Turns out, the infield market this winter might not be so thin after all. As the Texas Rangers stare down a bloated payroll and increasing tax penalties for what was a mediocre roster in 2025, whispers around an unexpected trade candidate have emerged: star shortstop Corey Seager, who still has six years and $186 million on the massive 10-year contract he signed as a free agent ahead of the 2022 campaign.
To be clear: We still wouldn't categorize a Seager trade as likely. Yes, Texas is looking to cut costs after loading up on big contracts over the last few years, but parting with the team's best player would be nothing more than a last resort. Earlier this month, The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported that said cuts "almost certainly" wouldn't include the likes of Seager, Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi.
Still, the door isn't closed entirely, and it remains a possibility that ownership demands more drastic cuts than expected — in which case Texas would have pretty much no choice but to offload one of its major deals, with Seager representing by far the best value. But where might he wind up if that does come to pass? That question comes with one important catch.
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Who is, and isn't, on Corey Seager's no-trade list: Tough luck for Atlanta
While Seager didn't negotiate a full no-trade clause (like deGrom did) into his contract with the Rangers, he does have an eight-team no-trade list. We don't know the full extent of that list, but per Rosenthal, we know it includes at least one shortstop-needy team: the Atlanta Braves.
Why Atlanta specifically? We have no way of knowing. Seager hasn't commented publicly, and there's nothing to suggest any real bad blood between player and organization. Maybe he doesn't want to deal with Georgia humidity in the summer. Maybe he's still salty about the Braves shocking his Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2021 NLCS.
Whatever the case, we know that Atlanta is out of the running here — no small thing, considering the money they have to spend and how badly they need a starting shortstop. So who would be a potential landing spot if Seager talks heat up? Thanks to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, we know that the Yankees and Red Sox are not on his no-trade list. But that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Corey Seager trade suitors that check every box
Boston Red Sox
As of now, Alex Bregman remains a free agent, leaving Boston with holes to fill at both second and third base. Sure, they have a couple of highly touted prospects waiting in the wings in Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell, but both of them struggled in their first taste of big-league pitching this season.
The Red Sox could simply re-sign Bregman, slot Mayer in at second and use Campbell to plug potential holes at first or even in the outfield. Or, alternatively, they could swing big for Seager, slotting him in at second base and shifting Mayer over to third. That might represent a slight step back defensively, but they'd still be fine, and Seager is undoubtedly a more impactful hitter than Bregman is — and with six years and $186 million left on his deal, he probably won't be that much more expensive.
Los Angeles Dodgers
L.A. always gets shoehorned into lists like this, but we promise this has more behind it than simply "because they're the Dodgers". If Andrew Friedman can't find a way to reel in Kyle Tucker, he might decide to bump Tommy Edman out to center field full-time, with Andy Pages in right and Teoscar Hernandez in left. That would leave a hole at second base, one Seager would be more than qualified to fill.
Los Angeles has arguably the deepest farm system in the game, and you know they wouldn't sweat the money. There's no reason to think Seager would reject a trade back to the team that drafted him in the first round back in 2012, and really, who wouldn't want to play for the Dodgers right now?
New York Mets
This one is, admittedly, a bit of a stretch. The Mets already have a franchise shortstop in Francisco Lindor, after all, and they're looking to get out from under some big contracts of their own right now.
But New York needs another infielder at either second or third to go along with Brett Baty, as Jeff McNeil is no longer cutting it. Or, heck, Baty could even be the Mets' Pete Alonso replacement at first base. Again: The fit isn't squeaky clean, and this would be a decidedly un-David Stearns thing to do. Still, if Seager didn't put the Yankees on his no-trade list, he probably didn't put the Mets either — unless he just really has a grudge against the National League — and you can never count Steve Cohen out of situations like this.
New York Yankees
This would be something right out of a WFAN caller's fever dream, atonement for New York's failure to land Seager in free agency a few years ago and a move that would finally bring to an end Anthony Volpe's reign of terror at shortstop. (Never mind that Volpe was a perfectly fine player as recently as last season; we're not here to let facts get in the way of this fantasy.)
We already know for sure that the Yankees aren't on Seager's no-trade list, and while the Yankees never made much of a run at him as a free agent, he seemed open enough to playing in New York. The only question is whether the Yankees are finally willing to give up on Volpe, and whether Hal Steinbrenner is willing to go well above and beyond the $300 million mark in total payroll. If the answer is yes, this makes a lot of sense, giving New York an elite infield around Seager, Jazz Chisholm, Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon.
Seattle Mariners
What's gotten into Jerry Dipoto? One minute he's preaching prudence and the virtue of winning 87 games a year, and the next he's going full fire and brimstone after jumping the market to re-sign Josh Naylor.
But while Naylor is a nice start, Seattle still has holes ... well, pretty much everywhere else on the infield. Top prospect Colt Emerson will be in the Majors soon enough, but whether he winds up at short or third, the Mariners will have to find an upgrade over the likes of Cole Young, Leo Rivas and Ben Williamson.
Why not Seager? His older brother, Kyle, is already a franchise legend, so it's hard to believe that Seattle would be on his no-trade list. And there should be money to spend even after the Naylor deal. Seager, Julio Rodriguez, Cal Raleigh, Naylor and Randy Arozarena is one heck of a heart of the order.
Toronto Blue Jays
It remains to be seen whether Toronto will be able to retain shortstop Bo Bichette in free agency. But might Seager be a better investment anyway? He's certainly the better defender of the two, and while he is four years older, he packs more punch at the plate than Bichette does and would be an excellent lefty counter-balance to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
And lest we forget, the Jays were heavily in the mix for Seager when he was a free agent back in 2021. We know the interest is there, and if Bichette gets a $200 million-plus bag somewhere else (Atlanta, perhaps?), he'd immediately become Toronto's best fallback option. Plus, the fact that he was willing to listen to Toronto's pitch the first time around suggests he's interested, and who wouldn't want to be a part of this team's vibes right now?