With a week to go until the MLB trade deadline, we asked our writers to make a prediction about every team in the league. Some were bolder than others.
Prediction: Diamondbacks are buyers, but trade Eugenio Suárez.
The Diamondbacks made a push in the offseason to improve on the World Series roster of 2023. It hasn’t gone according to plan, but they came out of the break just one game out of the wild card. The Eugenio Suárez acquisition hasn’t worked out, and while the D-Backs should be buyers, Suárez might not be in the plans. Arizona should still look for pitching help and make a push for the postseason. — Sam Blum
Prediction: The Braves won’t make bold enough moves to satisfy most of their fans.
Alex Anthopoulos has been bold before some past deadlines. For example, he traded for four outfielders in July 2021 and watched each become a major factor for the eventual World Series champions. But the Braves’ deficit in the standings (8 1/2 games entering Monday) and the team they are chasing (the Phillies) make it unlikely that the Braves win the NL East. With Michael Harris II and Max Fried expected back in August and Ozzie Albies in September, the Braves might aim more for being healthy in the postseason. — David O’Brien
Prediction: The Orioles will get the biggest reliever that moves.
If the A’s hold onto closer Mason Miller, the O’s will simply move down the list to Tanner Scott or Paul Sewald or Pete Fairbanks — whoever is legitimately available and will most significantly impact their bullpen. It would be far bolder to say they’ll get the best pitcher, period, who moves. And with the Orioles farm system, that’s certainly possible. — Chad Jennings
Marlins reliever Tanner Scott has been a staple of trade talks. (Jim Rassol / USA Today)
Prediction: The Red Sox will trade for a starting pitcher.
The Red Sox don’t currently have a set fifth starter and have been relying heavily on Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford, who are at or close to career highs in innings pitched. Nick Pivetta has been good more often than not, but Brayan Bello is having a tough year. If the Red Sox want to contend they need pitching. Craig Breslow knows that and seems willing to add. — Jen McCaffrey
Prediction: The Cubs will mostly stand pat.
There is no motivation to sink more resources into this underperforming team. The roster, however, is not designed to sell, and there is an expectation to compete in 2025. The Cubs will use August and September for player development and will try to sell the idea of “just wait until next offseason” for the really big moves. — Patrick Mooney
Prediction: The White Sox are trading Garrett Crochet to the Dodgers.
Naming the destination may be a little too bold, but the White Sox will sell high on Crochet, because you never know with hard-throwing pitchers. The Dodgers have a need, they’re thirsty to win another title, and they’re always developing another wave. They’ll pay the necessary price. — Rustin Dodd
Prediction: The Reds do nothing of consequence.
The team’s fence straddling will continue beyond the July 30 trade deadline. Too close to be clear sellers and too far away to be clear buyers, the front office will say that they looked for deals that made long-term sense, but didn’t find any matches in trade negotiations. Frankie Montas is the team’s most obvious trade candidate, but the Reds won’t get any offers that make trying to make up for his absence in the rotation worth sending him elsewhere. — C. Trent Rosecrans
Prediction: The Guardians will make multiple trades.
It’s hard to forecast. Everything’s in flux. Conversations are fluid. But the Guardians are positioned to swing big — or, at least, to take a few smaller hacks. Like everyone, they desperately need rotation help. They could stand to land another bat. Another reliever never hurts. They’ve gotten this far despite their faults, have plenty of trade chips and the front office understands the difference some upgrades could make. — Zack Meisel
Prediction: Both of their catchers will get traded.
Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings have both had productive seasons, and are both pending free agents. Diaz has a .732 OPS and Stallings a .758 OPS. Neither are franchise-altering players. But they play a premium position and could be sneaky valuable to contending teams. It would free up a spot for prospect Drew Romo to come up for his MLB debut. — Sam Blum
Prediction: The Tigers won’t trade Tarik Skubal.
Despite all the chatter, this conversation isn’t all that complicated. It would take a massive haul for the Tigers to move their ace at this year’s deadline. The Orioles are perhaps the only team that can offer enough, and even then, would Mike Elias really be willing to part with Jackson Holliday? The odds of Skubal actually moving seem slim. — Cody Stavenhagen
Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal might be too costly to move. (David Reginek / USA Today)
Prediction: The Astros acquire a star first baseman.
