One player every non-playoff team should have traded at the MLB trade deadline

Hindsight is always 20/20. When it comes to the MLB trade deadline, things are no different.

Some teams want to hold on to a player because they feel like they will be ready to compete within a year. Sometimes, teams miss the mark entirely and leave fans scratching their head as to why they didn't move somebody.

This year, there was a lot of the latter.

Let's look at 12 non-playoff teams and one player they should have traded, starting alphabetically with the Chicago Cubs.

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Chicago Cubs - Drew Smyly

The Chicago Cubs, overall, were an innovative team at the MLB trade deadline. They did both a little buying and a little selling, with the vision of improving their roster for next season and beyond. Centered in trade rumors was starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, but I agree the Cubs should have held on to him unless an offer blew them away. However, there was one head-scratcher that caught my attention, and that was the team holding onto Drew Smyly.

Smyly is enjoying a stellar season in a relief role for the Cubs, owning a sparkly 2.53 ERA in 42.2 innings of work. The Cubs picked up his option this past winter, but after the 2024 campaign, he is set to hit free agency. If the emphasis at the deadline wasn't to get better for this season, they should have moved him for whatever they could instead of inevitably letting him walk this winter for nothing.

Chicago White Sox - Luis Robert

The Chicago White Sox are at the point where they need to start entirely from scratch. That means trading their best players, Garrett Crochet and, more specifically, Luis Robert. El Pantera is an elite-level player when healthy, but the White Sox are doing themselves no favors keeping him in Chicago now.

The 27-84 White Sox are lightyears away from competition, and Robert will wind up reaching free agency and rotting in Chicago before the team is good again. The Sox should accelerate that rebuild process by getting as many top-100 prospects as possible. His value is still high, given that Robert has one year and two club options afterward. Owner Jerry Reinsdorf needs to either open up the checkbook, make a push, or do things the old-fashioned way and sell heavily to rebuild.

Cincinnati Reds - Sam Moll

Sam Moll for the Cincinnati Reds is an excellent reliever for a team that doesn't have too much going for them this year. Moll owns a career 3.27 ERA over his five years total in MLB. This season, however, he's currently at a 2.42 ERA. He does have three years left before reaching free agency, so it's understandable not wanting to move a guy who can be part of your future. The thing here for the Reds is they had the opportunity to strengthen their farm system by moving him, but they chose not to.

This winter, there is a high number of quality relievers available in free agency. Although Moll's first year of arbitration next year will cost less than most of those free agents, Cincinnati is not quite over the hump in being a true contender just yet. They're interchanged last-place spots with the Cubs in the NL Central. Moving guys that can bring more value to your team overall is the best way to rebuild quickly, depending on who you receive. I am moving Moll, personally, in this situation and looking for a near MLB-ready prospect in return, such as the Cubs did with Mark Leiter Jr.

Colorado Rockies - Elias Diaz

The Colorado Rockies are interesting, given the high-scoring affairs that routinely happen at Coors Field. However, their splits away from home could be better offensively for a team that plays its home games in high elevations like the Rockies. One player who has been a solid player, however, is Elias Diaz.

Diaz is 11th in the league in pop time for a catcher and 11th in catcher-framed runs. He bats .299 at Coors but has leveled off away from home with a .244 average as the season continues. Still, he's a free agent after this season, and it never makes sense to keep good players on expiring contracts when you're not competing for a playoff spot. Connected to the Cubs earlier in the year, a trade never came to fruition.

Detroit Tigers - Will Vest

Will Vest for the Detroit Tigers was a name I'm surprised didn't garner more interest. The Tigers likely see themselves close to contention, with a hitting core consisting of Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter. Given that the team wasn't going to move Tarik Skubal unless it was an offer they couldn't refuse, they will still have a good tandem of Skubal and Reese Olson moving forward. With that, a team needs a good bullpen. However, for the same reasons mentioned above, with relievers in free agency this year, Vest and his three years of arbitration could have fetched Detroit a solid prospect or two. He currently owns a 3.21 ERA after recording a 3.35 the year prior.

Los Angeles Angels - Tyler Anderson

Tyler Anderson for the Los Angeles Angels was somebody I would have tried to push more in a trade if I was the Angels' front office. He's had a great season and has another year left on his deal after 2024, making just $13,000,000. He was an All-Star in 2024, and his numbers show why. Owning a 3.05 ERA to this point in the season is good to be any team's #2 or #3 pitcher, and for the price point, that's extremely valuable to teams competing for the playoffs.

