The MLB Trade Deadline is just over a month away and there is still a ton that has yet to be decided. Are teams like the Boston Red Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks going to buy or sell? How aggressive are teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers planning to be on the trade market? And will players like Alex Bregman, Sandy Alcantara or Zac Gallen actually be moved before the deadline? We don't know with certainty, but the latest rumors leading up to the deadline can always offer some level of insight.
Here's the latest buzz on baseball's trade market in late June with the MLB trade deadline looming large before the All-Star break.
Boston Red Sox could blow it up at the trade deadline
In the wake of trading Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants, the Red Sox have not cured all by removing what was sold to fans as a proverbial clubhouse cancer from the equation. Boston is just 3-6 in their last nine games and have now fallen two games below .500. Yet, they are only 2.5 games out of the wild card and a still manageable seven games behind the Yankees in the AL East with the full second half of the schedule still remaining.
But USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale sent what can only be conceived as a warning to the Red Sox about their trade deadline direction. He called the Devers trade "waving the white flag" on the 2025 season and suggested that a full-blown fire sale could be in the organization's best interest for building toward the future. That would include shipping Bregman, Jarren Duran, Aroldis Chapman and Walker Buehler out of town.
However, Nightengale also warned that this would only be feasible if GM Craig Breslow and the front office "don't mind a modern-day Boston Tea Party" that would completely alienate the Red Sox fan base. That would be tenfold with the message Breslow has sent since the Devers trade, indicating that Boston will be buyers as they believe this is a postseason-caliber team.
Time will tell which direction Breslow and the Red Sox head in at the deadline, but it's certainly a high-wire act they're balancing on right now in making that decision.
Alex Bregman remains squarely in the Tigers' crosshairs at trade deadline
Before Bregman ultimately signed a three-year deal with opt-outs in Boston this offseason, it seemed like the Detroit Tigers weren't going to be denied in adding the longtime Astros star third baseman. They, obviously, came up empty despite a six-year offer that cleared $170 million, but the hole at the position has persisted. Obviously, the AL Central-leading Tigers have managed with the rotation of players like Zach McKinstry, Andy Ibanez and even some appearances by Jace Jung, among others.
That, however, won't stop them from making a push for Bregman if the Red Sox indeed choose to sell. The Tigers are tied for the best record in baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers right now and have a commanding lead in the division at 8.5 games. Adding Bregman would do more than just fortify that regular-season positioning, though. Rather, it would offer Detroit the opportunity to shore up a roster spot and allow the likes of McKinstry to be better used as a depth piece rather than a consistent option at a position that isn't his natural one.
Nightengale characterized the Tigers as being "all in again" on Bregman should he become available. That's a massive caveat to consider in this mix, though. With the fence-sitting position the Red Sox currently find themselves in, there is far from a guarantee that Boston will be willing to move Bregman. In fact, the Sox's most likely position could be to both buy and sell, and the third baseman surely isn't moving if that's how things play out.
That doesn't leave the Tigers empty-handed, especially as someone like veteran Eugenio Suarez with the D'Backs could also fit the bill for them, albeit to a lesser degree than Bregman would. But if it's an option, expect Detroit to be the most fervent aggressors to try and work out a Bregman trade.
Sandy Alcantara could stay put in Miami if trade offers aren't up to par
Outside of Bregman, the most intriguing name being floated leading up to the trade deadline is Miami Marlins veteran and former NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara. His return from Tommy John surgery this season after missing all of last year hasn't gone smoothly, particularly with a brutal start to 2025, but water is starting to find his level and there have been more flashes of late of the ace of old.
Because it's the Marlins, they are going to look to maximize value in a trade and move him whenever that suits them best. What Nightengale notes, however, is that could mean that the deadline isn't when Alcantara gets traded. The Marlins right-hander is under contract through the 2027 season, meaning Miami is operating from a position of power. That control and the upside of Alcantara also means that the Marlins can ask for a relative king's ransom in return for a trade.
Most importantly, though, Nightengale notes that, if the Marlins don't get offers that they deem satisfactory for Alcantara, they don't have to trade and him and could, instead, wait until the offseason to try and move him. That would certainly come as a blow to potential suitors like the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Red Sox, Dodgers and so on, but it would certainly be smart business for Miami — especially if Alcantara continues to improve and establishes even more trade value in terms of performance by the end of the season.