Astros owner Jim Crane covets superstars. He has engineered two deadline trades for Justin Verlander and he gave the final push to acquire Zack Greinke in 2019. Houston does not have the prospect capital to pull off another blockbuster. With Crane involved, it sometimes doesn’t matter. The Astros should be prioritizing pitching, but if Crane wants Pete Alonso or Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to fix his mistake of signing José Abreu, general manager Dana Brown may have to make it happen. — Chandler Rome
Prediction: The Royals will acquire a bat like Tommy Pham — though importantly maybe not Tommy Pham himself.
The Royals already upgraded their bullpen by acquiring Hunter Harvey from the Nationals in exchange for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and a competitive balance round pick. It wouldn’t be surprising to see them target another middle reliever type, but the more pressing need now exists in the lineup. Namely, the Royals need to lengthen it. The Royals’ farm system is thin at the upper levels, so someone with Pham’s price tag may fit best. — Rustin Dodd
Prediction: The Angels don’t trade any players with multiple years of team control.
The Angels are in a perfect position for a full-scale sell-off. And they have some players that can net a return. But the front office and owner Arte Moreno will use the team’s recent strong play to justify holding onto arbitration-eligible players in the hopes of competing again next year. In some ways this is a bold prediction. In another way, it feels very predictable that the Angels will make this choice. — Sam Blum
Los Angeles Dodgers
Prediction: The Dodgers will supplement their starting pitching.
It certainly would have qualified as bold at the beginning of the season, but the Dodgers’ cluster of pitching injuries has made solidifying the group a must. The returns of Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw will help some, but there’s a reason the Dodgers are engaged on the likes of Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet. — Fabian Ardaya
Prediction: It’s last call as the Jazz club closes in Miami.
This prediction has become considerably less bold in recent weeks as rumors of trade talks have surfaced. But to think last fall that Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be traded less than a year after his second playoff run with the Marlins would have been surprising. The time is right for the Marlins. Chisholm isn’t matching his 2022 breakout but he’s playing well. There are a lot of contenders eager to have his skillset at center field and second base. — Stephen J. Nesbitt
Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s time with the Marlins may be nearing its end. (Jim Rassol / USA Today)
Prediction: The Brewers will acquire Erick Fedde.
It’s no secret the Brewers need pitching, but it will be hard for them to outbid the Dodgers or Orioles for the services of Garrett Crochet. A better trade for them could mean acquiring Fedde, Crochet’s more overlooked teammate. Fedde has posted a 2.99 ERA and is under team control through next season. He could be a good fit on a Brewers team looking to deepen its rotation. — Cody Stavenhagen
Prediction: Minnesota will trade for one of the top rental starting pitchers.
Chris Paddack’s latest injured list stint should motivate the Twins to pursue rotation help, but they may not be as inclined to part with top prospects or increase the 2025 payroll. Instead, they’ll land one of the top rental starters — Nathan Eovaldi? Yusei Kikuchi? Jack Flaherty? Frankie Montas? — to provide insurance for Paddack and another viable option for a potential playoff rotation. — Aaron Gleeman
Prediction: The Mets trade someone off their major-league roster.
The Mets will buy at the deadline, but they won’t be afraid to move a piece or two off the big-league roster to either facilitate a win-now move or recoup some prospect value for the future. The starting rotation is the chief spot to look at here, with New York capable of withstanding a deal of a starter. — Tim Britton
Prediction: The Yankees will trade Nestor Cortes.
The Yankees made a similar move in 2022 when they traded Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals for center fielder Harrison Bader. The thinking was Montgomery would not be a part of the Yankees’ playoff rotation, and general manager Brian Cashman wanted to shore up a critical spot defensively. Cortes comes with one more year of team control, and he still has value. They could use a new starting infielder or left fielder in exchange for Cortes. — Chris Kirschner
Prediction: The A’s won’t deal Mason Miller.
How do you price a dominant closer with a 101 mph fastball and a lethal slider, a guy with 5 1/2 years of team control? And what if Miller doesn’t remain a reliever forever? A starter with that sort of stuff who can’t become a free agent until November 2029 is worth a fortune. It might be more beneficial to survey the market in the winter, with more teams adamant about buying. — Zack Meisel
The Athletics might be better off exploring a Mason Miller deal in the offseason (Eakin Howard / Getty Images)
Philadelphia Phillies
Prediction: The Phillies acquire someone else’s closer but don’t use him as their closer.
For much of Rob Thomson’s tenure as Phillies manager, the club has not run a bullpen with traditional roles. They’re poking around on available relievers, and if they acquire one with closing experience, they will continue to operate without set roles. It’ll just give them another late-inning option. — Matt Gelb
Prediction: The Pirates will be active shoppers in a moderately priced store.
