Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Our MLB list of the most untradeable contracts is out, and the rankings reveal how difficult some deals are to move.
- High salaries, poor performance, and long-term commitments make several players nearly impossible to trade.
- The top spot belongs to a star whose decline and positional shift have turned his massive deal into a franchise burden.
A lot goes into trade value, with performance, team control and position at the top of the list. For example, a player like Yordan Alvarez who is the AL MVP favorite while making less than $30 million annually through 2028 is an incredibly valuable trade asset, even as a primary DH.
On the other side of the coin, though, players like Rafael Devers and Bo Bichette, whose teams might be desperate to trade them sooner rather than later, are among the most untradeable in the entire league. Here's where they rank among the most untradeable players.
8. 3B/SS Bo Bichette, New York Mets
- 2026 salary: $42 million
- Remaining contract: 2 years, $84 million through 2028
The New York Mets are a mess, and Bo Bichette is one of the biggest reasons why. Assuming things continue to go south, the Mets would presumably love to trade him to ensure they could get some level of return and, perhaps most importantly, not risk Bichette opting into the remaining two years and $84 million in his deal, but I'm not sure how realistic that is.
Yes, Bichette is only under contract through 2028 at the latest, but he has a $42 million AAV, and Bichette has full control of whether he opts in or out at the end of every year of this deal. For reference, Bichette's AAV is tied for the fourth-highest in the majors.
Player | AAV |
|---|---|
Shohei Ohtani | $70 million |
Kyle Tucker | $60 million |
Juan Soto | $51 million |
Zack Wheeler | $42 million |
Bo Bichette | $42 million |
Aaron Judge | $40 million |
How many teams do you think would be willing to take this kind of contract on, especially when Bichette has a .559 OPS this season and might be under contract through 2028? It's one thing for a team to take a buy-low gamble on a player with an elite track record, but it's another to buy into trading for a player making top-five money through 2028. Even if the Mets wanted to trade him, I'm not sure they'd get anything for him without eating a substantial portion of the deal, making him harder than you'd think to actually move on from.
7. SS Willy Adames, San Francisco Giants
- 2026 salary: $13.1 million
- Remaining contract: 5 years, $155.5 million through 2031
The San Francisco Giants finally made a free agent splash in the 2024 offseason, only to watch said splash backfire spectacularly. Willy Adames rebounded following a putrid start to his Giants career in 2025 to put together a somewhat decent season, but he's off to an even worse start to 2026, slashing .209/.242/.342 with three home runs and eight RBI. He's striking out nearly 30 percent of the time while not walking much at all. Even his defense has taken a major step back.
I do think Adames is better than this, especially defensively, and that a hot streak awaits, but it's clear he isn't worth close to this kind of contract. More than $150 million to take on for the next five years after this one is a hard sell for any team to take willingly.
6. 3B Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
- 2026 salary: $21.5 million
- Remaining contract: 2 years, $40.5 million through 2028 (up to 6 years, $110.5 million)
The Houston Astros traded for Carlos Correa at last year's deadline, and as questionable as that deal was, he had been a productive player for them since being re-acquired. Correa had a 117 OPS+ with the Astros down the stretch last season and a 120 OPS+ in 32 games this season before he suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Thus, we are now reminded about how bad his contract is.
Even with the Twins retaining some of Correa's money, the Astros owe Correa $20 million in 2027 and in 2028. For a 31-year-old who already had injury concerns and wasn't performing at a $20 million level, that is brutal. Making matters worse, the reason Correa is No. 6 on this list is because of his vesting options. For example, Correa's 2029 contract vests at $25 million if one of these things happens.
- 575 plate appearances
- Top 5 2028 MVP
- 2028 Silver Slugger
- 2028 LCS MVP
- 2028 WS MVP
Correa has vesting options that could take his contract through 2032. It's admittedly unlikely any of these incentives hit, but I'm not sure there's a single team out there willing to take the risk of this happening, and I don't blame them.
