July is here, and that means it’s time to wildly guess about the July 30 trade deadline.
This week and next, we’ll change things up by looking at five groups of players in each league who might be traded.
Remember, this is more art than science.
Orioles’ Young Hitters
The Orioles have a lot of talented young hitters but not enough spots for all of them. They don’t need to trade everyone in Double-A or higher, but they should think about trading some to improve their World Series chances. They’ve already traded Joey Ortiz as part of the Corbin Burnes deal.
We doubt Jackson Holliday will be traded. Maybe Coby Mayo or Samuel Basallo could be moved, but they’re likely staying too. The Orioles have so much depth that even without these three, they still have plenty of good trade options.
Four names stand out: Enrique Bradfield Jr., Jud Fabian, Dylan Beavers, and Connor Norby. All are top-100 picks since 2021 and have done well in High-A or above. Each has some concerns—Bradfield’s bat might lack power; Fabian and Beavers aren’t great hitters; Norby might not stay on the dirt—but teams need near-ready positional help so much that they’d likely take a chance on one or two of these guys in a trade this month.
Fans might wonder if the Orioles will miss any of these players given their other talented young hitters already in the big leagues or almost there .
Yankees’ Young Arms and Infielders
Usually, we’d talk about Yankees outfielders like Spencer Jones, Jasson DomÃnguez, and Everson Pereira. But DomÃnguez and Pereira are injured, and Jones was off-limits during talks with the White Sox over Dylan Cease. So now the Yankees may need to trade from their pool of young pitchers and infielders instead.
Some pitchers to know: Henry Lalane, Chalniel Arias (both injured), Carlos Lagrange, and Sabier Marte. Trading low-level pitching is tricky because you never know which ones will develop into stars or fall victim to injuries or other setbacks.
For infielders, they may hold onto Roderick Arias and George Lombard Jr., but Jared Serna, Roc Riggio, or Enmanuel Tejeda could be available for trades.
Think about it: by the time some of these players make it big (if they do), Juan Soto could already be deep into his next contract!
Guardians’ Infield Depth
The Guardians have too many good infielders for their available spots. José RamÃrez and Andrés Giménez are set with long-term deals while Tyler Freeman (now playing center field), Brayan Rocchio, and Gabriel Arias get chances at MLB level .
Beyond them are José Tena (recently called up), Juan Brito, Angel MartÃnez, Nate Furman, and Kahlil Watson—a former first-round pick acquired last deadline along with Jean Segura’s contract .
At some point soon , they’ll need to decide which players they believe in most—and possibly trade others before their value drops .
Mariners’ Young Bats
The Mariners have quietly built a strong group of young position players like catcher Harry Ford , infielder Colt Emerson , Cole Young , outfielder Lazaro Montes , Jonny Farmelo . Teenage shortstop Felnin Celesten is also making waves .
Jerry Dipoto has made bold moves before—remember Luis Castillo? He gave up Edwin Arroyo & Noelvi Marte then . Maybe he’ll do something similar this summer .
But more likely he’ll use lower-tier prospects like Jonatan Clase , Michael Arroyo , Ben Williamson , Tai Peete . You just can’t keep everyone forever .
Twins’ Pitching Prospects
The Twins’ crowded infield depth chart might lead them towards trading former first-round pick Brooks Lee unless they’re super confident about Willi Castro & Jose Miranda -or health status regarding Carlos Correa & Royce Lewis .
More likely though—they’ll deal Double-A starters Zebby Matthews Marco Raya Andrew Morris Cory Lewis Travis Adams . None seem destined frontline starters yet interesting enough clubs notice .
Raya & Adams also Rule-5 eligible winter ; doesn’t mean aggressive shopping around necessarily happens generally speaking teams part prospects bubble sooner rather later
What do you think? Should your favorite team make any bold moves?
