MLB Power Rankings: Best trade chip on every below .500 team’s roster
By Tim Boyle
MLB Power Rankings of the best trade chips we should expect to get dealt from every below .500 team.
In less than two months, the MLB trade deadline will arrive. Teams over .500 are already dreaming about who they’ll add to the roster. The clubs below .500 should start hyping up their best trade chips. Those with an even record better figure it out. This week’s MLB Power Rankings will take a look at the latter group of clubs with more losses than wins.
The players on this list are the best trade chips but also the most reasonable ones to get dealt. In some instances a team could have a “better” piece to trade, but the likelihood is much slimmer. In fact, our very first team with the worst top trade chip is a great example of it.
14) MLB Power Rankings: Cincinnati Reds, Kevin Newman
No Alexis Diaz? That’s right. The Cincinnati Reds aren’t going to trade him. Drew Koch of Blog Red Machine already squelched those trade rumors of the Reds shipping out their next great closer to the New York Mets. Frankly, that’s only a thing because of his brother, Edwin Diaz, being a member of their roster.
Instead it’s Kevin Newman who appears to be their best trade chip. This organization gutted itself last year with the Luis Castillo deal as the headliner. With Wil Myers playing hurt and not looking so productive, it leaves the Reds with few other reasonable players to expect to be on the move. Newman is having a decent year for the Reds and could be a nice bench piece for a contender. The Reds have more than enough other shortstops for him to eat up anyone’s playing time.
13) MLB Power Rankings: Oakland Athletics, Brent Rooker
Brent Rooker is only this low on the list because the Oakland Athletics should probably keep him. Claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals back in November, Rooker is no stranger to getting traded. He was sent from the Minnesota Twins to the San Diego Padres in April of 2022 as part of the Taylor Rogers/Chris Paddack swap. The Padres later traded him to the Royals on August 2.
Rooker has turned out to be a productive DH for the Athletics this season posting some good power numbers early. He has declined a bit in recent weeks and may blend more into the mayhem that calls itself the 2023 Athletics as time goes on. Like the Cincinnati Reds, there isn’t much for the Athletics to trade. Rooker is one of the few enticing pieces.