5. DH Kris Bryant, Colorado Rockies
- 2026 salary: $27 million
- Remaining contract: 2 years, $54 million
Kris Bryant's contract might be the worst in the majors right now, given the fact that he hasn't played a game this season and there's a non-zero chance he'll never play another MLB game. When it comes to being the most untradeable, though, I wouldn't go that far because of the length.
As bad as this contract is, Bryant is only under contract through the 2028 season. Even if Bryant doesn't retire before then, therefore taking his contract off the books, the length isn't such a deal breaker that if the Colorado Rockies were to be eager enough to attach a prospect to get his contract off the books, they might actually be able to do so. It's a bad contract, but not the most untradeable.
4. RHP Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
- 2026 salary: $24.5 million
- Remaining contract: 4 years, $98 million
The Philadelphia Phillies re-signing Aaron Nola on a seven-year, $172 million deal felt like a no-brainer for one of the most consistent starters in the game, but it's proven to have been a massive mistake thus far. Nola allowed the most home runs in the league in 2024, had a 6.01 ERA in an injury-shortened 2025 season, and he now has a 5.14 ERA in eight starts this season.
If it weren't for Taijuan Walker and Andrew Painter struggling even more, Nola would be getting more attention than he has. What's worse is he's under contract through the 2030 season at nearly $25 million annually. The fact that he's a starting pitcher helps boost his value a bit, as every team could use more starting pitching, but the length of this deal, paired with his declining ability and stuff, makes it very hard to move, and that's without mentioning his no-trade clause.
3. 3B Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
- 2026 salary: $25 million
- Remaining contract: 7 years, $273 million
Rather than let Manny Machado opt out and test free agency, the San Diego Padres gave him an 11-year, $350 million extension, keeping him under contract through 2033. This deal was always going to be an overpay, but it looks worse than anyone could've expected right about now. Machado is slashing .191/.294/.353 with six home runs and 20 RBI on the year for San Diego.
Even if Machado were performing at his typical star level, he's a 33-year-old under contract for seven more years after this one at nearly $40 million annually - a price virtually no other team would be willing to meet. This version of Machado, though, will be nearly impossible to trade, and again, that's without mentioning his full no-trade clause.
2. SS Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres
- 2026 salary: $25.4 million
- Remaining contract: $177.8 million
As bad as the Machado contract was always going to be, he was still a 4.1-win player last season, according to bWAR. Xander Bogaerts, on the other hand, was worth 3.2 bWAR in 2024 and 2025 combined in the second and third year of his massive 11-year, $280 million pact with San Diego. He's off to a pretty good start this season, but the Padres are still on the hook for over $25 million annually through 2033.
It's not as much money as Machado, but Machado was a star-level player just last season. I'm not sure Bogaerts has performed like a star since leaving the Red Sox. There's reason to believe Machado can get back to those heights, while Bogaerts sort of is who he is at this point.
The deal is too long for a player unlikely to remain at shortstop for much longer and who has been an above-average hitter in exactly one of his three full seasons in San Diego. Even if Bogaerts was willing to waive his no-trade clause, I can't think of a single team that'd express interest.
1. 1B Rafael Devers, San Francisco Giants
- 2026 salary: $27 million
- Remaining contract: $199.5 million
This contract has already been traded once, so maybe I'm underestimating the odds of it happening again, but I just can't see it. Yes, the Giants are eager to offload the Devers deal, and who knows, maybe if they're willing to attach a ton of prospects, they can find a taker, but barring that, Devers might have the worst and most untradeable contract in the sport right now.
Devers was given a deal worth more than $300 million when he was a young third baseman hitting at an MVP-caliber level. Well, Devers is now 29 years old, is no longer a third baseman at all (in fact, he's a subpar first baseman), and he's also been one of the worst hitters in the sport this season. His 79 wRC+ is tied for 141st of 177 qualified hitters, and his -0.5 fWAR is tied for 170th among those same 177 position players. This is even with a recent mini hot streak. His advanced metrics look even worse.
To sum up, Devers is a bat-first DH who hasn't hit well really since being acquired by the Giants and doesn't do anything else well, either. He's this kind of player while making nearly $30 million annually for the better part of the next decade. The Giants can want to offload this contract all they want, but good luck finding a taker.
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