The MLB Winter Meetings are in the rearview mirror. Several major dominoes fell — Kyle Schwarber to Philly, Edwin Díaz to L.A., Pete Alonso to Baltimore — but there's much more to come. Free agents like Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Framber Valdez will continue to dominate the narrative, but some of the most impactful moves this offseason may unfold on the trade front.
There are countless rumors to sift through, but here are 12 realistic, impactful MLB trade candidates and the teams best positioned to acquire them based on their team's likely asking price and roster needs.
OF Luis Robert Jr.: New York Mets
The New York Mets have lost Brandon Nimmo, Pete Alonso and Edwin Díaz so far this winter, a real shell-shocking sequence of events for fans. One of the clearest areas of need for GM David Stearns is the outfield. Luis Robert Jr., technically under club control through next season (he has a $20 million club option for 2027), is due for a change of scenery and could flourish in Queens.
A former All-Star, Robert checks a lot of boxes for the Mets: excellent center field defense, speed on the bases and a ton of natural pop. He has struggled at the plate in recent years, but he still hammered lefties last season and there's enough past precedent to suggest that he might turn it around in a better situation. New York has a fairly deep farm system and should be able to pique Chicago's interest, whether it's with young pitching or another bat to develop in lieu of Robert.
3B Alec Bohm: Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners could be in the market to replace Eugenio Suárez at the hot corner. Alec Bohm is a very different sort of bat — a line drive-hitting doubles machine — but he could be a more tenable fit behind Cal Raleigh and Julio Rodríguez in the lineup. Whereas Suárez is boom-or-bust in nature, Bohm has a lower ceiling but a higher floor.
Seattle's deep farm system features a ton of variety, especially on the pitching front. The Phillies could look for more long-term rotation depth with Ranger Suárez on his way out, Jesús Luzardo entering a walk year and Zack Wheeler on the precipice of retirement.
C Sean Murphy: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Atlanta Braves need DH reps for Jurickson Profar and Mike Yastrzemski next season, and Drake Baldwin is ready for full-time catcher duties. As such, Sean Murphy could end up on the move. He's still one of the best catchers in MLB, hitting 16 home runs with a .709 OPS last season and providing elite results on defense.
Few teams need bats more than the Pittsburgh Pirates, who can tempt the Braves with a deep well of young pitchers. Murphy has battled injuries of late, but once healthy, he'd play every day in Pittsburgh and impart excellent wisdom upon Paul Skenes and a fledgling pitching staff.
1B/DH Bryce Eldridge: Boston Red Sox
If the San Francisco Giants decide to trade Bryce Eldridge, their No. 1 prospect and a supremely talented offensive first baseman, the Boston Red Sox make the most sense. He'd do an admirable job of plugging the hole left by Rafael Devers, ironically enough. Even in his brief 3-for-28 stint at the MLB level last season, Eldridge made a strong first impression with his 18.9 percent walk rate and 68.8 percent hard-hit rate. Small, noisy sample, but still — Eldridge is a beast.
San Francisco wants to clear the deck for Devers to play first base long term, and pigeonholing the 21-year-old Eldridge as a DH or a corner outfielder isn't the most appealing solution. Boston can pepper the Giants' farm system with MLB-ready pitching while Eldridge joins Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell to form one of the brightest young cores in baseball.
OF Jarren Duran: Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies need outfield bats in the worst of ways and Jarren Duran has long felt like one of the most logical — and attainable — targets. The Red Sox are looking to ease their logjam in the outfield; Wilyer Abreu has a longer window of control and is a much better defender, which means Boston ought to prioritize dumping Duran. And it goes without saying that Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela aren't moving.
Philadelphia's farm system is somewhat lacking in terms of MLB-ready talent (Boston isn't getting Andrew Painter, Aidan Miller or Justin Crawford), but Boston's own wealth of more advanced prospects allows them to think more long term. Plus, the Phillies could offer up Alec Bohm or Bryson Stott as immediate infield help, depending on how Boston's negotiations with Alex Bregman pan out.
2B Brendan Donovan: Seattle Mariners
The St. Louis Cardinals are undergoing a comprehensive rebuild. Their best asset is Brendan Donovan, a supercharged utility player who finished last season with a .775 OPS and 119 OPS+. He can spend time at second base or in the outfield and he's under club control through 2027.
New Cardinals GM Chaim Bloom needs to dial up the Mariners, who boast the deepest reservoir of high-level pitching prospects in MLB. The M's need a potential Jorge Polanco replacement and would benefit from Donovan's ability to flex to the outfield. St. Louis needs a major influx of rotation-level talent. It's a match made in heaven.
