3 Trades That Need To Happen At The Deadline
3 Trades That Need To Happen At The Deadline
there is something about the 4th of July that brings out the craziness in us baseball fans...
The MLB Trade Deadline is easily one of the most exciting components of the baseball season and it is quickly approaching. This is the time of the season when teams will look to improve their roster via trade with other ball clubs. Teams can make trades with other organizations until July 30th @ 6 PM EST. As we are already halfway through the season, we can get a good look at all of the teams in the league and speculate on who will be buyers and who will be sellers by the deadline.
In this piece, I highlight three trades that would be awesome for baseball. Let us start with the elephant in the room: the Chicago White Sox. Everyone and their mother knows that the White Sox need to be sellers at this deadline. They are the worst team in baseball, with a 25-63 record, and are nowhere close to making the playoffs anytime soon. Plus, they have done an excellent job in bolstering their farm system as of late to work on the future, as this team’s core has not worked.
Now, who can the White Sox trade with to offer the best deal with top prospects? Who is in a position to win now? And who has a young core that can afford to lose some top talent from the farm? The Baltimore Orioles. A trade that would look like this would be insane for baseball!
Baltimore Receives:
Garrett Crochet (25) - 6-6 | 3.02 ERA | 0.93 WHIP | 3.9 WAR | 101.1 IP | 141/20 K/BB
Luis Robert Jr. (26) - .224 AVG | 10 HR | 18 RBI | .817 OPS | .297 OBP | .520 SLG | 0.8 WAR
White Sox Receives:
C/1B - Samuel Basallo (AA - #12 Overall Prospect / #2 prospect in the Baltimore System)
3B/1B - Coby Mayo (AAA - #15 Overall Prospect / #3 prospect in the Baltimore System)
OF - Enrique Bradfield Jr. (High A - #4 prospect in the Baltimore System)
RHP - Chayce McDermott (AAA - #7 prospect in the Baltimore System)
3B/2B - Mac Horvath (High A - #10 prospect in the Baltimore System)
Robert Jr. is one of the most talented players in all of baseball. He is under contract through 2025 and has team options for 2026 and 2027. Crochet is in arbitration. Baltimore can win this year and will have just as good of a shot at it next year. Baltimore would be paying a ton to get these two players, but in my opinion, it would be worth every penny.
The next trade I’d love to see happen is with Seattle. Julio Rodriguez has not been the superstar that fans have all been expecting this season, and the lineup needs more bats. Seattle is loaded with talent in the farm system, and they can win now with that rotation plus a productive Julio. I know this trade seems crazy, but I don’t think the Mets are going to part ways with Pete Alonso. That being said, I’d love to see the slugger head west. Pairing Alonso with Starling Marte makes sense as the 35-year-old outfielder has one more year under contract, and the Mariners, similar to Baltimore, are in a position to contend this year and next year due to the talent on the roster. Plus, this takes some money off the books for the Mets, who can use the Alonso and Marte money on more creative deals now that they have a ton of youth.
Seattle Receives:
1B - Pete Alonso - .244 AVG | 18 HR | 48 RBI | .801 OPS | .329 OBP | .472 SLG | 1.2 WAR
OF - Starling Marte - .278 AVG | 7 HR | 30 RBI | .745 OPS | .328 OBP | .416 SLG | 0.6 WAR
Mets Receive:
1B - Ty France - .230 AVG | 8 HR | 29 RBI | .691 OPS | .324 OBP | .367 SLG | 0.4 WAR
SS - Felnin Celesten (ROK - #91 Overall Prospect / #5 prospect in the Seattle system)
RHP - Jimmy Joyce (AA - #21 prospect in the Seattle system)
The Mets could get a top-100-esque prospect for Alonso as he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. Thismeans there is no guarantee he will be back with the club that traded for his services past the end of this season. Seattle has the depth in the farm system to make a move for a player like Alonso due to the risk that comes with not guaranteeing his services next year.
Finally, a smaller deal but it makes sense for these two ball clubs. The Rays have been banged up and just moved pitcher Aaron Civale to the Brewers, so it looks like they are deciding to sell early and cash in for next year. That being said, where does Isaac Paredes head to? I hate to say this, but I think the Dodgers are going to swoop in on the stud third baseman. Right now, the Dodgers need depth with their hitting behind Betts, Freeman Ohtani, and Smith.
Dodgers Receive:
3B - Isaac Paredes - .276 AVG | 14 HR | 46 RBI | .847 OPS | .365 OBP | .481 SLG | 2.0 WAR
Rays Receive:
OF - Kendall George (A - #10 prospect in the Los Angeles system)
LHP - Ronan Kopp (AA - #15 prospect in the Los Angeles system)
Dodgers get a quality bat and don’t add too much to the payroll, while the Rays get an intriguing young outfield prospect in George (yes...I have his 1st Bowman Auto!) and a 6’7” southpaw who owns a 60-grade fastball. I think the Rays could exploit the talent of Kopp and George and make moving Paredes well worth it. The cherry on top for the Rays is they won’t have to pay him next year, and they will have Junior Caminero in their sights once he is healthy and back to doing Junior Caminero things.