The Seattle Mariners acquired Brendan Donovan from the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, taking one of the best remaining trade chips off the board. Pitchers and catchers report in less than two weeks, which means the clock is ticking as teams scramble to put the finishing touches on their 2026 rosters.
Several prominent players remain involved in trade rumors, from Cy Young winners like Tarik Skubal to high-upside, longer-term projects like Jasson Domínguez. While the start of spring training is not an official trade deadline, it's best to start the spring with a clear-eyed sense of your roster. It dampens the odds of turbulence later on. So, let's highlight a few potential shoes that have not yet dropped.
Yankees need to give Jasson Domínguez a fresh start
Cody Bellinger's new contract means Jasson Domínguez is once again iced out of the New York Yankees' everyday lineup. The 22-year-old made meaningful strides last season. His strikeout rate, though still poor, ticked down a couple percentage points. His 9.6 percent walk rate is very healthy. He produced 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 381 at-bats, with a .719 OPS and 101 OPS+.
It's worth remembering that Domínguez is well ahead of the curve for his age, despite the mounting frustrations of impatient Yankees fans. The defense is a real problem, and there's a chance Domínguez spends his prime years as a DH. But otherwise, there's much to be excited about. He hammers the baseball hard, he's still a functionally elite athlete, and best of all, Domínguez has time on his side. He's not a free agent until 2031.
Still, with Spencer Jones coming through the pipeline and the Yankees dedicating outfield spots to Bellinger, Aaron Judge and Trent Grisham, Domínguez could use a fresh start, perhaps in a lower-stakes environment.
Potential landing spot: Philadelphia Phillies
Absent the opportunity to add a ready-made star, the Philadelphia Phillies ought to roll the dice on a few high-upside gambles like Domínguez. He's probably a fourth outfielder to begin the season, depending on Justin Crawford's spring, but Domínguez's bat should play well at CPB and the Phillies need more pop in the back half of the lineup. There's a world in which Domínguez is the everyday left fielder by October. If the Yanks get an imminent starter and a potential leverage reliever, it's hard to complain.
Nick Castellanos' Phillies tenure is finished
This aligns nicely with a potential Domínguez-Phillies trade, as the writing is on the wall for Nick Castellanos' tenure in Philadelphia. He butted heads with Rob Thomson throughout last season, demoted time and time again in the face of a steep offensive decline. The 33-year-old hit .250 with a .694 OPS, and still managed 17 home runs and 72 RBI. That bat is still functional, but it's no longer enough to support catastrophically bad defense in right field.
Casty was essentially the worst defensive outfielder in MLB last season. He's due $20 million next season, the final year of his contract. That's probably too much for any team, but if the Phillies eat a chunk of that salary, Dave Dombrowski can probably coax a prospect out of a bat-needy front office.
Only two years removed from his last All-Star appearance, the mystique has not entirely worn off on Castellanos. He has an impressive track record of postseason heroics and when he makes solid contact, the baseball goes far. Castellanos will never refine his swing profile. He's going to hack at everything, mixing in lazy groundballs and embarrassing strikeouts with a few emphatic homers. There ought to be a couple teams at least interesting in taking the good with the bad.
Potential landing spot: Pittsburgh Pirates
If the Pittsburgh Pirates bump Ryan O'Hearn to a corner outfield spot, there are DH reps wide-open for Castellanos. That allows him to focus solely on swinging the bat without the pressures and scrutiny of everyday defense. There's still some pop left, and Pittsburgh could use a bopper after whiffing on Eugenio Suárez and, ironically, Philly's own Kyle Schwarber. Philadelphia can eat $10 million or so and get a 19-year-old catcher project for their trouble.
Jarren Duran and the Red Sox need to accept the inevitable
This offseason has not gone as expected for Boston Red Sox fans. Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez and Willson Contreras are all very promising additions, but there's still a glaring hole where Alex Bregman once stood. Boston needs infield help, but is stuck with too many outfielders and too many quality arms. You can't actually have "too many" good players, but Boston would be wise to reorganize the depth chart a bit.
