarly, particularly after his 2022 and 2023 campaigns. Thankfully, his resurgence over the past two seasons has put people at ease, but it doesn’t discount the millions of dollars the Yankees have paid players to not play baseball.

That inability to extend the payroll the extra mile for fear of leaping into the higher luxury tax bracket is a driving force behind the front office’s self-imposed “salary cap.” This has led to countless structurally impure rosters; the teams have holes that need to be filled, but the budget won’t allow the front office to make the moves necessary to stop the bleeding.

This, coupled with some poor decision-making, has put the 2026 Yankee squad in an uncomfortable position. Granted, they are in a much better spot after securing a 5-year deal with outfielder Cody Bellinger (largely on the Yankees’ terms), but the organization shot itself in the foot when outfielder Trent Grisham accepted the qualifying offer he was extended. Having two young outfielders in need of development in Spencer Jones and Jasson Dominguez, while also committing just over $22 million to a large question mark in Grisham, has led to a logjam in the outfield. The signing of Bellinger, undoubtedly necessary, only added to this. With one of those prospects becoming expendable, the Yankees might be interested in making some trades to sure up some loose ends. The question is where?

Jones and Dominguez are two highly regarded outfield prospects that the Yankees would love to see progress to the superstar level that has been envisioned for them. In the same breath, the organization would also love to command a hefty return on the trade market if either were to be dealt. Here is where the problem lies:

The primary holes that you could argue the Yankees have are in the shortstop, catcher (arguably), third base (offensively), and some of the bullpen roles. The pen is by far the biggest issue for the Yankees, despite the deadline moves made last year to attempt a quick fix. In some ways, it worked; they got their star closer in David Bednar, who was incredible down the stretch for the team. Camilo Doval was a bit of a wild card, but his velocity and spin rates are absolutely encouraging, and something fans should look forward to this season. Unfortunately, the acquisition of Jake Bird was underwhelming, with Bird blowing two games for the Yankees before being sent down to Triple-A, and not seeing the MLB roster again in 2025.

The Yankees are aware that the bullpen is an issue, but it is highly unlikely that they would be willing to part ways with the likes of Jones or Dominguez for just a relief pitcher. At the same time, figures like Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone know that it is unlikely that either outfielder will see significant time barring an injury, and with both of them in the picture, their development will be hindered, and their trade stock tarnished.

Conversely, to acquire an impact shortstop, they would likely have to part ways with more than just one of Dominguez or Jones, which the organization seems largely opposed to doing. The stopgap option of Jose Caballero will have to do until the return of Anthony Volpe, but many fans are unenthused by his return, given his performance over the past three seasons since breaking into the big leagues. And with just under $12 million committed to the sure-handed Ryan McMahon at 3rd base, the Yankees are unlikely to be on the lookout for a new 3rd baseman any time soon.

The organization will likely run into Spring Training hoping to ride the hot hand of either Dominguez or Jones, with expectations that the other will remain in Scranton to continue to develop, while the other gets the 4th outfield spot. More recent reports have surfaced indicating that Dominguez will likely start the 2026 regular season in Triple-A. Cashman’s passive approach to this offseason also did not sit right with fans, especially after the Grisham fiasco. Had Bellinger not been retained, the fan base would have been in turmoil, and the starting nine would have been full of question marks.

The hope is that as impact arms like Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, and Clarke Schmidt return from injury, early-season rotation arms can either be moved to the bullpen, providing some more insurance and consistency, or be flipped at the deadline to fill a midseason need. Either way, the Yankees are an imperfect team in a competitive division and will have to hope that a lot falls their way; if not, the front office will be bearing the brunt of a seething fanbase.