SP Edward Cabrera: Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs need starting pitching, even with Justin Steele's looming return. Edward Cabrera feels increasingly likely to move this offseason as the Miami Marlins target more offensive support. Under club control through 2028 at cheap arbitration rates, Cabrera might be the ideal Cubs target. Operating primarily in the sinkerball and off-speed registers, Cabrera generates a ton of groundballs and should benefit from the Cubs' airtight defense.
For the Marlins, Chicago's talented farm system, which features several big bats — Owen Caissie, Moisés Ballesteros, Kevin Alcántara, etc. — feels like the ideal salve for what ails them. Cabrera's controllable contract means the Marlins can ask for a lot, and Jed Hoyer ought to feel the pressure to deliver win-now moves in lieu of Kyle Tucker.
SP MacKenzie Gore: Baltimore Orioles
MacKenzie Gore has two years left before he hits free agency and the Washington Nationals appear to be preemptively floating him in trade talks. The Baltimore Orioles just made a huge statement with their $155 million signing of Pete Alonso. If this front office finally has a bit of spending power, that's all the more reason to take the plunge on Gore, with hopes of re-signing him 2027. The O's bid competitively for Corbin Burnes last winter. There is a world in which Gore spends the next decade shoving for Baltimore.
From Washington's perspective, the Orioles offer perhaps the most compelling collection of MLB-ready position prospects. There is raw pop aplenty in the pipeline; Washington needs pitching, too, but adding more support around James Wood and Dylan Crews in the lineup could go a long way in the volatile NL East.
SS Corey Seager: Atlanta Braves
The Texas Rangers are listening on Corey Seager, who is due $186 million over the next six years. That's a lot of money for an early-30s shortstop, but Seager — an integral piece of Texas' 2023 title run — can still hit 30 home runs and 40 doubles in a healthy season. He generates tons of hard contact and defends a premium position quite well.
Are the Atlanta Braves really prepared to foot the bill on Seager's contract? It wouldn't be the most classically Alex Anthopoulos move, but the Braves need to turn their fortunes around and shortstop in the most glaring hole on the roster. Atlanta can pepper the Rangers with young pitchers and use Seager to seriously challenge Philly atop the division.
SP Freddy Peralta: New York Yankees
The New York Yankees appear to be treading lightly in free agency, but with Gerrit Cole, Clarke Schmidt and Carlos Rodón all expected to begin 2026 on the IL, trading for an affordable ace like Freddy Peralta ought to be appealing. The trio of Peralta, Max Fried and Cam Schlittler can shove for a few months while New York gets healthy. And by season's end, New York might have the deepest and deadliest rotation in MLB.
Is Peralta, on an expiring $8 million contract, a long-term option for this slyly cheap Yankees front office? Maybe not, but even as a rental, he's worth it. He moves the needle substantially for a team within striking distance of the World Series. New York has a couple young power bats — Spencer Jones and Jasson Domínguez in particular — that could pay dividends for the Brewers.
2B Ketel Marte: Boston Red Sox
The Arizona Diamondbacks appear increasingly likely to trade Ketel Marte, who's on one of the best value deals in MLB through 2030. Does that make sense? Not really, but clearly Marte has done something the upset the balance of Arizona's clubhouse. As for the ideal trade partner, it's pretty clearly the Red Sox.
Arizona wants pitching. Corbin Burnes is coming back from Tommy John surgery, Eduardo Rodríguez has underperformed, Jordan Montgomery was a bust and Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly are free agents. Boston's moves this winter has given Craig Breslow a surplus of MLB-ready starters to trade, almost as if he's setting up this exact move. Payton Tolle, Connelly Early, Kutter Crawford — the D-backs can have their pick of the litter.
SP Tarik Skubal: Los Angeles Dodgers
It would be absolutely diabolical, borderline unethical, for the Detroit Tigers to send Tarik Skubal — the back-to-back AL Cy Young and arguably the best pitcher in baseball — to the Los Angeles Dodgers. But L.A. has MLB's top farm system, replete with explosive hitters and talented long-term bets on the mound. There simply isn't a better combination of MLB-ready pitching and potential offensive centerpieces available to Detroit.
Skubal would join Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Blake Snell and maybe even Tyler Glasnow to form the best pitching staff in MLB. Really without question. He's a free agent at season's end, but if any team can afford to fork over a $500 million extension and just nix that concern altogether, it's the Dodgers.