Jarren Duran hammers right-handed pitching and offers quality defense, with a canon arm, in the corner outfield spots. He has led the AL in triples two years running. He's aggressive on the base paths. He would make a team better. Boston needs to clear room for Kristian Campbell, not to mention Masataka Yoshida, who has Boston trapped in cap purgatory for now. Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela and Wilyer Abreu are all everyday players and all of more value to Boston at present.
Duran is 29 with three years of club control left, so he should net Boston real assets. Plenty of teams need help in the outfield. The Red Sox can just cycle Duran and Roman Anthony through the left field/DH rotation, but swapping Duran for infielders (or some longer-term prospect bets) is smart business.
Potential landing spot: Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals can complete their outfield makeover with Duran, who'd complete an excellent first five in the order alongside Maikel García, Bobby Witt, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez. If the Royals' younger bats, such as Carter Jensen and Jac Caglianone, can start to approach their ceilings in 2026, suddenly Kansas City has more than enough firepower to get feisty in the imminently winnable AL Central.
Isaac Paredes does not have a spot on these Astros
The Houston Astros made an ambitious trade for Carlos Correa at the 2025 trade deadline to compensate for various infield injuries. It didn't help them make the playoffs in the end, but it did reunite Correa and Houston, which carries enough sentimental weight to placate Astros fans.
The only problem is... everyone is healthy now, and someone is going to lose the game of infield musical chairs. Jose Altuve is locked at second base after bombing his attempt at left field. Jeremy Peña is a franchise shortstop, bumping Correa and his substantial long-term contract to third base. Christian Walker got paid a lot of money to play first base. So... what about Isaac Paredes, a literal 2025 All-Star who suddenly does not have a clear home.
He can't slide to DH, because Yordan Álvarez is Yordan Álvarez. Either Houston attempts another outfield conversion or Paredes takes over first base, which only creates new problems given Walker's substantial salary. The best way out of this for Houston is probably a trade. Paredes is 26 with two All-Stars under his belt and two years of club control left, so it shouldn't be hard to find a taker.
Potential landing spot: Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox are hurting after Bregman's exit. Paredes can slide over to second base, mitigating defensive concerns, while his bat profiles nicely at Fenway. Boston needs a right-handed bopper to help round out its lineup. In return, Houston gets a supercharged utilityman in Romy Gonzalez, who finished last season with an .826 OPS in 315 at-bats. He comes with defensive concerns of his own, but he can line up all over the infield and the metrics paint last season's production as imminently sustainable. Justin Gonzales, a 19-year-old outfielder with incredible tools, makes this a worthwhile haul for Houston.
Tarik Skubal and the Tigers need to break it off now
The Detroit Tigers and Tarik Skubal are $13 million apart in their arbitration filings as the reigning two-time Cy Young winner enters his final season under contract. In a perfect world, Detroit would love to hammer out a long-term extension that makes Skubal a Tiger for life. Realistically, that's just not happening.
Skubal is a lame duck ace. Detroit can still squeeze a lot of value out of the 29-year-old this season. The Tigers are a team with genuine World Series aspirations. At the end of the day, though, Detroit cannot risk losing Skubal for nothing. The return package for a pitcher of his caliber, even on an expiring contract, could be enough to furnish this Tigers roster for the next decade.
Plenty of teams should jump at the opportunity to add Skubal, even if he wins his desired $32 million in arbitration. He will get paid a lot more next winter. Skubal is the most dependable arm in MLB right now. Detroit would need to field replacements, but this is also a prime opportunity to beef up the lineup with some much-needed slugging.
Potential landing spot: Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers can offer the best combination of prospect depth and MLB-ready contributors, especially if Tyler Glasnow gets floated to a third team (Detroit doesn't want to pay him, we know this). Detroit gets Emmet Sheehan, a few premium prospect bats, and financial freedom for its absurdly rich owner. Baltimore gets its desperately needed frontline ace, while the Dodgers add the best pitcher in baseball to the best team in baseball, because life is not fair.