7 MLB players raising their trade value ahead of the deadline

We're now less than two months away from the trade deadline, and quite frankly, your guess is as good as mine as to which players will and won't be available in the run up to Aug. 3. In the AL, all but two teams entered play on Saturday within six games of a playoff spot. In the NL, things are somehow even more chaotic, with all but two teams inside of five games. Translation: Good luck trying to figure out which teams will actually decide to sell.

In that sort of environment, a few short weeks can swing things dramatically. Sure, you might hope to avoid pulling the plug on your season — but if a pending free agent gets hot at the right time, and some team comes calling willing to pay you a king's ransom, are you really going to turn that down? The seven teams on this list are about to be facing just such a dilemma, with trade chips who are all streaking at the perfect time to boost their trade values.

RHP Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

After seemingly years of this will-they, won't-they saga, this should be the summer in which the Marlins finally move Sandy Alcantara. He's in the final guaranteed year of his contract, with just a team option remaining for 2027. And while Miami has been red-hot of late, they're still just .500 overall; it's hard to make the case for them being real buyers at the deadline.

It feels as though the Marlins have been waiting to pull the trigger on an Alcantara deal while his value is as its highest, which is sensible enough. At this point, we can safely say his Cy Young form isn't coming back — but the way he's throwing the ball of late might be the next best thing. The righty has fired three quality starts in a row, averaging over seven innings per start in wins over the Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Tampa Bay Rays. The ground-ball rate is beginning to tick up again, and he looks more and more like the frontline starter Miami for which wants to be compensated. If he can keep this up a few more weeks, a trade is as good as done given how many teams will need arms at the deadline.

OF Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins

Yes, I know that Buxton has shown little interest in waiving his full no-trade clause, and yes, I know that Twins fans are sick of hearing about this. But he did leave the door open a crack with his comments after Minnesota's fire sale at last year's deadline — and if he can be talked into accepting a deal this summer, you can argue that it'd be in his team's best interest.

Buxton has been scorching hot at the plate after a slow start to the season, with a whopping 1.064 OPS to go with 16 homers and six steals over his last 35 games. He's also going to be 33 in December, and he's already dodged a couple of injury scares this year — missing a few games in May due to hip soreness (an issue that's dogged him for years) before tweaking his shoulder in a collision with the outfield wall earlier this month. It was a sobering reminder of the risk that comes with his body and his playing style, and how quickly the last two years of his seven-year deal can go up in smoke.

The Twins love Buxton, and Buxton loves the Twins. But what are the odds that this team is committed to meaningful contention before his contract expires? They might never be able to sell higher, and if they go to him and say that they just don't think they can put a winner around him in what's left of his prime, who knows, he might play ball.

LHP Josh Hader, Houston Astros

Of all the Astros who've been rumoed to be on the block if Houston decides to sell at the deadline — and the longer this team spends below .500, the likelier that gets — Hader hasn't been one of them. Granted, that's mostly because he's spent much of this season on the IL. But he returned to the mound on June 3 and has been looking like his old self, with seven strikeouts, two saves and a win across five scoreless innings.

Why shouldn't the Astros think about moving him? Finding someone who will take on the 2.5 years remaining on his five-year, $95 million deal will be easier said than done. But considering how threadbare the relief market is shaping up to be, someone is bound to take the bait — even if the benefit for Houston is getting out from under the money rather than any real prospect value. The Astros need as much future flexibility as they can get; if Hader stays healthy and pitches like an All-Star for the next few weeks, and Houston remains buried in the AL cellar, a trade could make sense.

1B Willson Contreras, Boston Red Sox

The Red Sox are in a similar boat; you know the last thing Craig Breslow wants to do is admit defeat on this season. Still, Boston enters play Saturday in last place in the AL East and 11 games below .500. If that doesn't change significantly before late July, this front office is going to have to face facts and start planning for 2027 and beyond.

Which would make Contreras one of the most compelling potential names on the market. Granted, he does have one more guaranteed year on his contract, but he's a righty first baseman who just turned 34 years old; it's not inconceivable that, if someone bowls the Red Sox over, Boston might find it worth their while to move on — especially with Triston Casas still due to return from his knee injury at some point. And Contreras is raking right now, with an 1.148 OPS and three homers in the month of June. He's establishing himself as the clear best bat available at the deadline, which could make his price too high for Boston to refuse.

LHP Reid Detmers, Los Angeles Angels

With two more years of arbitration remaining after 2026, you'd think that Detmers would be a foundational piece for the Angels to build around. But Los Angeles is so far away from basic competence, much less contention, that they might consider trying to cash the lefty in for multiple pieces who can help in the future — especially with the way he's throwing the ball right now.

Detmers has shown flashes before, but he's been darn near untouchable lately, with five runs allowed and 36 strikeouts across 26 innings over his last four starts. That includes matchups with the fearsome Dodgers and Astros, both of which he dominated. With multiple years of team control remaining and tons of upside in his left arm, the Angels could be motivated to move him if his recent form convinces a contender to pay through the nose.

2B Gleyber Torres, Detroit Tigers

The Tigers have shown signs of life recently, still hoping that the return of Tarik Skubal and a recently revived offense can help them climb back into the wide-open AL Wild Card race. If that push falls short, though, Gleyber Torres feels like one of the first players to go at the deadline.

That's mostly because he's a rental at a position without a ton of other viable options for teams in search of an upgrade. But it also helps that he's been raking since his return from the IL, with a .983 OPS in the month of June. Torres has always been a polarizing player around the league, in part because of his hot-and-cold bat; if he catches fire before the deadline, it'll really help Detroit maxmize a potential return.

RHP Michael Soroka, Arizona Diamondbacks

With seven losses in their last 10 games, the D-backs are now just one game above .500, a half-game back of the third and final Wild Card spot — and, more importantly, well removed from serious pennant contention. Sure, Arizona can try to hold down the fort and sneak into October; but realistically, if you're not good enough to buy, wouldn't selling rental pieces who won't factor into your future core make some sense?

Soroka fits that bill, and he's absolutely shoving of late, with a 2.28 ERA since the start of May. If names like Freddy Peralta, Joe Ryan and Tarik Skubal wind up not being available, the starting pitching market will suddenly get very thin — and Soroka could see a very healthy market for his services.

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