For example, take how much Jameson Taillon was the subject of trade rumors. He is being paid $18 million a season with two years left. For someone who costs less and has less financial commitment attached to them, you'd think teams would be lining up for Anderson's services. The Angels could have helped their farm system tremendously if they were more aggressive here. Instead, he will likely be traded next season when the Angels inevitably aren't good again for less than what they would have received this year.

Miami Marlins - Jake Burger

Jake Burger would have cost a team a little in prospect currency. The Miami Marlins will not make the playoffs this year, and Burger is putting up solid power numbers. He has 16 HRs and 44 RBIs in 87 games this year. Miami mostly did a good job selling off players they know won't be with the team long-term. That being said, that was not what happened here. Burger will walk on a contract year without even a low-level prospect to show for it.

Oakland Athletics - Brent Rooker

Oakland misfired on not moving Brent Rooker. A recent article stated the reluctance of the Athletics to move Rooker at trade the deadline, who still has three years of arbitration after this season before reaching free agency in 2028.

So, hypothetically, for a team that rarely spends money, they will keep him for another year or two tops before they decide they don't want to pay him anymore and trade him for less value than he has now. This is the same situation as Luis Robert above. The A's will not be competitive within the next two years, and if you're ultimately not going to pay a guy, you may as well strengthen your farm system while losing anyway.

San Francisco Giants - Tyler Rogers

Shifting to San Francisco, Tyler Rogers is enjoying another strong season with an ERA of 3.26. Over the past four seasons combined, Rogers owns a 2.99 ERA and has been a good reliever throughout his tenure with the Giants. That said, the Giants don't look to be reaching the postseason this year, as they sit in 4th place with a record of 55-56. Although the Giants have some players coming off of IL soon, and Blake Snell has found his mark, it's hard to see the Giants leapfrogging anybody for a Wild Card at this stage.

The Giants' bullpen is near the bottom of the league (25th) with a collective ERA of 4.35. The team is in an unfortunate spot with the Dodgers, Padres, and now Diamondbacks all competing for playoff spots, making it highly unlikely this Giants roster will win the division soon. This is a move where they could have re-tooled, traded Rogers, and picked up a reliever in the offseason.

Texas Rangers - Kirby Yates

Another example of a team that is not really in the playoff hunt with a good player on their roster is the Texas Rangers with closer Kirby Yates. On the season, the Rangers are 52-58, and Yates has a 1.17 ERA and 19 saves on the year. Considering the team was not aggressive at the deadline, it didn't make sense to hold on to someone set to walk this winter. It's moves like these, or lack thereof, that hold teams back from becoming better in the long run, and Yates' tremendous season indeed could have fetched Texas a good prospect, at least.

Toronto Blue Jays - Chad Green

Continuing with the theme of teams not in the running that held on to players on expiring deals, we land on the Toronto Blue Jays and Chad Green. Green has been a phenomenal late-inning reliever this season, notching eight saves with his 1.62 ERA in 32 appearances. The Blue Jays are dead last in the AL East, with all four teams above them over .500. They are 10.5 games back from the third Wild Card spot and missed the mark at the deadline. If you can't get someone to overpay, that's understandable. But to not at least get something for somebody is inconceivable. The Jays' front office dropped the ball here.

Washington Nationals - Kyle Finnegan

After the Washington Nationals traded Lane Thomas to the Cleveland Guardians, holding on to anybody else who could have fetched them some value could have been more productive. If you're selling a guy like Thomas, it shows you're not truly serious about contending soon, and therefore, you may as well continue strengthening your farm as much as possible if your focus is more on that than winning soon. That's not to say they should have traded everybody good on the team, but Finnegan is a closer in Washington because they don't have any better options.

Finnegan owns a 3.48 ERA with 28 saves. He is a solid addition to any team's bullpen, albeit he may not be a closer on another team, much like we saw in the Tanner Scott trade. A lot of relievers made this list, but it's simply because there are a lot of relievers available this winter that could replace the guy you're losing. If you're not making the playoffs, and, likely, you're not as close to that goal as you want to be, then it only becomes harmful to the future of your organization to hold on to players when their value is at their highest.