The Winter Meetings are roughly 24 hours away from commencing, meaning that the MLB hot stove is on fire. Things are moving so quickly to the point where a false Chicago Cubs report was revealed on Saturday. Once the Winter Meetings get underway, action, particularly on the trade market, will almost certainly pick up.
The reason for that is that the executives for all 30 MLB teams will all be in the same Orlando, Florida hotel. Chances are, if you get all 30 teams in the same spot, discussions will be had and deals will be made. Some of the biggest trades in recent memory have gone down at the Winter Meetings. While there are many trades that the five teams in the NL East should be exploring, there are ones each club must avoid as well.
Washington Nationals
Nationals should avoid: Trading MacKenzie Gore
Ever since the trade deadline, Washington Nationals ace MacKenzie Gore has been available on the trade block, and hiring Paul Toboni to run their baseball operations hasn't seemed to change anything on that front. While I certainly understand the idea behind trading Gore, a pitcher with just two more years of club control, especially if the Nationals don't think they can compete in 2026 or 2027, now doesn't feel like the right time.
Gore posted a 4.17 ERA in 30 starts in 2025, and has yet to finish a year with an ERA lower than 3.90. Those figures might suggest he's an average pitcher, but his potential certainly seems higher than that. Gore was dominant in the first half (3.02 ERA in 19 starts) but struggled mightily in the second half (6.75 ERA in 11 starts). Additionally, Gore's 27.2 strikeout rate was good for 12th among pitchers with at least 150 innings of work, and he ranked within the top 20 with a 17.8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He has the stuff to be an ace, and as we saw in the first half of 2025, he can be one.
Will teams be treating him as if he's an ace with their trade offers? Probably not. Even if they will offer the Nationals a haul, it's really hard to find a 26-year-old with the kind of upside Gore has. Washington would probably be better off extending Gore than trading him.
Atlanta Braves
Braves should avoid: Trading for Byron Buxton
The Atlanta Braves could use a big bat, and Byron Buxton could be the best player available on the trade market. The Braves could easily find room for him to play, too, and the fact that Buxton is a Georgia native makes him even more enticing. With all of that being said, though, do the Braves really want to take this risk?
We all know how good Buxton is when healthy. He has tremendous power, can steal 30+ bases in his sleep, and is a Gold Glove-caliber defender in center field. He also has three more years under contract on very team-friendly terms. With that being said, though, durability is a major concern. Buxton was able to play in 126 games in 2025, but that was just the third time in 11 years that he's cleared the 100-game mark. Does anyone think that'll improve as he ages?
Is pairing him with Ronald Acuña Jr., another outfielder who has had some trouble staying on the field, a good idea? When healthy, this would be one of the best dynamic duos in the game. How many games will they get to play together, though? It'd cost a fortune to get him, and it's not as if the Braves need him more than they need a shortstop or some pitching help. I'd focus elsewhere, as tempting and as great a player as Buxton is.
Miami Marlins
Marlins should avoid: Selling low on Sandy Alcantara
The Miami Marlins surpassed everyone's expectations in 2025, and now face an interesting offseason. They could push for a playoff spot, but they could also look to trade from an area of strength, their rotation, and capitalize on a potential seller's market. With that in mind, trading Sandy Alcantara sounds pretty good. I wouldn't be so quick to deal him, though.
Alcantara didn't exactly have the season he had hoped for in 2025, coming off Tommy John surgery. He posted a 5.36 ERA in 31 starts while also posting his lowest strikeout rate (19.1 percent) and highest walk rate (7.7 percent) in a full season (excluding the shortened 2020 season) since 2019. Sure, he did pitch better in the second half, but never did he look like the Cy Young-caliber arm he was before his injury.
Sure, the Marlins should listen to offers, but unless there's one that blows them away, they should not rush to trade Alcantara. Not only is he the face of the franchise, but he's on a team-friendly deal that expires in 2027, and should pitch better now that he's a full year removed from his injury. Not to mention, keeping him gives the Marlins a better chance of competing for a playoff spot in 2026. It makes little sense to trade him now, coming off the season he just had, barring a return that I just don't think is going to be out there.
New York Mets
Mets should avoid: Trading for a Marlins pitcher
On a related note, it would not be wise for the New York Mets to offer what it'd take to pry Alcantara out of Miami. Yes, they desperately need an ace, but who knows if Alcantara will ever get back to his Cy Young form. Is it worth parting with top prospects for him, not knowing if he'll ever pitch like he did in the past?
Beyond Alcantara, the Marlins are also dangling Edward Cabrera on the block. Cabrera is just 27 years of age, has electric stuff, is coming off his best season (3.53 ERA in 26 starts), and is under club control through 2028, so there are reasons to consider him, but durability and reliability are clear concerns. Cabrera had never thrown more than 100 innings in a single big league season until 2025, and was so inconsistent with Miami to the point where he was on non-tender watch at this time last season.
Cabrera deserves credit for seemingly putting it all together in 2025, but who knows if that season was a mere outlier. The last thing the Mets can afford is to give the Marlins substantial prospect capital for pitchers with such glaring concerns.
If New York, somehow, can get either of these pitchers on a discount despite being a division rival, sign me up. Assuming that isn't happening, the Mets should look elsewhere for the ace they desperately need.
Philadelphia Phillies
Phillies should avoid: Trading for Steven Kwan
The Philadelphia Phillies desperately need an outfielder, so in a vacuum, Steven Kwan, one of the best outfielders likely to be made available on the trade market this winter, would be an ideal fit. However, he doesn't exactly fit what the Phillies need.
His glove is fantastic and would be a very welcome addition, as would his ability to frustrate pitchers by fouling off tough pitches in front of the likes of Trea Turner and Bryce Harper, but while Kwan is an excellent contact hitter, he doesn't have what the Phillies really need: power. Kwan hit 11 home runs last season and has never hit more than 14 home runs in a single season. He has also finished two of the last three seasons with an OPS+ below 100, making him below league average as an overall hitter.
The Phillies hit 212 home runs, good for ninth in the majors last season, but if Kyle Schwarber's 56 home runs are removed from the equation (he is a free agent), they hit 156 home runs, good for 26th in the sport. Schwarber and Harper were their only players to hit more than 20 home runs, and Max Kepler and Nick Castellanos, the hitters who were closest to joining the 20-home run club, are likely to depart this winter.
Kwan would set the table nicely for Turner and Harper, but the Phillies need more power than what Kwan can provide. Knowing that, and knowing that it'd cost a haul to acquire him, given he's under cheap club control through 2027, this feels like a hard pass, especially since Kwan would be yet another left-handed hitter added to an already left-handed-heavy lineup.