This is not a bold prediction. The Pirates are not going to swing big, and I refuse to pretend that they will! That doesn’t mean they’ll sit on their hands. Far from it. The Pirates might make more moves than any other team out there. They’ll be in the market for mid-market or rental center fielders, second basemen, catchers and relievers. Each trade won’t move the needle that much, but step back after a flurry of ‘em and you’ll see a significant improvement. — Stephen J. Nesbitt
Prediction: The Padres land Garrett Crochet, surrendering Leodalis De Vries in the process.
General manager A.J. Preller has been after Crochet for at least a couple of months, apparently undeterred by workload concerns surrounding the White Sox All-Star. With stiff competition from such teams as the Dodgers and Orioles, the Padres would need to fork over premium prospect capital. De Vries, a highly regarded teenage shortstop, can headline a requisite package. — Dennis Lin
Prediction: You’ll be underwhelmed if you want the Giants to buy, you’ll probably be underwhelmed if you want them to sell, so basically, just prepare to not be whelmed.
A year ago at the deadline, the Giants were 58-49 and leading the NL wild card standings — and their only acquisition was a broken-down A.J. Pollock. This season, while technically contending, they’ve spent just four days over .500. They’re also pot-committed after punting two draft picks and crossing the luxury tax transom to sign Matt Chapman and Blake Snell. Their best play is probably to let it ride and hope the return of Robbie Ray/Alex Cobb gives them a bigger roster boost than any of the NL wild card teams will receive at the deadline. — Andrew Baggarly
Prediction: Seattle will add a bat — possibly more than one.
The Mariners entered the second half in the lead in the American League West despite ranking 27th in baseball in runs and 28th in OPS. Jerry Dipoto will need to bring in some reinforcements if the team wants to hold off the Astros. Expect Dipoto to be aggressive in pursuing upgrades, especially in the outfield. — Andy McCullough
St. Louis Cardinals
Prediction: The Cardinals acquire a starting pitcher and reliever in the same trade.
The Cardinals and bold don’t usually mix at the deadline, so let’s keep that in mind here. Given the different areas they could use improvement on, however, a multi-player trade makes sense. St. Louis would benefit from adding both a starting pitcher and a right-handed reliever. Why not get both from the same place? The Rangers (should they decide to sell) seem like a solid fit, with players like Nathan Eovaldi, David Robertson and Kirby Yates theoretically in play. So do the White Sox, with Erick Fedde — who the Cardinals have been linked to — and old friend John Brebbia available. Plenty of options are out there, and who doesn’t like a one-stop shop? — Katie Woo
Erick Fedde pitches against the Cardinals. (Jeff Curry / USA Today)
Prediction: The Rays will trade someone you’ve heard of for someone you haven’t.
The Tampa Bay Rays do this all the time — they take a name-brand player, make him better, sell him off, whoever comes back turns out to be even better and they will ultimately be traded. Rinse and repeat. This is like predicting the sun will rise in the east, but I have seen no evidence yet that it will not. The Rays will likely move Amed Rosario, but could also trade the likes of Zach Eflin, Yandy Díaz or even Randy Arozarena. — C. Trent Rosecrans
Texas Rangers
Prediction: The Rangers won’t do much selling.
The first half has not gone according to plan, but the Rangers remain within shouting distance in the AL West. They may try to do a mix of buying and selling, but the chances of Chris Young and company jettisoning most of the team’s pitching at the deadline is unlikely. The Rangers still want to compete. — Cody Stavenhagen
Prediction: The Blue Jays trade starter Chris Bassitt.
Bassitt is having another strong season and with so many clubs in need of starting pitching, he could fetch the Blue Jays a decent return, especially since he’s controllable through 2025. The Blue Jays are set on competing again in 2025, so they don’t have to move Bassitt, but doing so now is a way to bolster a farm system that lacks upper-level depth, especially on the pitching side. — Kaitlyn McGrath
Washington Nationals
Prediction: If you aren’t part of the future, you might get dealt.
After flirting with contention early in the summer, the Nationals faded heading into the break, and are prepared to sell. General manager Mike Rizzo already did well in turning reliever Hunter Harvey into a competitive-balance pick. The team is expected to listen on plenty of pending free agents like Jesse Winker, Dylan Floro and, of course, Patrick Corbin. — Andy McCullough
(Top photo of Yankees lefty Nestor Cortes: Brad Penner / USA Today)
