We're just a little bit over one month away from the MLB trade deadline, meaning that the rumor mill is red hot. We don't know for sure which teams are committed to buying or selling yet, outside of a few exceptions, but teams continue to establish themselves in one way or another by the day.
We've already seen a major blockbuster take place. Rafael Devers was traded seemingly out of nowhere from the Boston Red Sox to the San Francisco Giants. If a player of Devers' caliber can be traded, especially in June, just about anyone can, making this time of year so exciting.
MLB rumors are at an all-time high right now, and here are the ones most worthy of your attention.
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Chris Sale trade is nothing but a pipe dream
With the Atlanta Braves getting off to an atrocious start, MLB fans began drawing up mock trades involving several of their players, headlined by Chris Sale. Ultimately, any trade involving Sale is nothing but a pipe dream, and that was confirmed by Braves general manager Alex Anthopoulos.
When asked about selling and about trading Sale in particular, Anthopoulos couldn't have been clearer.
“No, zero. I’ve seen the speculation. It’s completely ridiculous to me. We are not selling, especially someone that has club control beyond the current year,” he said. “Will not happen. I never make definitive statements unless I’m going to stick to them. Once you make definitive statements and then you go back on them, you’re a liar and you’re done," Anthopoulos said in an appearance on 680 The Fan.
Anthopoulos is not thinking about selling and calls any speculation suggesting the Braves head in that direction "completely ridiculous." He even went as far as to say the Braves especially won't be trading anyone with more than a year of club control. This opens the door slightly for a Marcel Ozuna trade, for example, but for Sale, who has a club option for next season, he's off the table.
Ultimately, this makes a lot of sense for the Braves. Even if making the postseason in 2025 will be tough after their rough start, trading Sale, the reigning NL Cy Young winner, would severely impact their chances of competing in 2026. They have a roster that, when performing to their ability, is good enough to compete for a World Series title.
Trading a guy like Ozuna, who is ticketed for free agency after the year if they think the postseason isn't within reach for this season, is fine. Nobody who is under control beyond this season that the Braves think can contribute should be available, though, and Sale is front and center in that regard.
Reds could be a surprising trade deadline buyer
The National League is as loaded as it's been in quite some time, and it might get even better with what The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal had to say about the Cincinnati Reds' trade deadline plans on an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast.
The Reds could be a surprise aggressive team at the trade deadline, says @Ken_Rosenthal.
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) June 19, 2025
"They've invested a lot in this team already." pic.twitter.com/RRAof9ZG0G
"I'll give you one team that I do expect to be more aggressive than we would expect, and that's the Cincinnati Reds. They've invested a lot into this team already, they've got really good pitching, they've got more pitching coming, and they're a team that seems to be at least one bat away."
The Reds being a trade deadline buyer isn't shocking considering they're currently three games over .500 and they're only 1.0 game back of the third Wild Card spot in the NL, but it's fair to question their willingness to be one of the more aggressive teams at the deadline.
The Reds, even at three games over .500, are fourth place in the NL Central and on the outside looking in when looking at the postseason race. Their best pitcher, Hunter Greene, is currently hurt without a clear timetable for his return, and their bullpen isn't great. When healthy, their odds would improve greatly if they got a big bat as Rosenthal mentioned, but are the Reds only one bat away from competing with teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets? I think it's hard to make that argument.
I like this Reds team, but I'm not sure they're good enough to warrant being one of the biggest aggressors at the deadline. It'll be interesting to see just how far they go in the buying direction once the end of July rolls around.
Giants rejected at least one Rafael Devers trade offer
The San Francisco Giants wound up making what could end up being the biggest mid-season deal of the year, acquiring Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for a package that, on paper, felt extremely light. The reason for that ultimately is because the Giants refused to meet Boston's initial asking price.
"It took nearly four weeks of negotiations to agree on the player package. In the early stages, the Red Sox insisted upon 20-year-old first base prospect Bryce Eldridge but the Giants refused to consider including him in the deal."
The Red Sox began negotiations by aiming high, asking for San Francisco's No. 1 prospect, Bryce Eldridge, in a Devers deal. San Francisco refused, and Boston ultimately agreed to a deal that looks underwhelming right now.
Not only did the Red Sox fail to pry Eldridge away, but they didn't get prospects who are higher-rated than the best prospect they received, James Tibbs III, according to most, like Carson Whisenhunt and Josuar De Jesus Gonzalez. The Red Sox also failed to receive a guy like Hayden Birdsong, who would've been a more exciting young pitcher to acquire than Kyle Harrison, who they ultimately settled on.
Red Sox fans weren't happy when the deal went down, and the fact that they tried and failed to get a better return before settling on the underwhelming package will only make them more frustrated. Eldridge might've been unrealistic, but the Red Sox really had to get more than they did, given the player Devers is. Did another team really not come to them with anything better? Did the Red Sox just not shop him around at all? The fact that this was the deal they made won't be an easy pill for Red Sox fans to swallow.